5th December 2021 - Communion Service - Dave Food Expectation

Life, for he is a pastor for us, and he has been guiding

us. Thank you for his dedication for the time, Lord, that he

puts in order to get all things together and to guide us through this morning

all what he has God in his heart. From you, Lord, may

your Holy Spirit be the one who guides him and empowers him to release with

power what you have placed in his heart. This morning, Lord, through

the world that we are going to listen, that we may be strengthened and

perhaps some people touched and renewed. And Lord, we pray for your Holy

Spirit to do what you have to do. Every time that your word is

shared, things happen. Lord, Life overcomes darkness. So this morning we

just pray that that word will bring light to all those who will be listening

and will be a blessing and a transforming life session. In the name of

Jesus, we pray, I mean day morning, Thank you. Let's see

anybody excited about Christmas. There's a few chuers in the room. Anybody excited

about Christmas? Yes, I'll tell you what. There are little children who

are excited about Christmas. There's an expectation in the air. There's an expectation

in the air, and this is the time to talk about expectation. You

know, I don't know what you're like, but right now I would say,

if I'm honest with you, my expectations are down just because of life,

just because of stuff, just because the things happening. And you know,

if you measure my expectation monitor, if I've got such a thing,

and maybe you've got such a thing, mine's probably pretty low right now because

I'm not thinking far ahead. I'm not thinking big picture. I'm not thinking,

Wow, something great's going to happen. I'm just looking a few steps

ahead. And the psalms say this, Some one hundred and twenty one says

this, lift my eyes to look to the hills from whence cometh my help?

Do you know there's something about lifting our eyes up that is really powerful?

There is something empowering to looking further ahead. If you've ever noticed someone

who becomes very uncertain about their walk, you know, somebody's broken a leg,

somebody of an older generation who starts to become uncertain on their feet.

They start to look at their feet. They're looking at their feet, and

they're maybe looking six inches or a foot ahead. No more. The head

is down and they're looking at their feet, thinking, I don't want to

trip over a paving slab or a curve or something on the ground. So

they're looking at their feet. And you can see videos where people who are

walking with their head down walk into lampposts and these kind of things. You

might laugh at it. I guess if it's somebody who's just on their mobile

phone, you think, serve them right, they should be paying more attention

to the world. But for someone who's maybe an older generation, is less

stable on their feet, actually that's just the way they live. They're just

looking a few feet ahead. Do you know what, Sometimes we can be

so much more ready for something. If you've ever seen somebody walking at speed

down a pavement and somebody shuffling along, there is a moment when you think

there's going to be a crash, and you don't know who's going to get

the biggest surprise, the person who's walking quickly or the person who's walking slowly,

who's focusing quite locally. I just will to encourage us all to lift

our eyes up a little bit, lift them up and see further ahead,

and just have some expectation, because expectation comes from looking forward. If I

ask you to be expected and drive your car and look in the rear view

mirror, firstly you tell me that was crazy only looking in the rear view

mirror. But there would be no expectation either. It would always be what

it would be after the event. And you know what it's like when we

do things after the event. We're always playing catch up. We're always having

to justify who we are and what we're doing. So I want to talk

about expectation. Now, why would I talk about expectation. Well, here's

the scripture that I U. I might click through this sign just to keep

the flow on into that's all right? From Luke, chapter one, verses

twenty six to thirty eight. Now, in the sixth month, the angel

Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee called Nazareth, to a

virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the House of David.

The virgin's name was Mary, and having rejoiced in, the Angel said to

her, rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you. Blessed

are you among women. But when she saw him, she was troubled at

his saying and considered what manner of greeting. This was. Then the Angel

said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found

favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring

forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He will be greater

and will be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God will

give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the

house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

Then Mary said to the Angel, how can this be, since I do

not know a man. And the Angel answers and said to her, the

Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow

you. Therefore, also that holy one who is to be born will be

called the Son of God. Now, indeed, Elizabeth, your relative,

has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is now the

sixth month of her who was called Baron. For with God, nothing is

impossible. Then Mary said, behold, the maid servant of the Laws,

let it be to me according to your words. And the Angel departed from

her. I don't know what you just this story I always find so fascinating.

