Reach - Exiting the Liminal Space | On The Threshold - Part 1

Mark how much I thank you rich. Thank you, thank you, thank

Simon, bless you for that. Oh it's so good to see you all

on this new year and given that this is the first time that I am

also seeing you all happy New Year to you on behalf of

Stephen. I and the kids, it's, we had

last Sunday off, which was nice, so but it's, you know, have

Missed being here. So it's it's good to be here

with you all and indeed all of you online as well.

I realized that with without kids work and youth work this

morning. Many, many families are at home

at the moment as rich. And Jenna communicated earlier,

it's due to lack of being able to provide those Services, we

all know the place that we're in, at the moment with many

people having covid and many in isolation.

And so do to staff and volunteer absences were unable to do so.

But the idea is that next Sunday, Things will be back to

normal. Whatever normal looks like these

days and don't answer back, which I don't know about you but

I think that's a good thing. I'm not sure my waistline would

agree but certainly looking forward to Donuts so and of

course kids work next week but worth reminding.

You all that youth are meeting this evening at 6:30.

Well, I got to say that was just such a wonderful time of

worship. It's just so good to be together

and worship God and to hear God's voice because Jenna

reminded us. God is always speaking.

God is a god that is always speaking.

It's not a question of if he speaks.

The question is, are we listening?

And I think it's a healthy reminder at the start of a year,

particularly to say, are we listening to what God has for

us? And that is the thread that I

want to pick up this morning. I'm just so grateful to richer

gathered our executive Pastor who just did such a superb job

last week of. Yeah, let's give risk of rich

and Applause. Bless you, brother, travel was

down to speak. But blessed, Trevor, he he came

down with covid. So I think you and I had a

conversation with probably Friday before the Sunday said

rich or up, and we had a quick chat and it was just such a

wonderful talk based on Isaiah 43, about the forgetting, the

form of things and getting ready for the new things that God has.

And that was, of course, what Paul shared earlier with us as

well. And I would encourage you.

If you missed that told you can of course, watch it.

Now in most Two places on YouTube, on Facebook, on our

phone, our smartphone app. So if you miss that, do do watch

that. And so, what I'm going to do is

actually continue on from last week as I do, as Richard said,

open up with a new series that has yet to be Untitled.

I think I might give that title, the end of the series, or maybe

I'll open up the competition. Give me the name of the time for

that on a postcard, and send it through.

There we go. And you get a prize.

What do you win? Good question, I don't know,

maybe lunch with Richard or something, that'd be nice,

wouldn't it? There you go Rich.

You know, I was really grateful on Thursday, I caught up with

Chris Birch Evans, many of you know, he's a member Katelin, the

family, a member of the church and he leads step as well, which

you might know stepping. Now housed in our building,

which has been so great. And not, not only is Chris, a

very good friend of mine for a long.

But he's a colleague in the ministry and I know I'm going to

embarrass him stay in this. But someone with whom, I respect

greatly is a Godly Man. A lot of wisdom and I was

respect his counsel and he and I sat down for the first time in

the year when we talked about what God has been doing and how

we feel about the year ahead. And I rather I don't know

downloaded dumped on him really, how I was feeling.

It's nice to have people that you can do that with and I said,

you know what, Chris I feel Funny, if I'm honest, I feel if

I'm honest disorientated, I just don't know where I'm at.

Anyone feel a little bit disorientated.

There's a few yeses in the room. You know, last year, you know,

the first year of covid, it seemed to, you know, we had the

lockdown in March, the weather was amazing, that, you know, and

then the second year, I don't know where it went, it just

disappeared. And I don't know where I'm at.

If should feel like I should be in June or something.

I don't know, we've just had Christmas.

I said I just don't know how I'm feeling and I said to him, I get

this sense that we're on the verge of something.

It's like I know something's about to happen but I don't

quite know what it is. I kind of know, we've left

something but I don't know what we going to, anybody feel that?

I know that normal is not coming back.

How many times we heard that phrase, but I don't know what

the new normal is. I mean, isn't that a paradox

anyway and you normal I mean this is an oxymoron I think is

the word isn't And I kept just blessed Chris.

