10th April 2022 All Age Service - Dave Food - The Promise of the King - Resurrection Power

I guess as we got east of this month, you wouldn't be surprised we're

talking about resurrection. But I want to start by really talking about something that

I'm doing a bit back to front this morning. I'm doing it a bit

back to front because today's Palm Sunday in tradition, and what was Palm Sunday

about. Well, we'll read about that in a moment in scripture, but

let me just start by saying, I want to kind of build the story

backwards, because we know the story. We're not like the disciples who were

with Jesus and we're there at the triumphal entry into Jesus into Jerusalem and laying

down palms. We're not like them because then they had the week of highs

and lows, and then Jesus was crucified on Friday, and then he rose

again on Sunday. But we know that all now in retrospection, and so

as Jesus he's entering in, we can now look slightly differently because Palm Sunday

in some sense people going oh, yeah, he's the king, is he?

Oh yeah, well he's not the king we were expecting. So we'll

lay down palm and it was. You know, he came on a donkey.

He didn't come in any grand journey. He came into the town.

But we know differently because we know the complete stories. So when we look

at Jesus coming into Jerusalem, now we're actually looking at him as the king

coming into Jerusalem, and we know what's going to happen, so we know

the end from the beginning. I don't know whether you're the kind of person

who, when you get a book, whether you turn to the last chapter

and read the last couple of pages and then decide whether it's really worth reading,

and then if it is, then you read it all the way through,

or whether you want to save that to the end. So I don't

want any I don't want to spoil the surprise, But in some ways I'm

spoiling the surprise because Jesus rose again. He was welcomed into the city as

a king, and they laid down palms. But then a few days later

they were saying crucify him, crucify. He went from this it is welcome

to a place where actually he wasn't so welcome, because the promise of the

king is all of that story in one Jesus knew he was going to be

faithful to his father. He was going to do his father's will. And

so let's look at Philippians Chapter three, Verses ten and eleven, because I

want to talk about the power of resurrection that I may know him, and

the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his

death, if by any means I attained to the resurrection from the dead power

of resurrection. I find this time of year completely fascinating as I take as

I go in him out in my garden every morning to take the dog out,

I see new things breaking forth and see things that were looking dead.

And there are still things in our garden that look dead. And I can't

you know, I'm not the gardener. Judy is the gardener. You can

tell your horror stories of things that I shouldn't have done. That I pulled

up things that weren't weeds, and then I left weeds in that were weeds.

So please don't take any of this is gardening recommendation. But what I

do is I look at some of these plants and think, oh, you're

a bit sad. I wonder if I need to check with Julia and see

whether we need to pull that plant out. And then a couple of days

later, I can just see some glimpses of a little bit of green.

I think, no, you're not dead. You looked dead, but you're

not. Inside you is life. And as we get to the place where

life is bursting forth, we can say life is here. Life is here

in all its fullness. So life is here or all its fullness is the

promise of the King, because he promises eternal life. He doesn't just promise

a nice life. He promises an eternal life. And so let's go on

to look at a scripture that I think helps us to think about that resurrection,

and it's from Jeremiah chapter nine, verses twenty three and twenty four.

Thus says the Lord. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,

Let not the mighty man glory in his mind, nor let the rich man

glory in his riches. But let's him who glory's glory in this that he

understands and knows me that I am the Lord exercising loving kindness, judgment and

righteousness in the earth. For in these ideal light, says the Lord,

let's focus on God, and God sent his son, Jesus to this earth

for you and for me. It wasn't mission impossible. And so as he

sent Jesus, he sent Jesus with purpose because sin gets in the way between

us and God. And so as we grasp this, this truth that we

want to glorify God. It's part of our dna, it's part of how

we were made. God wants fellowship with us, and as he wants fellowship

with us, he does it through our relationship in Christ. God desires that

everyone would know him. He sent his son Jesus for all of us,

not just the one or two, but all of us if we would but

know him. So let's click on then, thanks, thank you. In

John seventeen, verse three, what is this that I've been talking about.