There she was betrothed to be married, but she'd never been with a

man. We know what that means. And now the angel's telling her,

you're going to be pregnant. Now, often when people are looking forward to

having children, there's an expectation trying to have children that you know that's the

intention. But she wasn't ready for that yet. She wasn't yet married,

hadn't been with a man. And then the angel comes and says, you're

going to bear a sand How can this be? Because the Holy Spirit will

come upon you. Now. I don't know what kind of expectation you might

have had in these moments. Expectation is going to be pregnant before she's married.

H that's not good. Then expectation, I'm going to be pregnant,

I'm going to be carrying a child. And then this is a gift from

God, the revelation. I can just imagine her chin being on the floor,

going, I don't know whether I don't know whether you've ever met an

angel. Do you know what? Most of what I read in scripture,

whenever there's an angel, there's a chin on the floor. There's people who

struggle to say, we don't know what and what's the Angel's first response,

do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. Do you know? And

I think God reminds us of this season two to say, and I want

to say to each one, those listening, those listening later, those in

the room, do not be afraid. Let faith a rise today. Let

faith the rise in your spirit, Let faith the rise in your walk,

Let faith the rise in your expectation. For God is with us. I

say that again, God is with us, just like God was with Mary.

God is with us by his Holy Spirit. And she then says,

right at the end of that scripture, behold the mate. She recognized she

was going to be serving God in an amazing and incredible way. Let it

be according to your word. You have spoken, Let it be. So

now I think that's a real insight into faithfulness there. It's a real insight

into hearing God and saying, Okay, you've spoken God, let it be.

And I know I'm going to be in the middle of that because I'm

going to carry that child. How many times has God spoken to you and

you've kind of gone, yeah, I'd like to see that happen. But

could you've picked somebody else? Please? Could it be somebody else? Could

you bring ten other people to come and help me to do it? I

mean, just imagine if Mary had said, well, no, I don't

want to do it on my own. Can you bring ten others to do

this? Well? How does that work? I mean, I know God's

a miracle working God, but I can't work out that it was just one

precious lady who was given the gift to bear forth a son and call him

Jesus. So expectation and expectancy, let's click onto the next scripture, please,

Simon, thank you in Isiah forty three, verse nineteen, because this

was not something she'd experienced. It wasn't her second child or a third child.

She wasn't even yet marriage, she wasn't even thinking of I guess she

wasn't thinking about having children at that time. And I just want to say,

when God speaks, I want you to think about this particular scripture from

Isaiah forty three, verse nineteen. Behold, I will do a new thing.

Now it springs forth, shall you not know it? I will even

make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert where there was nothing,

there will now be something. Where there was no child, There will

be a child where there was desert, there will be springs in the desert.

Now. I don't know how many of the people who are listening today

have actually been deep into a desert. I hadn't, but I do know

from studying deserts when I was an undergraduate that if you go deep into the

desert, suddenly water becomes a very, very very important thing. Camels,

camels come into the Christmas story, don't they have You got camels out for

Christmas? Our leather camels come out and sit on the fireplace every Christmas,

and I guess they're associated with the wise men. We never managed to get

camels to the open air Nativity in egg And we managed to get lamas a

few times, which is kind of the closest thing we could get, but

we never got camels. But camels are known as ships of the desert.

And why because they have the ability to go without water for a long time.

They carry and they have the ability to go for a long time.

So water is precious in the desert. So when we read here in Isaiah,

I'm doing a new thing. Water will spring forth rivers, not just

a pond, not just an oasis, a river in a desert and If

you think this is crazy, then just go and look at rivers in deserts.

