BOLD: WEEK 4 | SUNDAY 16TH AUGUST | PS AARON MORE

the troules down your soul. I know a

place where mercy flows. Take the stains

make you wider than snow.

Like a tide it is rising up deep inside.

We're going down to the river. Down to

the river. Down to the river to pray.

Let's get by the water by the water and

rise up [music] in amazing grace. Let's

go down

to the river. You will change. Let's go

down

to the river.

the

move

[singing and music]

took me from dusty roads into paradise.

All of my dirt, all of my shame. Drown

[music] in the streams that have made me

born again.

Like a tide, it is rising up deep inside

a current that moves and makes it come

alive.

that brings it to life.

We're going down to the river down to

the river [music and singing] down to

the river to pray. Let's get by the

water by the water [music] and rise up

in amazing.

Let's go down

to the river.

Let's go down down [music]

down to the river.

Let's go down.

We're going down to the river. Down to

the river. Down to the river.

Let's get by

the water and rise up in amazing grace.

Let's go down down to the river. You

change. Let's go down

to the river.

Down

[music] in amazing grace down

in amazing grace.

>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

said I woke up to the summer shining

throat calling all my friends asking

what's the feeling a little different

I'm no [music]

>> I ain't going to let no cls get in my

way the only road I'm walking is the one

I patch sitting in the sun shade

this is the day that the Lord [music]

has

And I ain't going to let it slip away.

I'm going to be joyful.

>> Yes, I am. Yes, I am. I'm going to be

joyful

>> I'm going to be joyful. [music]

>> I'm going to be I'm going to be joyful.

[music]

>> I got that feeling that you get when you

get new kicks. Bell ringing [music] on

the last day of singing. Yeah. Highing

[singing] everybody, but we out of here.

[music]

>> Make it last. Best. They don't take it

as a choice. But you got to know that

the [music] day.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

And [music] I ain't going to let it slip

away. Nah. I'm gonna be joyful.

Going to be I'm going to be joyful

today. I'm going to be joyful.

>> Yes, I am. Yes, I am. I'm going to be

joyful

today.

Wo

wo

wo.

Wo!

Woah!

Woah.

>> [music]

>> Woah.

Woah.

Oh,

wo.

Woah.

Hey, hey, hey.

Woah.

you guys on the street. It's time to

come on in. Let's stand and worship our

king this morning.

>> [music and singing]

>> and make the king in the room. The king

is in the room.

[singing]

>> We know what you can do. We know what

you can do.

You're going to see

[music]

broken hearts [singing] made new. The

king is in the room.

Lord, we encode [music and singing] you

upon our

king in the room.

Freedom [music and singing] and life

anywhere you reus

[music]

only to you.

All our

king is in the room

[music]

[singing] free. He's tearing down the

wall. He's tearing down the wall.

His grave shaking power when we sing the

name above the wall. Your name above the

wall. The king is in the room.

Lord, we adore [music]

you upon our praise. The king is in the

room.

Freedom [music]

and life anywhere you

Jesus [music] we bow only to [singing]

you.

All of our crown the king is in the

room.

Fear has to flee.

Shame has to leave

before the king.

Before the king

change [music] after break,

dry bones awake,

prepar

>> [music]

>> has to be

shame has to leave

before the king

have to pray

the way

the king is in the road

we [music] call you upon our praise the

Freedom [music] anywhere you

Jesus we found only to you. We're

[music and singing] laying down

all of our

[music] king is in the road.

The king is in the king is in the earth.

The king is in the [music] room.

>> Thank you, Jesus.

We thank you for

I'm shaking off the heaviness.

I'm dancing out of [music] my regret.

I'm throwing motion to the wind.

I am about [music] ashamed to praise

like this. Don't say it's foolishness.

I say it's worth the risk.

I can't forget what Jesus [music] said.

No, I am not ashamed to praise my

[music] chains that held you. I'm free.

I'm free. I'm free. [music and singing]

I'm free. My sin is gone. How can it be?

I'm free. I'm free. I'm free. I'm free.

Look at what the Lord [music] has done.

I'm never going back to the way I

go. I'm free.

Thank you, Jesus.

[music]

No other good.

I'll never be ashamed to face my

f I'm free. I'm free. I'm free. I'm

free. I s

[music]

I'm free. I'm free. I'm free. I'm free.

Look at what the Lord has done. I'm

never going back to the way [music] I

was. I sing I

You took the cross and you broke your

shed.

My debt is paid and [music] my record is

clean. I couldn't do it, so you did it

for me. You took the cross and you broke

your body.

You shed your blood, now the sin.

My debt is paid and my record is

I couldn't do it, so you did it for me.

You took the cross and you broke your

body.

You shed your blood. Now the s

my debt is paid and my victory is

I couldn't do it so you

couldn't do it. So you did it for me.

>> I couldn't do it. So you did it for me.

I couldn't do it.

There are those things that tell me

[music] I'm free. I'm free. I'm free.