What I've been talking about now, this is eternal life that they know you

the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Jesus was

not an accident, He was not an afterthought. God sent his one only

son because he wanted to make a way to him. And Jesus says,

I am the Way, the truth and the life. And that's one of

the things that I can say, the truth and the life Jesus in all

his fullness. He's the word, the truth. He's the spirit that's life,

and he is the way, the way to the Father. And knowing

Jesus truly matters. Knowing Jesus truly transforms us. It's not about how good

we are, It's about how good he was and is, as he died

and rose again. It's one of those things I often struggle with is when

we talk about Jesus, because he died, we kind of say, well,

he is, but he rose again, so he was, and sorry

he died, so he was here on earth, but then he rose again,

so he is. That we might know eternal life and eternal life in

all its fullness. Thank you ed in Two Corinthians, chapter four a few

verses here from the end of chapter four into chapter five. Therefore we do

not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing. Yet the inward

man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is

but a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight

of glory. While we do not look at the things which are seen,

but are the things that are not seen. For the things that are seen

are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal. For in

this we grown earnestly, desiring to be clothed with our habitation, which is

from heaven. If indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found

maked. For we who are in this tent grown being burned, not because

we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed

up in life. For we know that if our earthly house, this tent,

is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made

with hands, eternal in the heavens, God created you. I don't know

how you look at yourself in the mirror in the morning. And don't mean

that. I don't mean that I don't know how you look at yourself in

the mirror in the morning. I mean I don't know how you look at

yourself in the mirror in the morning. Some of us probably kind of,

oh, where's that wrinkle come from? I didn't see that yesterday? Or

where I haven't seen that, And we're kind of looking at all the blemishes.

God doesn't look at our blemishes. He looks at us and goes,

do you know you can get algorithms now that smooth out audio wrinkles. Did

you know that you can be on zoom? I don't know whether you have

you ever looked at someone on zoom or teams recently thought they're looking younger than

they look before. It's probably an algorithm. You can switch on an algorithm

and you can smooth out audio wrinkles. But here's the thing. When you

look at yourself in the mirror, there's no algorithm anymore. You only see

the reality. But God looks at us, and he looks at us,

and he receives us as we are, blemishes and all I know some of

us probably kind of want to make things a bit better. Yea, God

loves us despite our blemishes. God loves us despite our failings. And so

this tent, this body, this person comes to God as we are.

But we want to glorify him. So we want to be filled with what

his presence. We want to be filled with his love. We want that

to be manifest. I don't know whether you've washed your car recently. I'm

just thinking of this because it's something that I remember. Last time I washed

my car, I went to the bucket to clean my car, and the

sponge that was in there was crusty and dry, hadn't been used for months,

you know, And when he squeezed it, nothing happened. In fact,

it kind of cracked a little bit. And it was only when the

bucket was full of water. And then I put that. And the first

thing I did when I put the sponge on top of the water is it

just floated. And there's as it yielded to the water, the water soaked

in there. As the water soaked in, the sponge sunk. And as

the sponge sunk, it started to fill up with water. So when I

took it out and squeezed it again, now what came out was water.

And I want to ask us, Okay, if we're dry and crusty,

I'm not making comments again, I'm not looking in your mirror. You're doing

that. But if we feel a little dry and crusty, maybe we just

need to lie in his presence and allow his presence to soak in us.

And as that soaks in, then here's the thing. If we're full of

his presence, then when we come to meet a need, when we come

to meet someone who asks us of something, we get a little squeezed and

when we get a little squeezed, what comes out? Is it a bit

of frustration and anger or is it a bit of God's love? Because it

depends what we're full of. And here's the thing again, sticking with that

image of the sponge. If I've squeezed it out and used all the water

in it, what do I need to do? I need to do put

it back into the bucket of water to allow it to soak up and fill

up again. If we are feeling dry, if we are feeling empty,

then one of the things that we need to do is to soak ourselves again

in God's presence and allow ourselves to be filled up. It can happen in

a moment, it can take time sometimes, but it will happen if we

allow it, if we allow God to come and fill us. And so

that's really for we know, Sorry, just go back to previous one.

For we know, for we who are in this tent, for we know

that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a

building from God. We're not mistakes. And I think I've spoken to a

couple of people in the last couple of weeks who have used phrases like I

wasn't intended. Ok why do you use those words? Well, what my

parents hadn't planned me I was a surprise or a mistake. And I said,

no, let's not use those words. Let's not use those words.