He's such a good listener. He listened to me going on and

on and all of a sudden he got up off the sofa and meter Mark.

Oh, do you have a gun? An offended him?

And he walks to the door and he opens the door and he goes and

steps out on my own grunt. How many years have I known you?

Kristen you, you're just walking out on me and he stops this is.

Do you know what this is? And he puts his foot over the

doorway. and what I could see was where the two carpets joins

the wise I said, oh, it's a seam anyway, No, no, it's not a CE

Mark. It's a liminal.

This is what, what? What said?

It's called a liminal. It's a threshold.

A liminal is the space in between this place and that

place. And you're talking about the

liminal space. It's like whoa, whoa.

Tell me more I said no. Go Google it.

So, I did. Because okay, I don't embarrass

you don't have your hands up if you don't want to how many knows

who knows what a liminal is? You see not Sally knows one

person. Right.

Come on. You're up your preaching.

I didn't know what a liminal was.

Would you like to know what a liminal is?

The definition. Liminal comes from the Latin

lemon. Which means on the threshold.

A liminal space is a transitional space.

A space where we move from what we had known to the unknown.

From a place, listen to this of relative Comfort to a place of

uncertainty. Moving from a place war from.

Well, we used to do it like this to a place of how we're going to

do it now. It's a place of routine and

certainty to a place of uncertainty.

Who feels like they might be in the liminal space.

Welcome. And so much credit and thanks to

Chris Birch Evans for for that liminal word because that really

has opened up and given me some language, not just to articulate

how I am feeling, but actually to articulate, what I sensed the

Lord is doing and saying to us as a church.

Now, Richard did an amazing job last week of giving us a lens

individually of how we see the year ahead and challenging us to

say, you know what, yes, God's got a plan for everybody.

But just don't forget, he's also got a plan for you.

And I was so blessed by that talk because it gave me a way in

which I could look at this year and say, okay Lord.

What have you got for me? What are those amazing?

New things that you've got? But what I'm going to do over

the next few weeks, as is my privilege to do as a senior

pastor, is to say where we're going as a church.

What is God is doing in this season?

And in this moment, and in this time, You know, another good

example, if you're still trying to figure out a liminal space is

an airport, did you know that an airport is a liminal space makes

sense, right? You enter the liminal and you

about to get on a flight to another place or you arrive and

you enter the liminal who's here has watched that great Tom Hanks

movie Terminal anybody yet what a good movie Tom Hanks enters

the liminal space. And what happens?

He arrives from, I think it's some fictitious European country

into New York and they refused his Visa bit like Novak

Djokovic. But for other reasons, this was

pre covid. And essentially he didn't put

him up in a hotel, he has to stay in the terminal because he

refuses to go back. And in that place, he picks up

new skills. He starts Plastering the walls

at night because the workmen have left that stuff.

He decides, he wants to learn English.

And so he goes to the book shops, and, and gets the diction

English dictionary and learned the language.

And because it's a Hollywood movie at the end of it, he gets

the girl. By the way, FYI, I'm not

suggesting for you, single people out there that you're

necessarily going to get the guy or the girl next week.

But you might do this might be your year, if that's what you're

looking for, but Tom Hanks, you see exits the liminal space,

very different, man, he speaks a new language.

He has new skills. He has a new girl.

He has a completely different future than when he entered the

liminal space. FYI, that applies to us as a

church, that our future looks very different because of the

liminal space that we have been in.

And so, what I want to do for the remainder of this talk is

unpack what that looks like for us and what God has been doing.

There's a guy called Andrew Meyers, he's the advisor for

spirituality and a parish priest and the Diocese of the tissue of

Chichester. And he writes this In entering

liminal space, you leave behind your former ideals and

conventions, that status quo, the ordinary routines inherited

mindsets. You also leave behind your

safety zone, you exit, your place of security you step out

into a space where you will see things differently, where your

worldview might be shattered, where your existing priorities

might be turned up side down. Who's up for that?

In only a few, I'll give you more time and I won't stay in

such a jovial way, who's up for that.