Type it into it Google search and find out and you will see when

it rains, you know, some of the most destructive forces in the world,

or when it rains in a desert, because it's so dry that the

water when it comes, just washing stuff away. And that's where waddies come

from, those deep channels that have been worn away by the rain. And

when it comes, and it comes very rarely, stuff springs forth out of

the ground. Where were those seeds? How did that happen? If you

watch the speeded up videos, He's just incredible. And so behold, I

do a new thing. And I want to declare this prophetically today. I

believe God's saying as we step into twenty twenty two, that God is going

to do a new thing. God is going to do a new thing for

you. But we've got to come with hearts of expectancy now if we don't

listen to God, and He's going to keep on knocking on our hearts saying

I've got something I want to tell you that I'm busy at the moment.

Sorry, God, can you come back later. Behold, I do a

new thing. Shall you not know it? Not just hear it? Shall

you not know it? Expectancy. When there's an expectant heart. When God

speaks, there's a real readiness. Let's go on to the next scripture.

In Matthew chapter nine, verses sixteen and seventeen, you'll get the theme of

where I'm going to with this. No one puts a piece of unshrunked cloth

on an old garment, for the patch pulls away at the garment and the

tear is made worse. Nor do they put a new wine into old wine

skins or else the wine skins break the wind, the wine is spilled,

and the wine skins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wine

skins, and both are preserved. If you want to put new wine in

old wine skins, you have to spend a lot of time sup putting oil

into the leather to loosen it up again. If you've ever tried to do

it, you might do this. As you step into January, you might

step into Okay, I'm going to do a little bit more exercise. I

put a few pounds on over the Christmas period, and you know, we

all do those new y resolution type things and we're going to go to the

gym, or we're going to keep a bit fitter in January. I'll tell

you what. The first few times you do that, you come out and

you go, oh, did I really do that? Why did I do

that? Because we haven't prepared ourselves. We haven't stretched and warmed up and

prepared our bodies for that new regime of exercise. I'm not saying don't do

it, but prepare for it. And so if we hear God saying I'm

going to do a new thing, we need to prepare ourselves. If you

sense this is for you, if you sense that twenty twenty two it's going

to be a place for new things, then prepare your heart. Firstly,

yes, Lord, I'm ready, whatever you want to say to me.

Prepare your mind. Well, okay. Our minds are just as inflexible as

our muscles. We can get stuck in tracks of thoughts and then a new

thought can come along at nine. No'm I can't work with that doesn't work

for me, thank you very much. We need to bring flex I think

it's called plasticity in the brain. That we bring a flexibleness to our thinking.

Our neural networks start to run differently. For anybody who's had a revelation,

and I'm not necessarily talking about a heavenly revelation, but you've had one

of those aha moments when you've gone, oh, if you watch some of

those amazing films and you suddenly realize how DNA works, or you suddenly realize

how things grow, or you've seen a baby in a scan in a womb.

I remember Julia telling me about how watching how babies in wombs respond to

the mother's smoking, and you know, they're literally a video of a child

in there in the womb, and then the woman inhales the smoke, and

that you see the child trying to get away in the womb, and that

just for me makes me even more passionate about saying I'm not a fan of

smoking. You know, just just look at it think ah. You know,

So that revelation, that aha moment changes my thinking. But sometimes new

thinking hits against old thinking and we have to adapt and we have to get

used to it. You know. Let me give you an example, as

we're talking about expectation when a new baby arrives in your household. For those

who've had children or those who've been aunts and uncles or grandparents. When a

new baby arrives, everything changes. It doesn't matter how much. I mean,

you've had nine months warning. You know it's on its way. You

know the bumpy is there, and you know it's coming, and you know

all the theories about babies, and you know how you maybe even go to

anti natal classes and do all that stuff. But then the first night,

what do we do? Is the baby crying because it's hungry? Is it?