I'm free. My sin is gone.

I'm free. I'm free. I'm free. I'm free.

Look at what the Lord has done. I'm

going back to the way I

sing. I [music] dance.

I'm free. I'm free. Thank God I'm free.

You took the cross and you broke your

body.

You shed your blood. Now the s

my debt is paid and my record is

I couldn't do it so you did it.

>> You took the cross and you broke your

heart.

Shed your blood.

My debt is [music] and my

I couldn't do it. So you did it for me.

>> I couldn't do it.

>> I couldn't do it. So [music] you did it

for me.

>> I couldn't do it. So you did it for me.

I couldn't do it. So you did it for me.

>> I couldn't do it.

Look at what

I'm going back to the way I was.

Look at what the Lord has done. I'm

never going back [music] to the way I

look at what the Lord has done. I'm

never going back to the way I

look at what

I'm going to.

>> Good morning. Good morning. Good

morning. How good is it to be here this

morning? Come on. this morning. Let's do

10 people a high five. We normally do

five. It is such a good morning. 10

people a high five. I'm never looking

back. Come on. That's it. Some of you

walking. The introverts are scared. It's

okay. I'm never looking back. I'm never

looking back. Come on, Joy. This is

fantastic.

Fantastic.

All right,

Mizzy. We're still going up there. This

is fantastic.

I'm never looking back.

I don't know what it is about today, but

you guys have come. You have brought it

this morning, man. I tell you what, if

you were feeling sad or you were feeling

drab, I don't know any other rhyming

words, you are in a place this morning

that is, man, there is an atmosphere of

praise here this morning. Come on, guys.

If you do not feel this, there is an

atmosphere of praise. I remember I woke

up this morning and I saw like a rainbow

in the sky and you saw double rainbow.

Double rainbow. We have double anointing

here in this morning. I just uh it just

reminded me this morning that the

promises of God are yes and amen, guys.

No matter what you're going through, the

promises of God are sure in our life

this morning. So, so good to have you

along here this morning. My name is

Paul. I'm part of the team here and it

is my privilege to be looking you good

looking people over here. This is so

good. And uh we just like to welcome you

to uh Tonga Elim uh and just want to uh

extend that and we just love you to get

connected to our church as much as

possible. We are a ridiculously friendly

church. I'm going to say that and I'm

sometimes there's a prophetic nature to

that, but we are ridiculously friendly

and sometimes uh what a great first step

for a lot of us is to do is to go out

those double doors and to we've got

we've got the most incredibly

good-looking people on our connect area

uh and they just would love to connect

with you, have a coffee with you and

help connect you into the life of

church. So, if that's your first step

here this morning, I would encourage you

uh let's get into the connect area. That

would be fantastic. But as we're talking

about that and celebrating the good

things, who here has had a birthday this

week? Anyone here with birthdays? We're

in the peak of winter. We have Pastor

Sarah with her hands up at the back

there. She's very shy. Let's give it up

for Pastor Sarah. Let's embarrass her.

Yes,

we have some hands in the mezzanine.

Someone waving, making sure they get

them over the mezzanine. This is

fantastic. Anyone else down here?

Anyone? Any wedding anniversaries this

week in the peak of winter? In the peak

of who chose? Anyone else in here? No,

you guys. Yeah, you chose summer. You

chose son. This is fantastic. Anyone in

the mezzanine? Hey, welcome [music] to

those that are online as well. We bless

you. Anyone else? This is awesome.

That's fantastic. Hey, um just on that,

if we are doing communion just a bit

later on and if you have walked in here

and you did not uh grab one of those

from our ushers. I would just encourage

you, let's lift your hands up just now

so they can Yeah, there's a couple of

hands. There's always a couple that sort

of sneak through and forget. And we miss

you. I'm sorry about that. But just uh

there's some communion cups in here. Can

I just also say for those who of tradies

amongst us, there are two layers of

plastic. Let's not rip both off at the

same time, which I do normally. Uh there

are two layers. So one to get the let's

call it a cracker and one to get the

sort of juice as well. So um uh feel

free to do that at the start of when uh

that we start communion. That would be

always good.

Hey um we got a couple of notices in the

life of church and uh the first notice

is a growth track. Growth track is a is

is our is our first step in getting to

know the church. It is it's an

opportunity for you to get to know the

pastors. Get to know who Elim is and our

DNA. Uh we get to know who you are as a

person. We talk about life groups. We

talk about serving. We talk about uh the

DNA of [music] who we are and what you

can do in your in your life at Elim and

that sort of stuff. It is a fantastic uh

way of uh connecting to church. Can I

say the QR codes are in front of you?

The QR codes are on the screen. But

that's a great way. We're starting those

in uh early September. So, sign up for

those. And uh second notice is the quiz

night. Who loves a good quiz? Yes,

that sounded like four of you.