Yes, you have you are and some of those words you know I love

Lissa's word. You know doing a new thing.

Are we ready? And she said I felt like this is

a corporate word. Let's look at Israel and that's

where Richard took us to last week.

And as I said, I want to carry on from looking at Isaiah.

You see, Israel entered the liminal space, many a Time.

Didn't they if you think about it?

They escaped for they let go from Egypt.

And they're in the liminal space and they get to what the Red

Sea. They are on the cusp of

something. What about when they get past

that and they get on to the border of the promised land

there, they are in a liminal space than they about to enter

something new. What about when they mess that

up and they then have to go into the Wilderness for 40 years?

The liminal space can be a long time.

I mean, Moses was on the backside of the desert for a

long time. The liminal space.

And then fast forward many years.

And Israel are in Exile in Babylon.

Where are they for 70 years in the liminal space.

Now, the liminal space is not a space by accident.

It's a place and a space that God puts you on purpose.

It's a place where he does his deepest work, it's the place of

fruit-bearing. It's the place of preparation,

it's the place where we run done in his presence.

And so with that, let's let's look at this story of those guys

in Babylon. Let's look at Isaiah 43 when you

turn with me and we're going to look at 16 to 19.

As I said, this is what Richard looked at last week.

In fact, I think we do 18 to 19 God said to the Jews.

Remember not the former things nor consider the things of old.

What is, what is God? Fair into he is referring to the

amazing things that God did when he got them out of Egypt, when

he parted the sea. God is saying, listen, you're in

the liminal space, the exit point is not backwards, it's

forward. The exit point of the liminal

space is not what it used to be. It's what it's going to be next.

Now, God is not saying, hey, forget that.

That was rubbish, actually, sorry, my mistake.

I didn't do a very good job there.

He's not saying, hey, don't praise me for that.

What he's saying is listen. Don't think that.

What comes next is what I did before.

What comes next is a new thing. What comes next is even more

amazing. And it goes on, behold.

I am doing a worked new thing. Say it again, new thing.

Now it Springs forth. Do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the

desert. You see, when we're in the

liminal space, it looks like we're in the place of wilderness

because all of our comfort all of what our routine, all of us.

If T seems to have been Stripped Away.

And we feel like we're in the wilderness.

And we say what now, God what? Now what now?

But God says it's springing forth up saving.

You see, that is an invitation to say, Lord, would you show me?

That is an invitation by God to ask.

Lord, what are you doing? Do you not perceive it?

I have been hanging on this question for over a.

I don't know how long saying Lord.

I don't, I'll be honest with you.

I am not about to give you the answer to the new thing this

morning. If you wish, you may leave now.

If you're online, maybe you've logged off your nose.

But I am telling you that I'm committed to asking the question

or answer in that Lord, what is it?

What is it that you're doing? And that's what God is looking

for us to have a posture of expectancy to say?

What does he look like, Lord. And so let's look at Israel

because as I said, there's some things we can learn, you know,

that the church has much in common with Israel, of course,

the church is distinct from Israel.

The church. Can I just be clear, has not

replaced Israel. We've been grafted-in.

Yes, we refer to as spiritual Israel, but God said, as a plan

for his people, Israel. There's some very dangerous

theology called replacement theology that says God's

forgotten about them. That's not the case.

He has a plan for his church. Has a plan, a dispensation for

Israel, but there is much in common with the Israeli Old

Testament that we can learn from and I want to look at that.

You see, Israel was on a journey to enter into the promises of

God. We are on a journey to enter

into the promises of God. Israel was on a journey, to

establish the, what physical kingdom of God.

We his church Or on a journey, to establish the spiritual

kingdom of God, right there here and not.

Yet our kingdom theology. That we have been called to

extend the kingdom of God, in word and deed.

Yes. This is Vineyard 101, right

guys. We are here to bring his light

Into Darkness. We are in a spiritual battle who

knows that to be the case, Good news.

You're on The Winning Side. Well done.

Israel was on a journey to demonstrate the glory of God to

all the surrounding Nations. We are on a journey to

demonstrate the person of Jesus to everyone around us.

