Heaven Touches Earth and it makes a difference

To be with you this morning. I've got the singing

lector this morning, so let me move it a bit closer.

You know, sometimes we have plants and that God comes

along and whispers in our ear and goes yes. But

needed that for me this morning. There's a couple of things.

As we were worshiping, I just felt the Father say,

I've got some drain cleaner here today. To what do

you use drain cleaner for? What do you use drain

cleaner for? To Yeah, when your drains are blocked, to

unblock them. And I don't think we're going to be

pouring drain cleaner over people this morning. That wouldn't be

healthy or wise. But I sense the father said there

are people who have blocked tubes today. Since the Father

said no, that might be in your ear, that might

be in your sinuses, that might be in your gut.

I don't know, but I sense the Father said, I

want to I want to clear these out today. And

so if that's you, if you've got some blocked tubes,

and I'm standing I've got some block sinuses, but I

don't think it's because of me. But if if you

have some, I'm not going to ask you what it is.

We'll leave that with God. But if you have some

block tubes somewhere where something needs to flow it, would

you stand. I'm gonna pray. I'm going to pray that

God heals us, cleanses us, washes us. And at home,

if you're listening to if that's you, would you stand

to wherever you are, or if you want to stand

or be half of someone. And maybe if you know

someone who's got blocked tubes, and you could be an

intercessor and stand in the gap. But I'm going to

pray because I sense God wants to loosen some stuff

up today so we can hear better, so we can

smell better, so we can digest better, so we can

walk better, so we can so our body can function better.

And church, if you're not standing, that's that's fine. But

would you reach out your hands to somebody who is standing?

Would you reach out? Look? Look around, and we're going

to pray. We're going to pray as church together. We're

going to pray as church together. Father, your word says

that you send your on Christ to pay the price

for us in and for our sickness. And so Father,

I am, and your word says by his stripes. We

are healed, and so, Father God, I'm praying right now

for a cleansing, for a washing, for a releasing. Father,

would you unblock that which is blocked? Lord? Would you

do it gently? But Lord? Would you do it? Lord?

Would you release blockage? Would you release things that have

been causing pain? Lord? Would you release things that have

stopped taste and smell happening and even hearing happening? Lord,

loosen stuff up? Lord God, we pray in Jesus's mighty name. Amen,

shah back o, cuty shoe, curd ym sheep. Amen. Let's

just sit for a moment. There's one other thing I

wanted to do. I sense that there was a reason

sometimes we don't hear because we're discouraged. And I just

want to ask you, are you weary? I had a

picture of people with their hands down, you know, when

somebody tries to give you something and your hands are full,

or that they're heavy and you can't lift your hands

to take hold of something. I'm going to ask those

people who and again I'm going to stand here. Who's

who is heavy hearted? Heavy handed? You're just you know, discouraged.

Would you stand where you are it's not a criticism,

it's not it's just saying, Lord, this is where I'm

at right now, not where I plan to start with

his sermon at all. But if you're discouraged right now, well,

and what I'm going to ask people to do, and

I want to get permission from the people who are standing,

but I'm going to ask some people to come and

stand and lift that once one person's hands. So anybody

who's standing right now, I'll give you just a few

more minutes, a few more seconds to stand. So we've

got all the people who are discouraged who need to

be encouraged by I'm going to ask Church that we

go and we find someone whose hand is down, who's

standing up, and we lift up one of their hands.

We lift up one of their hands. So if people

need to move, that's fine, just to just lift up

somebody's hand who's standing right now. Because we're not doing

this alone. God helps us, but Church, we can help

one another. So Father, I pray for a release of encouragement.

I pray for a spirit of encouragement to fall upon

us right now for Lord, for those who stood and said, Lord,

I can't do it, I can't do it. I need encouragement. Father,

I pray that hands would be lifted up right now,

lift it up high. But it's not just a physical thing.

It's a spiritual thing too. Lord, would you lift the

heaviness under which people are? Would you blow away the

dark clouds that are looming over certain people? Lord God Father,

would you let the freshness of your presence flow through

them and in them? Lord God Father, I pray that

strength would return to heavy hands. Father. I pray that

a skipping step would join to heavy feet. Father, I

pray that a heart would be lifted and minds would

be cleared. We pray that in your mighty name, let

it be, Lord God. We pray in Jesus name. Shipkadi

simac Amen. Okay, please take your seats now. I only

did that because I just sense the Father said, I

want people to hear this morning celebration service the end

of November. We've been looking at making a difference, and

today I want to keep something really simple. Heaven is

not far away, and I just sensed that Heaven God

wants to touch earth. We we we're heading towards advent.

We're heading towards Emmanuel God with us. The promise of

Christ coming to earth. God came down and touched earth.