Okay, you want of human planning, but God created you live in the

fullness of that truth. Now, thanks, and so now we move on

to look at Philippians. Some verses from earlier on in Philippians. But what

things were to gain me? These? I have counted loss for Christ.

Yet indeed I also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of

Christ. Uses my Lord, for who might have suffered the loss of all

things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ. Judy's holding

up at Easter egg to the children and saying, come to church on Sunday,

We'd love to see you, you know, very real. Try you

might think that's inappropriate. I do it every Sunday. I do it every

Sunday. I encourage people with some chocolate. But do you know what,

I really don't care why people come to church in the first place. You

know, there were young people who I know who are happily married and going

on with Christ. Now who originally came to church because of a girl they

liked, and vice versa. You know they're interested in they came because of

somebody else, They came because of you, They became of your friendship.

I'm sure there are people in this room who came to church for the first

time because of a friendship, because of an invitation. And in one sense,

I don't care how God gets you here, how God gets you to

a place where you go. Do you know what, God, I want

to get to know you more, because that's exactly what church is all about.

I was just putting out some forms for the council this week and they

said, you know, do you have subscriptions as a church? As an

organization? I was thinking, do we have subscriptions? Well, no,

it's a free will offering. It's part of tis an offering. And do

you have to sign up something to be a member? All these questions which

just showed me they didn't understand church, and they weren't asking about church.

It wasn't They were just asking about us as an organization. And it made

me realize again what is our heart about? Our heart is actually for the

people who aren't in here. Really, I mean, church is gathering and

encouraging and meeting together and worshiping together. But it's also modeling that God is

reaching out to others and he wants to reach out through you and me however

he can. So please, don't hide your life, don't put it under

the bowl. Allow your light to shine. As it said in Isaiah.

As I read at the beginning of the service, and let's read on then

as we read it, thank you Philippians three nine. And be found in

him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but

that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by

faith. It's not about how good we are. And I think I need

to because sometimes we said, well, I'm not good enough. I'm sorry.

Well, and I've had people say this to me. Sometimes they've said

to me, Dave, it's all you know, it's all right for you,

but let me get my life sorted out and then I'll come to church.

I said, if you really think everybody in church has got their life

sorted out, you've probably got it a misunderstanding. I'm sure we'd all put

our hands up somewhere. Soelf, we're still working progress. There's still something

that I'm being worked on. There's something that I'm not proud of, something

that you'd probably want to kind of hide behind your back, And immediately I

just put my hand behind my back. I was thinking. I remembered myself

as a small child and when my mum said, what have you got in

your hands? And there would be my hand bey armor back. Maybe I'd

just eaten some chocolate I shouldn't have eaten, and there was chocolate on my

fingers, you know. And we do the same with God. Sometimes God

speaks to us and says, how are you, Dave, And immediately the

hand goes behind the back, and there's something there that I don't really want

to show him I'm not proud of. But God loves all of us.

Doesn't love what we do sometimes, but He loves all of us. And

so one of the things that I want to do is to believe that God

comes in power, and believe that God comes in power today. So I

really would love to take an opportunity to pray. I want to pray today

for healing. If there's someone who's I want to pray for new life.

Maybe there's someone in your family, someone you know who needs a breakthrough.

One of the conversations. I'm sure you've had it too. Is that recently,

very recently, or you know, over the last two years, people

say, well, I'm stuck. Things haven't changed for a long time.

I believe God wants to bring a breakthrough and a change. So we're going

to pray. But what I'm going to ask us to do. For those

who are online, if you need prayer, then reach out to us,

let us know. But for those in the room, I'm going to pause

and give a bit of space. We're going to play a little bit of

music and then if you need prayer, would you stand where you are?

If you need healing, if you need or you're standing in the gap,

you're interceding someone for new life for someone, or if you need to see

changed, then I'm going to ask you to stand. And we're not going

to come and gather around you, but we are going to reach out towards

you. So let's give space for prayer right now. I'm gonna take on

the next one, the next one. M h m, hmmm h m.