Israel was on a mission, the church is called to the Great

Commission. Listen, Israel wasn't a social

club. The church is not a social club.

The church does not exist for an insular purpose.

The church exists for out there. The church exists y to save

Souls. We are on a rescue mission.

You've been great. You've been drafted in by Jesus

to rescue lost souls Listen, I want us to have a good time

here. I love it.

But if you think that you come to church just to have a good

time then I'm afraid you don't know what church is.

The Church of Jesus Christ is on a mission.

The Great Commission to make Christ known to make disciples

of all Nations. Listen, the Titanic is going

down and we got to get people on the Lifeboat.

And that Lifeboat is a person called Jesus.

Let's not play games here, guys. Let's not play games, people's,

Eternal souls are at stake and just as Israel was on a journey.

So, is his church globally on a journey to make Christ known.

I'm blessed to have Chris Lane, Chris and flips are found in

pastures. Why did they leave everything?

Can and decide to set up a new church in their Lounge room.

Because of the call to make Christ known.

We're still on that mission. It hasn't changed.

Yes, it will look different. But that's what we're about.

To make Christ known. But I believe that we've been in

the liminal space Church. We have been in the liminal

space for the past couple of years, not by accident, not by

chance. But because God has placed us

there for a reason because he's about to do something new.

Because he's saying to us, listen what went before you was

amazing but forget it. I'm not going to do that again.

I'm going to do something new. That's not to discredit the

past. That's not to say that doesn't

count because God builds upon the victories and the triumphs

and the hard worn, one ground that was taken.

But he does something new. God is not the god of the past.

Thank you. I used to work in Boots.

The chemist, I'm not talking five years ago.

When I was about 17 18, I used to work in EM field in Boots in

the camera Department. I loved it there on Saturdays

isil of selling cameras, but I also used to like taking

people's 35 millimeter films and he remembers those.

Hey, no digital. Then yes, I am that old.

I like to love it because he's taken and people used to come in

with their Tans. I've just been on holiday.

I would like to develop my photos, please.

No problem. And so we used to put it in the

thing, fill it in and then put it in the tray and then behind

us would be the lab. I always wanted to work in the

lab but I wasn't allowed. I just took people's money.

And I see you'd have people in the lab illustrative purposes.

I'm going to stand here, this is the lab, this is the counter and

the guy would be there with his white gloves on obviously and he

would get the film and he would put it into this machine.

It was very large. Very dark in there.

But the dark is where the magic happened.

Because at the end all these photos will come out and yes we

do look at your photos. Can I just say we do a good job

for digital cameras now, hey with everyone wants to put them

on Facebook so I think more people see them now than ever.

But we, you know, at the very end, what was this round thing?

Came out and there was glorious, picture and colors.

Can I just tell you the liminal spaces like that process in

machine? It's the dark place where God

does the processing of your lives and what comes out, is

something extraordinary. It is a picture of what God's

going to do next, Who's excited as me.

Good to have you. So what I want to do in the oh

wow, that was introduction. Would you keep ask my water

there, please? Thank you, just just there.

Thank you. Thanks for the coffee.

Thank you very much. What I want to do in the short

amount of space that obviously have left.

I want to look at some specifics around what I feel the Lord has

done to us as a people in the liminal space.

And because I came up with a list of probably more than 10,

you'll be pleased to know. I'm only going to do three this

morning and if you're wondering, I'm going to speak on next week.

Well, the liminal space. There you go.

So let's start with my list and we can see this in the life of

Israel, but we can also see this in our life as well.

So let's ask the question. What does God do in the liminal

space or more importantly, what has God been doing to us as a

church in the liminal space? Here's the first one.

He's been sifting and Gathering. Sifting and Gathering, you know,

throughout Israel's Journey. The liminal space always

represented a time where the hearts of men and women were

exposed and where God presented individuals with a choice to who

they would follow. That was always, The question in

front of Israel when they got the liminal space.

Let's look therefore at the Babylonian Babylonian exile.

Due to Disobedience there in the Bap, in Babylon for 70 years as

prophesied. And there comes a time where,

you know, Persia overthrows Babylon.