[laughter] Who loves a good quiz? Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. So, this is uh our sort of

annual uh life group quiz night and and

if you're not part of a life group, you

guys can definitely come along and form

a team. Can I just say like this is just

just at the outset. Um the Brookfield

Life Group, the greatest life group in

Tonga uh [music] Elim is going to crush

you all, but it's okay. You guys can

come for second place. That's all right.

Come for the participation trophy. We

love you, but we've been training. We

haven't really. We want matching

t-shirts. We don't have them, but you

know, we are we just it's such a fun

night. So, um encourage life group

leaders and those around you get a get

along to that. It's a great night. We

are raising money for tier fund as well.

Uh so it is a a worthy cause. So uh we

encourage uh this is not just come along

and uh do great quizzes, but we get to

sew into what God's doing all over the

world as well. So can I just encourage

you along that as well? That'll be

fantastic. So make sure your life groups

you're signing up for this. Uh can we

also just uh release the kids right now?

They'll be fantastic. Look at these

fantastic kids. They're just amazing. I

I I swear half like you know how those

sometimes you see them a couple of weeks

apart and they feel like they've grown a

foot. Like some kids, man, they're just

like on roids. I don't know what it is,

what parents they're feeding them, what

sort of supplements these kids are on,

but it's so cool.

I saw a little Levi down here this

morning. He used to be crawling, now

he's reaching tissues from the stage,

taking them back to mom. I'm like, it's

so good when kids become useful. Yes.

It's like that moment in time they are

finally worthy of it. No, I shouldn't

say that. We love them. Even if they are

useless, it's okay.

Come on. Babies are right. That is I

shouldn't I shouldn't carry on. Move

along. [laughter] I should say move

along. That's so good. I'm just stalling

while the kids are going. So um also as

we come around our time of giving this

morning, um there's four ways to give on

on the stage behind us. And for those

that call to elim home, this is how you

give. And can I just [music] say um

Karen and I just we even were just

talking about it yesterday just the in

our lives just the faithfulness of God

in our lives for when even though when

we've gone through seasons of hardship

we've still been able to give and it's

amazing when you do that it's this life

and you just you can see what you sow in

a season of hardship you get to reap

like later on and I can I say from a a

life of years of of sewing into the

house there is such a blessing that

comes along with this. Can I say there's

no compulsion from me, but I know we get

to give this morning.

We get to give. And I I'm so excited. I

love every Sunday when we get to give

and we get to Well, thank you for those

that give online firstly. Uh but I just

love the moment that we go, God, I trust

you again this week. I trust you again

this week. And I love it's a weekly

thing. I trust you again this week. I

trust you again this week. I just get in

my heart this morning. I trust you again

this week. that I can give. I trust you

with my finances. Uh it's so exciting,

right? And we get to put our hope and

our trust back in God, not on the zeros

in our bank account. So, thank you guys.

There's ways to give and let's uh we're

going to take communion together. So,

why don't we welcome up Murray wherever

he is and he's going to take communion

with us. He is coming.

There he is. There he is. [music] He's

got props and he's got everything. So,

look at him with his hat. Looks

fantastic. is

I'm just trying to fill in the silence.

[laughter] I shouldn't really

commentate. Con one more time. Let's get

off of Murray as he comes and leads us

in communion.

[snorts]

>> Good morning everyone. As Paul said, my

name is Murray Anderson and it's my

pleasure to lead us in communion this

morning.

I brought my glasses. I don't know if

I'll need them or not cuz the lights are

quite good up here, so I probably won't

need them.

Uh, just to introduce myself a little

bit. I'm married to Win. Unfortunately,

she's not well this morning. Can't be

here, but she'll be watching online

either now or later. I've got four

children, uh, seven grandchildren, two

great [music] grandchildren. So, I'm

getting up there.

Um, I came to the Lord probably about 45

years ago. So, this year will be our

43rd wedding anniversary.

And, um,

yeah, it's been a journey.

When I first came to the Lord, it was

just through watching Jesus in Nazareth.

So I didn't know any other Christians

and

I read in the Bible. I got got a Bible

read in there where you get baptized. So

I went into um the sea and baptized

myself. [laughter]

How [laughter]

however uh later on when I did uh start

fellowshipping at a church and I knew a

bit more, I got baptized in the pastor's

bar pool. So, so I'm not speaking any

heresy here this morning, but I mention

that to say that many of us take

communion and and including myself over

the years just because we see in the

Bible that Jesus implemented it. But

sometimes as we gain greater

understanding of it, uh it can mean more

to us. And so I just want to start

reading with Philippians 2:5.

Philippians 2:5

Jesus

said or Paul said just talking about the

Lord and his coming. Let this mind be in

you that was also in Christ Jesus who

existing in the form of God did not

consider equality with God.