I'm just going to give you some space and quietness. If you fear

you need prayer today, going to ask you to stand. I'm gonna play

some music for a minute or so. I'm not going to ask you what

it is. God knows. We are going to engage in prayer today.

H m hm H. And I'm believe in that people will be healed today.

I'm believing that something will change in some circumstances. Doors will open that

have been locked and shut. Circumstances will change. H. And I'm believing

that there will be testimonies of new life too. So if you need prayer

just to payment for a couple of moments, a couple more seconds, please

stand, then we're going to pray for you right now. M as we're

sitting in His presence this morning, than to you for those who aren't standing,

For those who are standing, keep your eyes closed. For those who

aren't, maybe you just look around and see someone who's close to you and

reach out your hand towards them and start praying. Start praying for breakthrough,

start praying for change, start praying for healing, Start praying for a cork

to come out of a bottle. I do want to give space today for

God to speak. So if as we're praying, you feel there's something you

want to share, you want to speak forth you want to proclaim, you

want to in faith share because maybe it's a word of prophecy, word of

knowledge, words of wisdom. These things can flow even in church today.

So look around, reach your hands out to somebody else, and let's pray.

Let's pray, let's pray, Let's pray. Shimek gatia, statia,

shee macacatia, she catti in se mac gattia, see catto, she pacagati

and maccatto, she cattle, sheep pacagati and macgetti, and shepetia capetti and

ma cacktio, she cackettio, she cutti, she mac gottia, see cattio,

she macgatia, she cattio, she ma cackettio, she maccata, she

catia, sheep pot cargatio, shee catto, she macacatio, she mactetti.

Holy Spirit, You're welcome here. Moving hearts, moving lives, moving circumstances,

moving situations. The Father, God move, We pray today. Father,

I speak life where circulation has been constricted. Father, I speak liberty

and freedom, where nerves have been crushed, where blood flow has been constrained.

Father, I speak life, life to relationship, life to family,

relationship, like to connection has been broken. Father, I see you doing

a supernatural soldier. A wire that was broken is now restored. Father,

Let your power flow, Let your connection happen, Let your release come.

Father. Above all, we pray for those who don't yet know you,

Father, those who are on our hearts this morning, those who are close

to us, but Lord, are not close to you. Father. Would

you help us to be the bridge. Would you help us to be the

bridge that would connect and hold their hand in your hand? Father, would

you help something of the truth and the life of what we know of you

flow into their circumstances and their situations. Let your light shine into their circumstances.

Let your hope come again to hopeless situations. Shall Mucadia shit she bucker?

And so Father, God, as we've prayed for those who are standing,

we pray for those who are standing at home right now. We pray

for those Lord we don't know but you do. And so for those who

are putting the hand up, who are reaching out a hand and saying help.

Lord, we pray right now for them. Lord, we pray that

you'd speak to them. Lord, you'd fill them right now with the power

of your presence. Father, let your Holy Spirit. Fill them from the

tips of their toes to the tips of their fingers, to the top of

their head. Fill them up, Oh God, anoint them and fill them,

Lord with your power, by the change their situation. Lord, where

they're down, lift them up, where they're hidden. Bring them forth,

whether where they're walking with a limp, let them walk with a skip and

a dance. And so, Father, God of pray for all of us

today, not just those who were sick and those who had a need,

but all of us. Lord God Father, would you cause your spirit to

fill us afresh even right now, Fill us afresh with your presence, Fill

us afresh with your purpose. Father, I pray this Easter week would be

a week of fresh revelation for each one of us. Lord, we'd see

beyond the cross, we'd see beyond the tomb to the empty tomb. And

Jesus Christ is the hope of glory in our hearts. Hosanna, Hosanna.

Welcome, King of Kings, Welcome, Lord of Lords. We lay down

our lives before you as they laid down palms on palms, and we say,

welcome, King of Kings, Welcome, Lord of Lords, Welcome,

Son of God. Jesus Christ, my saving and I do want to say,

he said, does anybody feel now they need something to share if they've

got a testimony, but maybe also they've got a scripture they want to share.