So we've got now, Persia King, Cyrus, Says right.

You know what, guys? Bang on 70 years.

FYI off you go, you can go go back to Israel.

Now you would expect that everyone below where you can go

back. The church doors are open so I

did I say no, I didn't mean that.

I mean everything go back to normal.

I want that. Yes.

Did you know that only 50,000 went back out of tons?

The majority didn't want to go back.

The majority had got comfortable in Exile.

He's quite comfortable, actually, I quite like it.

My week is completely different. Now I can do this so and such I

don't have to serve, I don't have to sacrifice, I don't have

to prioritize God in in this or that way.

Because what I can do is I can just be You see in the liminal

space, god presents you with the choice.

Do you know me? I love what Chris said earlier.

I've write all of these down. Jesus himself was with them and

we sang you or saying you saying online Jesus, that you are

everything, you're all I need. Do we mean that?

Is that is the choice as always presented to us in the liminal

space. And some people have said, I

don't want to go back to Israel. Now, I want to be very careful

in how I position this and say this.

There are some that I'm not talking about physically in this

building. By the way I'm talking about

people that said, I'm part of a church and I'm on a mission and

I want to serve and I will get involved.

I know many of you I've spoken to who aren't back yet.

And I understand that for many reasons, it could be the you're

isolating, the you're sick, you're not comfortable yet.

That's fine. But you would say, you know

what, I'm part of the state of a Vineyard I'm committed.

But I do know many who have fallen away.

I'm afraid said, you know what? This liminal space has showed me

that I don't need Church. You know what?

I've got YouTube now. We may laugh but this is truth.

Guys church now, it doesn't need to be a place anymore.

It doesn't. It doesn't need to be a body of

people. I can find amazing worship

online. I can find amazing talks.

That's church for me. And people have said, you know

what, I'm not up for being part of a church that's moving

forward and going to make Christ known and people have fallen

away. It's true.

I'm reminded as I was worshipping of Gideon.

What happened with the story of Gideon, God said, I want you to

go and I wanted to go and do something amazing.

It was Conquering the Philistines I believe and Gideon

had these loads of people around him and I said, Nana Nana, just

wait and through a process. Of things like, go get some

water and said, write, all those that bent down than or in there

was another and by the end of it, there was less than when he

started. Because now, you're ready.

What was that shifting in the liminal space?

God was looking for those that were committed, but equally God.

Gathers in the liminal space. I'm just so grateful to God of

the new people that have come to st.

Albans Vineyard because they've been seeking and searching.

You forgot. I'm I found God.

I know many of you have found Us online.

And you're saying, you know what?

I never really worked closely with or, but when the liminal

space here or covid here, I realized that I needed God and

you see God is sifting and he's Gathering to getting us ready

for the next Conquest, that's about to happen.

Why would he do that? Let me give you a few reasons.

Number one to bring Unity, God isn't is looking for a church

that had United under his Spirit.

You know there's a blessing that comes with unity of purpose and

of mine. Did you know that?

This is a famous verse. I know I've said it many times

before. Psalm 133, 1 2, 3 behold, how

good and pleasant it is. When Brothers dwell in unity, it

is like the precious oil on the head running down on the bed on

the bed of Aaron, who was a priest running down on the

collar of his robes. It is like the do of Herman

which falls on the mountain of Zion for the Lord has commanded

the blessing life forevermore there is a blessing in unity.

And Paul exhorts the church in Ephesus as well.

Say saying be of unity be a one mind Unity under the spirit.

God is looking for a church. That is United.

And I believe that's part of what happens to the liminal

space. The second thing though, is a

work of Purity, we sang that earlier, we sang, I want to burn

for you, only for you. Take my life.

Jesus like you on that. Fine.

Okay. I'll put you on the liminal

space. I'll give you a choice.

Is it really all about me? Is it really?

Do you really want to go through the fire?

What did are all say are all earlier had a word saying, you

know, some of you are feeling nervous about that but you see

it's that place where Grace comes, it's that place where

surrender comes. It's that place where he

purifies us. And we're peace.