Did not consider equality equality with

God as something to be grasped but

emptied himself taking the form of a

servant being made in human likeness and

being found in the appearance of man

of a man. He humbled himself becoming

obedient to the point of death even

death on a cross. So this morning as we

come around the communion table, I want

to focus on that cross

because how many of us know that really

the whole of scripture centers on on the

[music] cross on Jesus sacrifice,

laid down his body, shed his blood for

the forgiveness of sins.

And uh

some of us might wear a cross as a uh

you know just a symbol of that we're

followers of Christ.

But I believe that Jesus

knew our weakness as men and women and

that we need something in the natural

uh to take a hold of our spiritual walk.

And perhaps [music] that's part of the

reason he implemented the communion

because it's we can see the bread and

the wine. We can feel it. We can taste

it. But it's all to center us on the

cross.

And so, um, Luke in his gospel in Luke

Luke 22:19

22:19,

he explains, uh, a little bit about the

Lord taking supper with his disciples,

the Passover supper, the day before he

was going to go to his crucifixion.

[music]

And Jesus

knew exactly what was going to happen

before him or for him on behalf of

mankind.

The Bible actually says,

you know, he was crucified before the

foundation of the world. So it wasn't

something that took God by surprise, the

sin of man. Uh Jesus knew what was

happening. He came as the scriptures say

that we read before you. He came for the

purpose of going to the cross.

So Luke says, "And he took the bread,

gave thanks, and broke it,

and gave it to them, saying, "This is my

body given for you. Do this in

remembrance of me." In verse 20, in the

same way, after supper, he took the cup,

saying, "This cup is the new covenant in

my blood which is poured out for you."

And Paul in uh one of his apostles in 1

1 Corinthians 11:25

Corinthians 11:25, he expands on that

and he says, "In the same way also he

took the cup after supper, saying, "This

cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do

[music] this as often as you drink it in

remembrance of me."

How many of us know when we say,

"Remember me," we're not just talking

about our physical body or our

accomplishments.

And so I believe there's something

deeper when we come to the communion

table.

But this morning I just want to look at

the remembrance part. Jesus said,

"Remember me." And it certainly

included,

his crucifixion,

his broken body, his shed blood. He

wanted us to look at look at it. But uh

I've often wondered, I don't know if you

have, why did he implement this

practice for his disciples? And as many

of us are far off and it says until he

comes again, he wanted us to do this.

You know, there were many memorials in

the Old Testament for Israel. the uh as

they crossed the Red Sea, God got them

to set up memorial stones, one for each

tribe. And that was something to

remember the greatness of God and what

they had been through, their deliverance

from slavery. Even the Passover supper,

there was something God implemented

to be done every year. So why did Jesus

say,

"Do this as often as you drink this

cup."

And I believe part of the answer

can be found in his wisdom and what he

knew we our walk would be like. See, I

don't believe it was just a time to

remember something that historical event

on the cross. I don't believe Jesus

thought our memory was that bad that we

needed to remember it on and on and on.

Maybe for some of us over 70 that might

be a problem. But

I believe it was

something a lot deeper than that. I

believe in his wisdom

that he knew

the accuser of the brethren would be on

our back all the time

because we put our trust in Jesus.

You know, uh, Luke again

tells us that Jesus said, "Simon,

Simon."

Satan wants to sift you all like wheat.

But I pray,

that your faith would not fail.

So many of us even this week might have

come under the accuser of the brethren

with those fiery darts of the enemy that

hit us in

many different ways. I had a really bad

disappointment this week. In fact, I was

thinking I need to ring Aaron and say

I'm not up to this

because it was something very close to

my heart.

But some of us come this morning know

things have happened through the week or

through the month

where we've had disappointment. We feel

unworthy. We've maybe failed in

something we thought we had overcome,

gone back to some habit or

um stronghold that we thought was way in

our past.

The enemy's lied to us and told us

that we're hypocrites in our Christian

walk.

Whatever it is, many of us carry those

things. And I believe Jesus knew that.

And that's why he wanted us to come and

regularly break bread and take the cup.

See Isaiah 53:5-6

Isaiah 53:5–6

says,

"But he was pierced for our

transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities.

Upon him was the chastisement

that brought us peace. And by his wounds

we are healed."

And verse six ends with, "And the Lord

has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

And remembering his blood, you know,

Hebrews 9:22 tells us

Hebrews 9:22

that without the shedding of blood,

there is no forgiveness.

So Jesus had a purpose and a plan for

going to the cross, but

it was out of his great love for us.

He laid down his life for us. And I

sometimes reflect

on our heavenly father's great love that

he sent his son

to die for us

to so that he could forgive us so that

we can could restore that relationship

with him.

And yet

the Bible says that we we are the ones

that pierce Jesus.

You know in Zechariah 12:10 it says they

Zechariah 12:10

will look on me [music] the one they

have pierced.

And again Revelation 1:7

Revelation 1:7

look he is coming with the lamb coming

with the clouds and every eye will see

him even those who pierced him.

And we've just read Isaiah 53:6.

Isaiah 53:6

It says he was pierced for our

transgressions.