Itsnapy? Changes what you know? Suddenly, you know, you see

these weary parents walking around with their eyes kind of heavy because they've struggled to

sleep. And so even though there's been nine months of preparation, even though

or maybe even longer and nine months of getting ready, they still have to

change their brains. They still have to change their thinking. It now becomes

a baby centered world, certainly for quite a few days. And that's why

I'm so grateful that there's paternity leave now. I think, I think it's

a great thing to have mums and dads involved in bringing up their children,

and particularly for dads to understand just how stressful night feeds are and those kind

of things. Behold, I do a new thing and if God says he's

going to do a new thing, let's get ready for it. Let's read

on about new things. Then as we read in some Yes, yes,

I'll just sum one hundred and forty four, I will sing a new song

to you, Oh God, on a half of ten strings, and I

will sing praises to you. David wrote one hundred and fifty songs. They're

in the Book of Psalms, and he was a great worshiper. A great

response to God is to burst forth in praise and worship when something new happens.

All I've spent a little time singing, and Judy has done a lot

more of it, singing to Eddie, you know, and you know John

and Sophie's little one, and he loves the singing. He gets a smile

on his face, and it's worth. It's worth even if you've got a

croaky boys, even if you feel like you're not singing very well, you

sing a little bit and this great, big smile appears on this little baby's

face, and you think, yes, I'll sing some more. I wonder

what God's like when we sing a new song. Do you think we get

just as big a bean from God? Have you sense God smiling upon you

as you sing a new song, as you respond to the new thing that

He's doing. We know, I think I've read it last Sunday or the

Sunday before last. You know, Mary's response was known as the Mary's Song.

You know, it's in even song traditional evening song in Anglican churches.

It's sung every Sunday evening. So are you ready to sing a new song?

Sing praises? Maybe with the strings, maybe with the drum, maybe

just on your own a cappella. But let's be ready to sing. Let's

think about some more new things too. As we go on to look at

Psalm forty verse three, Because where has that song come from? He has

put a new song in my mouth. Praise to you a God. Now

that song is not just a tune, it's words as well. When God

puts a song in our hearts, then let's burst forth and let it out.

There's something more about speaking and saying something. I've asked people. I've

asked a number of people in the last month or so whether they've done some

thinking about a particular Oh yes, I've done it. Up here, Dave,

I said, do you know what can you tell me about it,

or can you write it down? I've done the work, Dave, okay,

well tell me about it or write it down. Well, why if

I've done the work, what does it matter? I said, Well,

because as soon as you speak it out, it becomes something different. In

here, it's all soft and mushy. You kind of got a feeling,

you know, you know, if it said you know, what do you

feel about a special person in your life? Your mum, your dad,

husband, wife, child, daughter? What do you feel about? Well?

They know I love them. I showed them my life. But have

you said it? Have you spoken it out? What shape does it take?

Is it just one word? Son? I love you? Is it?

Daughter? You're the most precious child in my in my world. I

love you with all my heart. You know what is it? Speak it

out and see what comes out? Open your mouth and I will fill it.

Scripture says that, so when God puts a new song in our hearts,

let's let it out. Write it down, draw it if that's your

way of expression, Sing it if you want to, because you know what,

it becomes something more than just a mushy thought. It becomes And for

me, worship is something that's expressive. It's something that gets out there now.

It doesn't mean that you have to show it to other people. Scripture

talks about the religious folk, the sadducees, who kind of like to be

seen to be worshiping. Jesus told us in the Lord's Prayer, go into

your private room and pray. Sometimes if you want to go for it,

go into a private place and worship. Just go for it. Do you

know what some of my one to ones with God, private worship times when

I've just sung, I've been some of the most precious times I've ever had,

not in crowds of hundreds and thousands, but just me and God.

He has put a new song in my mouth. He's put a new song

in my pencil. He's put a new song in my spirit. Get it

down, because you know what, it will become something more when you read

it again. It will come back to you and think, yes, that's

true. And sometimes you won't agree with what you've written. You think,

do you know what God's more than that you look at the words that you

think, this isn't enough. I need to write more because they've run out

of words. That's what the Holy Spirit's so much for and let's go on

to look at another scripture about newness and new songs Galatians chapter six, verse

ten. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all,

especially to those who are in the household of faith. Do you know

what God wants to do? New things through us? Not just to us

through us. He wants us to be the custodians of his grace and his

mercy. God has one plan A, and that plan A is the Church.