He sent his son. So let's open our hearts, let's

open our minds to the expert dictations of what God

wants to speak to us and through us. The greatest

moment of Heaven ever touching earth. Maybe is echoed in

John one fourteen. And the Word became flesh and dwelt

among us. We have seen his glory. Glory is only

the son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

God didn't stand from a distance and say hello, I'm here.

He didn't do that. He dwelt among us. He stepped

into the dust and the struggle of this world, and

he walked on this earth. People have been healed when

Jesus was there. The oppressed was set free, outcasts were welcomed,

sin was forgiven. Peter described Christ's ministry like this in Acts,

Chapter ten, verse thirty eight. God anointed Jesus, the son

of God of Nazareth, with the Holy Spirit and with power.

He went to a ouur and doing good and healing

all those who are under the power of the evil One.

Because God was with him. Where Jesus is, there's an

atmosphere of Heaven. Sometimes we touch it in church. Sometimes

we touch it in our in our moments when we

press in and we say, Lord, I need Geneira. Sometimes

we feel a long way from God, and he says,

take a step closer, Take a step closer, take a

step closer, because who moved? Who moved? Do you know?

Most of the time it's us. Christ lives in us,

which means Heaven still has feet. Paul talked about putting

on the armor and its feet shod with the readiness

of the Gospel of Peace. Heaven touches us as his

kingdom comes. We pray that in the Lord's prayer, your

Kingdom come. Jesus didn't just talk about heaven. He declared

the Kingdom. The Kingdom is at hand Matthew four, verse seventeen.

Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near, near,

close at hand, that far away you can just reach out,

and He's that close to you, as we know. In

Matthew it talks about the Lord's pread. Jesus taught us

to pray our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name,

Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, where on earth

as it is in heaven. This isn't a hopeful prayer.

This is a commissioning prayer. This is God saying, come on,

I want to be part of your world where God's

kingdom is. Forgiveness replaces resentment. Are you any good at forgiving?

I'm not. Sometimes somebody pulls out in front of me.

Peace replaces fear, Justice overturns oppression. Hope arises in despair.

The lost are found. The values of Heaven entrupt our world,

interrupt our lives, entrupt this earth. Heaven touches earth through

you and me, Here's people. Paul reveals the kingdom of

God in Colossians one twenty seven. He says, Christ, in you,

the hope of glory carries led us to a place

this morning in worship, say hope, hope, hope, hope. It

is something we need more of. Has anybody in the

room got enough hope? Have you got a bank account

ful of hope that you could lend me some or

lend to somebody else? You know, we all need hope.

Christ means heaven at work through you. We carry Heaven

into our classrooms, into the boardroom, into kitchens, into zoom calls,

into coffee shops, into difficult conversations. Maybe even into unexpected interruptions.

Let this scripture. Let me speak this scripture over you.

In two Corinthians five twenty, we are therefore Christ's ambassadors,

as though God were making his appeal through us. We

don't represent ourselves, we represent him. Heaven touches earth. When

we choose to live life differently. The semon on the

mount tells us this as we live out our daily lives.

In Matthew five fourteen to sixteen, you are the lights

of the world. A town built on a hill cannot

be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp but or

put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on

a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the

same way. So let your light shine before others, that

they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father

in heaven. I'd like to make some observations about this

light is visible. You see it. You can't ignore light it.

If you ever woke, if you woke up last night

in the middle and you wanted to maybe go to

another room or do something, you might have turned a

light on, or you might have fumbled through your toes,

or you might have guessed I know where everything is.

For those parents, in the room. Who've ever wrestled with

lego on the floor in unexpected places. It's a painful

thing to stand on, but light shines through us. Light

is light is visible, but light is also loud. You

ever sat in darkness for a while. I've told many

stories about sitting in darkness before now I'm not going

to repeat those. But when somebody turns the light on,

we're startled as our our eyes get adjusted to the brightness,

and sometimes it takes a while, but Heaven shines through

when we show kindness to others, when we extend forgiveness

to our friends and to those who need forgiving, when

we serve gently and quietly, when we hold our line

and we're men and women of integrity, when we listen

with empathy, when we walk humbly. I want to say

thank you to all of you, those listening online, those

in the room. I just want to day to say,

thank you for doing what you do, thank you for

saying what you say. Thank you for being the encourager,

thank you for being the helping hand. Thank you for

being the caring mum or dad. Thank you for being

who you've called God's called you to be speaking truth

graciously listening with empathy our lives. Just give a small

glimpse of what heaven is like. And I want more,

don't you? Don't we want a little bit more peace

in our world. Wouldn't you like a little bit more

hope in your life? Wouldn't you like to be encouraged

more regularly? Heaven touches Earth through us, but also through

God's Holy Spirit. Pentecost is the turning point when Heaven

no longer stays the Holy Spirit no longer stays in Heaven,

but visits us in his presence. Acts Chapter two, verses

one to four. When the day of Pentecost derived, they

were all together in one place, and suddenly there was

a heavenly sound with a mighty rushing wind, and it

filled the entire house where they were sitting, and divided

tongues of fire appeared on them and rested on each

one of them, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to be people who will