So the father sent his son

to lay down his life that he might be

able to be reconciled to us as children.

I know only a tiny bit

about what that might feel like to a

father to send a son because about eight

years ago,

my only son. I said we have four

children with the oldest rubber girls.

The youngest was my son Josh

and he was shot through the eye

with a 22 caliber. Excuse me.

Still raw. [laughter]

was by one of his friends who was just

stupid. Didn't think the gun was loaded.

Did it to give him a fright.

[snorts]

It's a long story.

He still carries the 22 caliber slug in

in his head lodged in his eye socket and

was going to be too

dangerous for the surgeons to try and

remove.

I told him you'd never see again

again out of that eye.

couple of days after he was shot, he was

due to lead a missionary

um mission to Tonga,

but he couldn't couldn't fly because

that put a gas bag in the back of his

eye because the explosion out the back

was too great to repair. Now, we're

going to try and hold some of the fluids

in there to see if his retina would

reattach.

and he was invited to speak at a church

down here

in Terara.

And so we went along, my wife and I and

some others in the family.

I was so proud of him that day because

he got up and he said, "I can't see

Jack." pointing to his left eye, but I

can see Jesus.

And he said, "My only thought was, my

main thought when I was lying in that

hospital bed

was I was praying that God would send

the guy in that shot me

because I wanted to tell him that though

I was physically changed, my heart was

still the same for him." Because he

looked upon him as a father. He pulled

him off the street at age 13.

and he actually lived with him and he

had brought him to the Lord and was

discipling him.

And so that was my son's heart and just

showed me

an aspect of forgiveness that I've never

had to deal with.

At the end there was an alter call and I

went forward for prayer. I can't

remember what I went forward for.

I was standing in the line

with my eyes closed and next thing a

young man's voice says, "Oh, what can I

pray you for you?" I opened my eyes and

there was the guy

that shot my son,

wanting to pray for me.

I knew it was too much to be a

coincidence. I thought I'd forgiven him,

but I realized that God had arranged

that.

Too much of a coincidence. I didn't even

know he was there.

Didn't know he was part of that uh

Tongan missionary team.

So that was I took it as God showed me.

I hadn't forgiven him properly.

So I praise God for that. But

so I know what it a little bit of what

it might feel like to God to have to

forgive us for piercing his son

Jesus.

The story didn't end there because

a few years later Josh got engaged to a

lovely Scottish girl, Ruth, and we're

having the wedding down in Queenstown.

And the day before the wedding, I met

with his parents who had come or her

parents, sorry, who had come over from

Scotland

for the first time I'd uh met them. And

I was telling this about how proud I was

of

our son who was about to be their

son-in-law.

And I broke down just like this. I

should have known not to use this as

example. [laughter]

And I thought I might mention something

of it at the uh wedding uh when he asked

me to speak the next day.

But they had the wedding on the

on the lakefront in Monica.

And I saw who one of the groomsmen was.

Josh had asked the very guy that had

pierced him with that bullet

to be his groomsman.

So I knew I couldn't say anything about

that in in my wedding speech.

But what it showed me was [snorts]

there's my son

inviting the guy that pierced him to be

his groomsman.

Probably the most important day of his

life.

Yet Jesus asks us who pierced him for

our iniquities, for our transgressions.

[snorts]

He asked

us to come to his wedding supper, but

not only that,

to be his bride.

So as we

break this bread this morning

and take this cup,

whatever we've come with, some of those

accusations of the the devil can cloud

our conscience

so that we don't have the faith to come

boldly into the throne of God, into his

very presence. And yet that's the price

that Jesus paid.

You know it says in Hebrews 9:10

Hebrews 9:10

I think if I can find my notes

10:19 to 20 says therefore brothers

since we have confidence to enter the

most holy place by the blood of Jesus by

the new and living way opened for us

through the curtain that is through his

flesh.

So, [snorts] as

we break this bread and

take this cup, if there's something that

you've come with that you think might be

hindering your conscience,

hindering you entering by faith boldly

into the presence of God

through the veil, as it were, into his

presence,

I ask that you just take a moment and

give that to the Lord.

says in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess

1 John 1:9

and give these things to him, he's

faithful,

faithful to forgive us. Not only that,

he nailed the record

of all our sins on the cross.

So, Father, we bless this bread

breaking of the bread. Part of what it

represents

is that torn veil that we can enter

through.

Father, we ask that you bless it from

heaven, this bread and this cup.

And Lord, every

wafer and container around that people

hold around this room and those that

have joined us online.

And we ask, Father,

that you might give us that we might

receive everything that you meant this

communion time to be.

Lord, you said this is

your body.

Eat it in remembrance of me.

So we do that, Lord. He said, "This is

the cup of the new covenant

in my blood. Drink it in remembrance of

me."

So, if you haven't already, let's eat

and drink together

as we come before the cross. Thank you,

Lord.

I'm just going to hand it over to the

worship team.