Comes and so, part of being in the liminal space is a good

purifies. Our hearts.

That reminds me of that song purify, my heart, that purify My

Heart Jim, you know, that song that's a prayer.

But you I think if most people knew what the answer to that

prayer was he wouldn't want to pray it.

So, okay, here comes the refiners fire.

Welcome to the liminal space. I'll spend some time on that

one, but God says, and he gathers in the liminal space and

as a church church, that's what he's done to us.

He has sifted and he has gathered, and he's bringing

unity and he's bringing Purity. He's bringing holiness.

He's preparing his bride. Does it not say in the

scriptures put on Christ, put on holiness?

Put it on. We need to make a choice.

Okay, what else can we learn from the liminal?

Space number two, it exposes our fears.

When Israel was in the liminal space, right?

So they come to the Red Sea and they get to the, to the border

of the promised land. This is the moment.

This is it, isn't it? Great and Moses is, right?

We're going to send out 12 spice.

You all know the story. Y-12.

One of the of each tribe of Israel.

Go in there, come back and let us know what's going on.

So off they went and they came back and what what happened?

Well 10 of them said, whoa, okay.

To be fair, it is very nice there.

There was some honey and some milk, but this is what God did

not tell us. There are huge giants.

They are very, very big. There is absolutely, no way I'm

going there and then Caleb and Joshua.

Like, well guys, hold the phone. Actually want to read out the

scriptures versus give you my, my take on it number, thirteen

Thirty. But Caleb quieted the people

before Moses and said, let us go up at once and occupy it for.

We are well able to overcome it. See the promises of God seemed

impossible because of the Giants of the land.

They weren't imaginable Giants. This is not an exercise in

ignoring reality. It's an exercise in

understanding the greatness of God.

You see Caleb and Joshua got it, they like, yeah they're Giants.

But have you seen our beguiled goddess?

And there have been Giants for these past two years, a liminal

space seven, they real giants, real things health, and fear, as

come in money issues, the economy jobs.

I mean, I could go on with a long list.

There are giants But God. But God Is Bigger.

God was looking for faith in the Israelite and God is still

looking for faith in his church. How are we going to respond?

When God says, right? This is it guys, we're moving

out of the liminal space. God is looking for a people that

say, we're all in God. Yeah, there's some Giants out

there. But hey, you're big.

And so, when you're in the liminal space, to get us ready

for that moment, he deals with a fear in our hearts.

He allows them to come to the surface.

Why? So that he can deal with it.

How by his great love, perfect, love casts out fear, when you

realize that you are. Here's when you realize that you

are eternally, saved and eternally sealed when you

realize that he has a plan and purpose for you, when you

realize that God is greater than those things, because of his

great love. You can do what Caleb do, and

quieten the people around you. It's okay.

And can I just say in this season you we are called to

quieten the people around us. It's okay.

But God, it's okay. God Is Bigger.

Yes, that Giants. I'm not going to ignore that.

You know, the Lost are not looking for a bunch of people

that are unrealistic and not in touch, with reality.

And just want to put a gloss on everything they're looking for

people that can walk alongside and say, you know what, it is

rubbish and it does suck but God it's okay, it's okay.

Oh, look at the time. Did someone say keep going?

Well, that's that's dangerous. Anybody got ovens on Wi-Fi Now,

you can just delay it on the time.

I'm just kidding. I'm going to give you the third

and then we're going to stop at that point.

Okay? Because I'll save some for next

week. This is the third thing.

God, does he reveals our need for him and our dependence on

him? He reveals our need for him and

our dependence on him. In the liminal space, got strips

away our comfort, our security, our routines, which slowly what

you see happens with those is inadvertently.

They become the Rock by which we live.

We live our lives. It happens to all of us.

It happens to your senior pastor, really?

Yes, I'm human too. By the way FYI.

Thank you. I agree.

You see God gives us by his grace an opportunity to say

those are the rocks that you're living on.

And by the way, they will never stand.

When the storm comes, the only rock is Jesus himself, Jesus

himself. Let's look at the story of

Israel then as we as we bring this plane into a land so what

happens Joshua and Caleb said we can.