You justn't have a plan B of church B or another name. You

know, His plan is the Church, his work, his hands in action

through you and me. And if God says He's going to do a new

thing, sometimes that will mean that you and I are the agents of change.

You and I are to carrying the resource, carrying the capacity, carrying

the right words. We come and we say something to somebody else, We

prophesy into their lives. We speak God's comfort, exhortation and strengthen to others,

and that switches on a light for them and suddenly their world has changed.

Now that's what I believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for there,

for turning on the world. As God speaks through us to others.

This helps us to start to realize that we are men and women of faith,

and Scripture would say to us, I would that all would prophesy.

You don't have to have a PhD in your Christian faith to be able to

prophesy. In fact, I believe if I think about my early walkers of

christian I believe I've prophesied before I spoke in tongues. I didn't know about

that at the time, but I spoke forth the word that was encouraging to

somebody. And it's only with deeper understanding I realized what that was. And

so let me encourage you. If God's put a new song in your heart,

be ready to speak it and share it. If God is speaking to

you and you share it with someone else, please do it as God leads

you to, and especially in the house of faith in the church. In

Joshua chapter three, verses fifteen and sixteen, and this says, I draw

things to a close. Then, and as those who bore the ark came

to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped

into the edge of the water, for the Jordan was overflowing its banks during

the time of harvest, and the waters which came down from upstream stood still

and rose up in a heap very far away at Adam and the city that

was beside Ziahtun. So the waters that went down to the Sea of Araba,

the salt sea, failed and were cut off, and the people passed

over to the opposite Jericho. As they stepped into the Jordan, the water's

piled up. But they required to step into the water. I believe if

they stood on the side of the Jordan and waited for the water to bar,

nothing would have happened. They had to show faith. They had to

take a step of faith. They had to take a step into something.

They had to get their feet wet. I don't know what you're like when

if you go to the seaside at this time of year, whether you just

look at the waves and think, oh, that's nice, or whether you

still want to paddle and you take the shoes off and okay, yeah and

sorry something it's the power lead on the one underneath. Yeah. Thanks,

And when you go and you look at the water, you kind of think

that's nice you stand at a distance, or whether you still think I still

want to get my feet wet, and you can take your shoes off,

and you take the socks off, and then you cautiously put your toe in

the water. Oh that's cold. I just want to encourage us. Let's

not have that kind of attitude to take in a step of faith. If

God's asking you to crossover, step into it, Step into it with faith,

step into it with confidence, step into it with boldness, and let's

see what God will do. Because God is doing a new thing. And

if we're an expectant people, and I believe He will do more things.

Because actually, once we've done something with something God, something that God's given

us. God gives us a word to share a word of encouragement to someone,

and we shared it to the people we felt we should share it with.

Then our capacity is there to do more. And God will bring us

more. And so let me encourage us. I wrap up today and do

this, because what should we do. We need to take a step of

faith in a time of expectation, in a time of expecting. See,

we need to take a step of faith and see that God will do a

new thing. Let me pray Father, as we look forward to a time

of celebration, we celebrate and remember your arrival here on earth. We celebrate

and remember the gift of the son, your son, Jesus Christ, who

you sent as an agent a change to our world as a sacrificial lamb on

our behalf. And so, Father, as we journey into the season advent

and looking towards Christmas, Lord, our hearts are ready with expectation. Our

hearts are ready with expectancy. And so, Father, do whatever it is

that you need to do in our lives. Father, if you want to

renew a connection, Father, if you want to start a new relationship,

Lord, if you want to move us into fields, new seasons, new

and Father, our heart of expectations says we're ready. So speak to us,

O, Lord, speak through us, Oh God, help us to

know what is on your heart. For your people, for this church running

me Christian Fellowship, for the town of Egerm and beyond, for the nation,

for the people we spend time with, for our friends, and for

our family. Father, help us to be people who have ears that will

hear and mouths that will speak. Help us to be men and women of

action who will take steps and bring you glory. For I sense that God

says, behold, I do a new thing, Let it spring for in

Jesus' nath amen