Thank you, Jesus.

Oh My words for sure.

I've got nothing new.

How could I express

all my gratitude?

I could sing these [music] songs

as I often do.

Every song [music and singing] must end

and you never do.

So I [singing and music] throw up my

hands, praise you again and again.

[music]

Cuz all that I have is [singing] a

hallelu

hallelu. [music]

[singing]

And I know it's not much, nothing else

[music] fit for a king

except for a heart singing hallelu.

Hallelu. [singing]

I've got [singing and music] one

response.

I've got just one move

>> with my [singing and music] arms stretch

wide.

>> I will worship [singing] you.

So I throw up my [music] hands, praise

you again [singing]

and again.

All that [music] I have is a hallelujah.

[singing]

[music]

And I know it's not [singing] much,

nothing else fit for a king

except for a [music and singing] heart

singing hallelujah.

[music and singing]

Hallelujah. Lord,

it's all I [singing] have.

Hallelujah Jesus.

>> We praise you, Father.

>> Come on, my soul.

>> Don't you get [music and singing] shy of

me. Lift up your song. You got to lie

inside of those lungs. Get up and praise

the Lord.

Come [music] on, my [singing] soul.

Don't you get shy of me. Lift up your

song. You've [music] got a [singing]

lion inside of those lungs. Get up

[music] and praise the Lord.

Come on [music] my [singing] soul. Don't

you get shy. Lift up your song. You've

[music and singing] got a lion inside of

those lungs. Get up and praise

[music and singing] the Lord.

Come on, my soul. Don't you get

[music and singing] child lift up your

soul. You got a lion [music and singing]

inside of those.

Get up and [music] raise the Lord.

[music] Praise the Lord.

Praise him. [music]

Praise. [music]

Oh, I [music]

praise you [singing] again and again.

It's all [music] that I have is a

hallelujah.

[music]

Not going much, nothing else before.

[music]

except for our heart singing [music]

hallelu

hallelu. [music]

So I to my [music]

hands praise you [singing] again.

It's all that I have is

[singing and music]

[music]

[singing]

I know [music] it's not much

else [singing] for a king

for a [music] heart single

hallelujah. [singing and music]

Hallelu [music and singing]

Hallelujah.

[music]

Something that Murray has said this

morning has struck a heart with you.

[music]

We've got the altar open this morning.

Even if you just want to step forward as

a signal of I'm stepping into what God

has for me this morning. [music]

And if you want prayer this morning,

just move to either side to to a little

bit out of the sound uh thing. And I

just encourage you [music] um you know,

when David danced naked uh before the

Lord, it wasn't about his clothing or

lack thereof. It was about that he

didn't hold anything back. And um that's

what pleases the Lord the most. And I

just encourage you this morning. Don't

hold anything back. We're here to

worship him. Holy Spirit is here to

touch you this morning. And as if you

step forward, and even if you want to

step forward here and go back to your

chair, that's okay. It's a sign of

actually I'm taking a step [music]

towards you, Lord. Because if you do

that, then he's going to run towards

you.

I could sing

your name

for all my [singing] life

and still [music] find more to love each

time.

Jesus [music] be the name [singing]

ever on my lips.

every [singing]

[music]

[music] There's just something about

your [singing] name.

There's just something about your name

that makes me [singing] cry. [music]

There is no other name.

There is no other [singing] name.

There is no other name. You Jesus

[singing and music]

worthy.

You [music and singing]

have been the friend

who never

left.

I won't [music]

forget

your faithfulness. [singing]

Jesus be [music and singing] the name

ever on my lips.

Sweeter every time that

[music and singing] I call on it.

There's just something about your name.

There's [music] just something about

your name.

There's just something about your name

[singing]

that makes me cry holy. [music]

There is no other name. [singing]

There is no other name.

There [music and singing] is no other

name.

Jesus, you're worthy.

[music]

There's just something about your name.

[singing]

There's just something about your name.

There's just something about your

[music] name

that makes me cry [singing] holy.

Oh, there is no other name.

There is no other [music and singing]

name.

There is no other name.

Jesus, [singing and music] you're

worthy.

Oh.

Jesus,

[music]

you know, [singing]

all our praise.

We lift you [music] high [singing]

Jesus.

[music]

>> Be the name the name

I [music] worship.

Jesus your name. He's light in the

morning [singing and music] light. The

one the darkness can't deny. [singing]

The resurrection

and the life. Jesus. [music]

Jesus. Your name can save. Your name can

heal. [music and singing] Your name can

make the storm be still. You never fail.

[singing] You never will. Jesus. [music]

Jesus the bread of life broken for us.

[music and singing] The wounded and the

worthy one. The first, [music] the last

and [singing] still to come. Jesus.

Jesus the [music and singing] king over

the way. The Lord who will [music]

forever reign. The name [singing] above

all. The name Jesus. [music]

Jesus be the name.

Jesus [music] be the name.

Jesus be the name.