But God is so angry with Israel. In fact, he's about to wipe them

out less. Had it not been for the fact

that Moses intercedes and say, whoa, for your name's sake.

Don't do that. Because as you know what, that

whole generation are not going to enter into the promised land

because of their fear because of their Disobedience.

Everyone above 20 years, old is not going to see it except for

Joshua and Caleb. That's why they went into the

Wilderness for 40 years. By the way, it was judgment as

punishment. They the liminal space did not

have to be 40 years. They're about to go into it.

And if you look at the map, what they did was spend 40 years

doing this around, the wooden us wonder where the promised land

is not a myth that we go there once.

No? No. 40 Years of liminal space 40

years. But it was in that place that

God said, right? Let me show you who you need to

depend on and who you need. I'll give you your food every

day, man. I will come down from heaven,

quails And you know what? That shoes and their clothes

never wore out. Do you know that?

Deuteronomy 29 5, yet the Lord says during the 40 years that I

led you through the Wilderness. Your clothes did not wear out,

nor did the sandals on your feet, I'll show you who's gone

and you see it in the liminal space church when everything is

stripped away. Those rocks, those foundations

that we had built our life on those routines.

Those relationships that money in the bank that's security and

the job XYZ etc, etc. The girl says, let me show you

that you need me. And lest you think that that is

a cruel. God, that is a God full of grace

and mercy because it's in that place that we experience his

love and his grace, why? Because he wants the best for

us. I'm going to end those three

there. As a way of a recap he sits and

he gathers God has been sifting and Gathering his church.

Not just here, by the way, Church Global.

I spend two other senior leaders of churches and they have

expressed exactly the same thing.

Number two, exposes our fears. So we can deal with them and

number three. If I can find it, he reveals out

reveals our need for him and our dependence on him like to invite

the band up as I am with some more scripture because what I

want to try and do is focus on what's next.

Can we turn to Isaiah 40:8 328? You see in many ways, this is a

Isaiah 40:8

parallel to Isaiah 43, we've read the former things, I'm

about to do something new. God actually referenced, is this

again in 48, in a slightly different take, let's read this

together. It's rather long 328 will come

up on the screen or if you're at home or be on your screen.

Let me read this to you. The former things, remember that

phrase? I declared of old they went out

for a my mouth and I announced them and suddenly I did them and

they came to pass. Because I know that you are in a

abstinent and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead

brass. In other words, you're stubborn

people, I declare them to you from old before they came to

pass. I announce them to you, why?

Here's the answer, lest you should say my idol, did them, my

carved image, and my mental image.

In other words, God said, I told you what I was going to do so

that when it happened, you didn't say, well, I did that.

Look at what my hands did. No, no, no.

But this is very interesting that what happens next.

You have heard now, seal this, and you will not declare it from

the time forth. I announced listen to you new

things. Hidden things that you have not

known. They are created.

Now not long ago before today you have never heard of them,

lest you should say. Behold I knew them.

You have never heard. You have never known from old.

Your ear has not been opened. What is God saying?

Listen Church there are seasons where God will declare what he

does first and then they happen and there are seasons where God

doesn't and he just does them. And in the moment he reveals it

in his strength. You see, I believe the new

things are going to be that season where we just going to

start seeing things. And he's going to start

revealing those things as they happen.

We are moving into a season of Revelation, we're moving into a

season of new things because we are moving out of the threshold

into our new destination church, this liminal space that we've

been in, hasn't been an accident.

It has not been wasted. God has been working in us as a

people for the next chapter and I'm put in the church on notice

that it's going to be an exciting chapter.

I'm putting the church on, notice that we've got work to

do. To continue to make Christ

known. I'm putting the church on

notice. That it's going to require

Sacrifice from us. It's going to require us to dig

deep but in so doing recognizing the God has already prepared us

for it. I want to say each one of you

here, each one of you online. However you find us being part

of this church, you are not here by accident.

You have been called for such a time as this because God is

about to do something new in your midst, who's up for that?

We're about to see something extraordinary Church.