Read to us this morning. Maybe there's a picture that you had as

we were praying. Church is about body ministry. It's not about Dave at

the front or anybody else. It's about the church being the church filled with

His spirit doing what He's called us to do. The Sheriff's story for work,

and I work with a young guy who he wanted to move into our

team and he was working in a non technical role and to move into our

team basically with me. So I'm going to turn around. My friend to

Seecia to move into our team basically meant a real blessing for his career.

Okay, moving forward. He was looking forward to him. What happened is

that COVID came along. He was made put on a fellow scheme a lot

of people made redundant. Was like his dream job was just in touch and

that was kind of taken away. But they didn't make him redundant. They

brought him back. And even then they had to hang on to him with

his team for a couple of year, for a month or so. Unless

young man, he's kind of growing up in a Christian environment. But I

don't know if born again yet, but I'm kind of like at the end

of my career, he's at the beginning. And I've been sort of sharing

knowledge with him throughout that time. And he's been working with my team for

two years now, and I've just been observing throughout how incredibly the Lord has

been leading him in the way that he's been learning and developing him as an

individual and bringing him opportunities to learn thing. Because it's been absolutely amazing,

and many many times I've said to him, you can actually see how somebody,

you know, the Lord is choreographing your career. It's just extraordinary.

And it's just gone on like this for two years. I don't know if

he's born again yet, but it's an incredible testamenty what happened last week.

I was explaining this kind of technical concept in this idea, and the very

next day something happened that meant he had an opportunity to learn less skill,

and that happened again, that happens again and again. I point out another

time when I'd explained something, it was absolutely what he needed to know for

something that happened the next day. But I didn't know. He didn't know.

I work in a very reactive job. I'd like him customer ser kind

of like your customer service time row. You never know what's going to happen

next day, Like Forrest gum in a box of chocolates. You never know

what you're going to get every day. It's it's it's so much fun.

And I said to him, man, do you know how many days have

you worked here? Like how many working I've been in to you? Okay,

so yea four hundred and four hundred working days. Just think about I

either think of two cases. Something happens one day, you get the idea.

The very next day you actually see that in action for the very first

time. It's never happened with or what's the quality four hundred, and then

the other time it's one in four hundred. I said, do the maths

if funding that I did, somebody with the maths first to work that out.

Okay, that's just incredible dance revenues care for this individual to just be

able to watch it, it's really extraordinary. I think for me, I

used to make the mistake of work. I think it's something we can kind

of do as Christians, is that I would sort of think about church as

my spiritual place, and I think as workers. It took me like thirty

years to get my head around the idea that God was actually with me while

it's at work, and that's absolutely crazy, but it's just such a joy

to, you know, see how the WorldCast for people in that way.

Thanks. Sorry, Okay, anybody else not working technology today, Okay,

what happened? That's very interesting. Okay, that means the stream stopped as

well. Mhm. Okay, let's pray other. I pray for all those

who've been watching today, Not those in the room, but all those who

been watching. Father, would you leave a deposit with them, Not even

as even as it's closed down, for whatever reason it's closed down, Father,

we want you to be glorified in the midst of this. So,

Father, whatever seeds have been sown, whatever doors have opened, whatever things

have happened, Father, I pray that Lord God, there would be fruit.

John ten Ten says the enemy comes to only to steal, to kill,

and destroy, And so when you see patterns of repeating things getting stolen

in your world. When you see patterns of things where things are dying a

regular basis, just have a think. Because the enemy wants to attack where

it's worth attacking. M And so far the God, we lift up those

who've been watching this one, and we ask Lord that every seed would be

pressed out and watered and Lord and burst forth. Even as Simon shared his

story of work, I was reminded of the scripture that says the fields are

white unto harvest. Pray for the harvest, no pray for the workers.

And that's not about a job. That's about there's people who are getting to

know God through his creation, through witness, through circumstances, through miraculous intervention,

through discipleship, through a whole range. People are getting to know more

about God. And actually the harvest is rightening right in the midst of us.

Even that which we thought was dead, life is coming forth. I

know there are people in this room who took years to come to a place

where they start turned to God. Didn't just happen like that. It took

time. And so far, the girl, we pray that you'd move in

their lives, you'd move in their circumstances and be glorified. We pray in

Jesus. Thank Amen. No I have no place since you run out about three sid