[music]

All the glory.

Jesus be the name.

Jesus be the name. [music]

Jesus be the name

all the glory. [music]

Oh Jesus be the name. Be the name. Jesus

be [music] the name.

Jesus be the name.

It's all good [music] glory.

Jesus be the name.

Jesus be the name. [music]

Jesus be the name

all the glory. [music]

Oh

[music]

Jesus.

Oh

[music]

woah woah [music] woah woah woah

woah.

Jesus. Jesus name. Jesus be name.

[music]

Jesus be name.

You give all the glory. [music]

Yeah. Oh, Jesus be the

Jesus be the name.

Jesus be the name. [music]

It gets all [singing] the glory.

>> There's just something about [music]

your name.

>> There's just something about your name.

There's just something

[singing and music]

holy.

There is no other name. Jesus,

there is no other name.

There is no [music and singing] other

name.

Jesus, you're worthy.

>> [music]

>> Who thought I'd [singing] find you at

the lowest place?

And who thought you'd [singing] feel

[music] me in the crowd?

You knew you'd [singing and music]

make good of my mistakes.

You're nothing [singing and music] like

I thought you were. You're better. What

a God. What a God.

What a God. [music]

What a God.

What a [music and singing] God. What a

God.

What a God. [music and singing] My God,

I thought [music and singing] you show

up for affection.

Cuz what [music] kind [singing] of God

for the lost?

They [music and singing] say it's over

for a sinner,

but you say

no, it's [music] time. No, it's time.

But you say, "No, [music] it's not."

[singing] No, it's not.

What a God. What a God.

What a God. [music and singing] What a

God

you are.

What a God. [music and singing]

What a God.

Yes, you are. Jesus.

What a God. What a God. [music]

What a God you are.

[music]

If the highest [singing and music] place

I reach is at your feet, then I've done

it all. If [music and singing] the best

thing that I've seen is your glory, then

I've seen it all. Your love has saved my

[singing] life. [music] Forever

satisfied. God, you [singing] are my

everything.

[music] If the highest place I [singing]

reach is at your feet, then I've done it

all. If [music and singing] the blessing

that I've seen is your glory,

then I've seen it all.

Your love has saved my

[music and singing] life. Forever

satisfying God. [music] You [singing]

are my everything.

If one word is the only thing you speak,

then I pray it all. [music]

If I feel [singing] your heart and never

see your hand, I still have it all.

No treasure [music] of this [singing]

life could ever satisfy.

You [music] are [singing] my everything.

You are. You are [music and singing]

my everything.

You are [music and singing] my

What a God. What a God.

[music]

What a God. What a God.

[music] What a God. What a God

you are.

What a God. [music] What a God.

[music] The highest place I reach is at

your feet. And I've done it all. [music]

The best thing [singing] that I've seen

is your glory.

And I've [music] seen it all.

Your love has changed my life [singing]

forever. Satisfied. [music]

You [singing] are my everything.

You know, [music] one word is the only

[singing] thing you see. Then I heard it

all. If I feel your heart and never see

your name, [music]

I still have it all. No treasure of his

[music and singing] life would ever

satisfy.

You [music] are [singing] my everything.

Oh God,

>> you are my everything. [music]

>> You are my [singing] everything.

You are. [music and singing]

>> Thank you, Jesus. Holy Spirit, we thank

you that you're here, Lord, that you

love to be amongst your people.

Why don't you just [music] take a deep

breath in this morning? There's an

atmosphere of the Holy Spirit here.

Wow, Lord. And even [music] as we

breathe in, thank you that we're

breathing in your presence,

Lord. Even as we breathe in [music]

where there is bitterness, Lord,

in our hearts, may we breathe in the

peace of the Holy Spirit. Lord, where

there's sickness in our bodies, Lord.

May we breathe in your healing power.

Thank you, Jesus.

>> Lord, where there's oppressions over our

mind, Lord, may we breathe in the

freedom of Christ this morning.

Lord, we honor you this morning in Jesus

mighty name. Amen. Amen. Awesome.

[music]

You can.

Uh you may be uh familiar with this

story about a Christian who was working

at work and uh he was working in a

factory and he decided that he was like

I'm not going to tell anyone I'm a

Christian. I'm just going to let my good

work shine. I'm going to live uh be

honest. I'm going to not partake in some

of the things that the other workers

partake in and and and I'm just going to

see how long it takes them for someone

to come and ask me about my faith. And

so for years, this guy uh every uh week

is just faithfully serving Jesus, but

does not say one word about him. Does

not tell anyone he's a Christian. And

after about four years, someone comes up

to him and in the workplace and there's

just two of them alone and he says,

"Hey, I think there's something

different about you." And he thinks,

"Yes, this is my great moment." Like,

he's like, "Yes, there is." And the guy

said, "I think I know what it is." And

he said, "Well, well, tell me, what do

you think it is?" He says, "I think

you're a vegetarian."