do extraordinary things. Let me break that word down. Extra

ordinary thing things. Okay, sometimes they're ordinary things, but they're

done in amazing ways. Sometimes somebody will know something they

shouldn't know because God's revealed it to them through a

gift of prophecy or a word of knowledge. Sometimes a

gift of healing will be released, and something that shouldn't

happen in the natural happens because it's super natural. Heaven

breaks in when we welcome the Holy Spirit. So do

we want Heaven to touch earth today? Do we want

Heaven to touch earth in this place? Do you want

Heaven to touch your workplace, your home, your street, your family.

People ask these kind of questions because our community is

filled with people. Maybe some of you are asking us

these questions. Is their hope for me? Does anybody even

notice me? I'm sure that's true for some people in

the room, for some people listening, sometimes you feel nobody

even notices you or notices the work that you do.

There's some beautiful videos and I thought I was going

to show one of them, and I thought, no, it

will probably spoil the spirit of the moment. But lots

of videos on YouTube of when mum doesn't do what

mum did, or dad doesn't do what dad did, and

the child comes home and the place is a mess

and there's no dinner on the table, and the bed

isn't made, and all those kind of things that we

do as parents or as family, and the child goes

what's going on? They hadn't noticed the things that mum, dad, granddad, grandma,

aunty uncle did for them, And we can so easily

miss the things that other people do. Some people are

living with pain where the physical pain, emotional pain, spiritual pain,

and they want to understand some of the purpose of that.

And some of us are even crying out, God, do

you even care? Well? How can we answer these questions?

How can we respond to them? Luke four eighteen and

nineteen gives us a glimpse. The spirit of the Lord

is upon me. This is but I want to declare

this over us. So let me read it first, and

then we're going to the spirit of the Lord is

upon me because he's anointed me to proclaim good news

to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty

to the captives and the recovering of sights of the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to

proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Now, I want

us to read that again together, and you're going to

read it for you, because Heaven touches Earth through you

and me as we are open to His Holy spirit,

and we do what the Father asked us to do.

And this is just a great echo of that. So

let's read that together. The spirit of the Lord is

on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good

news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim

freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of

the Lord's favor. Anybody wants some of the Lord's favor.

We're heading towards the end of twenty to twenty five,

We're heading towards twenty twenty six. I'm not waiting for revival.

I want to be a carrier of revival. Do you

Heaven touching earth every day, Heaven touching earth in unexpected places,

Hope coming where there is no hope, Light coming where

there is darkness. And so I want to close with

this kind of thought. And it's in Revelation twenty one,

verses three to five. It says this, behold, the dwelling

place of God is with man. He will dwell with them,

and they will be his people. He will wait away

every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no

more neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain

anymore a glimpse of heaven. Heaven will ultimately fill this earth,

a new heaven and a new earth. That's the promise

in the word. God's plan is not just to us,

it's through us. And so as we pray the Lord's prayer,

your Kingdom come, your will be done, I want to

ask the question, where your kingdom come, your will be done?

And I'm going to ask you to fill it in

for yourself. I had to go at doing this, But

your kingdom come, your will be done? Where would you

just pause? I'm going to allow sixty seconds of silence

for you to think about what you might put in there.

Your Kingdom come and your will be done. And so

I'm going to pray a prayer and I'm going to

leave some space for you to say whatever you want

to say. But Lord, I pray that today would be

a new season, a new step, a new step in

the journey, Lord, God of Heaven, touching us, in us

and through us. Father, I pray that you'd fill us

with your spirit today. But Father God, I pray that Lord,

you'd help heaven to touch earth. Lord, help us to

be your hands and your feet. Help us to be

your ears and your eyes. Help us to be your

heart and your touch. Help us to be your voice

in times of choirt, in times still, but also in

times of need. Help us to be your provider. Lord,

we pray, and let your kingdom come, and your will

be done in these places that we name before you. Now.

And so we say, Lord, let your kingdom come and

your will be done in Running me Christian Fellowship, in Egham,

in Running Mead, in Surrey, in the United Kingdom. Let

your kingdom come, and your will be done. In our

homes and in our workplaces. Let your kingdom come, and

your will be done in our hearts and in our actions.

Let your kingdom come, and your will be done in

our lives and in our conversations. Let your kingdom come,

and your will be done on earth as it is

in heaven. Hear us. We pray, O God, in Jesus' name. Amen,