And uh

you know we can uh

sometimes

uh you know there was that great saying

to preach the gospel and when necessary

use words and that's a beautiful thing

because our lives should reflect the

good news of Jesus and I don't think

anyone wants to hear about the good news

of Jesus without seeing it connected to

a life, but we're doing a series on

boldness. And this is actually the last

week in our series on boldness. And so,

uh, we've been talking about how the the

righteous are as bold as a lion and how

there is a call on all of us as

believers in Jesus to be bold in who he

calls us to be. Uh and um this morning

we're actually going to talk again about

this Greek word paracia which means it's

a word used in the New Testament uh and

it means to be bold but it actually

means to be bold in speech to be

unreserved in your speaking. And uh the

primary way this word is actually used

in the New Testament is actually about

being bold in sharing the hope that we

have in Jesus. And uh I am aware it went

a little bit even though it was already

silent. It just went a little bit more

silent then. Um because I'm aware when

we even mention something like that that

for some of us we feel like oh no this

is something I'm not very good at. Um

and if it's not you it must be your

neighbor. Don't look at them and make

them feel awkward.

My computer really likes to

Paul asked me if it was good this

morning. I was like yes I checked it.

You know so for many of us when there is

this idea of sharing about Jesus we can

uh have this feeling like many of the

other [clears throat] feelings of of

this bold series like man I don't know

if that's totally me and then on top of

our own insecurities we live in a

culture that has pushed back and said

hey you can have a faith just keep it

private right like keep your faith where

um you know to yourself you believe what

you believe I'll believe what I believe

you do you I'll do me but let's we don't

need to hear about it right and so it

does create a cultural moment where a

lot of us are very unsure well what are

even the rules at what point am I

allowed to share with someone what point

aren't I allowed to share and it can be

confusing like I know uh I actually had

a job not as a pastor thank goodness

where they uh told where they said to me

you know they pulled me aside and said,

"How you going to be meeting with people

in this role? We just want to be very

clear what you're going to say, how

you're going to introduce yourself, that

you're not going to share Bible verses,

that you're not going to do this or that

or the other thing because we are not

really that comfortable with you doing

that." And uh I guess many of us have

been in places like that. And maybe some

of us have even had that Christian

colleague at work that likes to tell

people about Jesus, but tries to do it

on the boss's time all the time. And uh

sometimes the boss is like, "I'm

actually paying you to work uh not to

share Jesus." And they go, "Well, I'm

being persecuted." And it's like, "Well,

maybe you're not being persecuted. Maybe

you're just being told to do your job

that they're paying you to do, you know,

um first world persecution."

But the there there is a reality for

many of us

that we can at times feel like, man, I I

I just don't feel like I'm that bold in

sharing my faith. And we have lived

through a cultural moment in in New

Zealand where there there was really a

time where uh it it genuinely was not

that we shouldn't be bold but the

society had moved a long way from

wanting to hear and it often took a

number of steps to journey with people

to get to the point where you could

share the fullness of the gospel. Right?

That wasn't compromise. it was

customizing to actually hey I want to

see this person come to know Jesus but

it's um it's going to be in the context

of relationship but I do believe as well

the cultural moment within our um

country and within the west is changing

a lot of people talk about

deconstruction and if you don't know

what deconstruction is it's where where

people uh it's often talked about in

terms of Christianity where people begin

to deconstruct some of the belief that

they had. And deconstruction can either

be a great thing where we deconstruct

bad thoughts about God and reconstruct

the truth or deconstruction can be a bad

thing where we deconstruct and try and

move away from God. But the interesting

thing is it's not just Christianity

that's in a moment of deconstruction. Uh

and so by deconstruction I'm meaning

challenging the foundations of belief.

our society as a whole uh in a cultural

moment where where the foundations of

what we believe are being challenged.

And so it actually gives us an

opportunity for the good news of Jesus,

people are open in a way that they

haven't been in the past. And so 2

2 Corinthians 3:12

Corinthians 3:12 uses this word paracia

and it says um therefore since we have

such a hope, we are very bold.

Therefore, since we have such a hope, we

are very bold. And the bold is talking

about uh unreserved speech. Because we

have this hope in Jesus, we are bold to

share what he has done for us. You see,

our boldness should always be connected

to the hope that we have found in Jesus.

And maybe before we even talk about

being bold, maybe some of us just need

to remember how amazing Jesus has been

to us. Like what an amazing hope we

have. That I was lost. That I was broken

and Jesus came and into my life and

healed my heart and transformed me. And

I have such great hope, man. When I

remember that, all of a sudden, sharing

with someone has a lot less pressure.

I'm like, my my life has been

transformed.

Wow, I have such great hope. [snorts]

I don't need to do everything. I just

need to live full of the hope that Jesus

gave me. And when I live fully aware of

the hope that I have in Christ, of how

he's changed my life, it becomes far

more natural.

Because some of us hear the boldness

thing and the reason why we don't like

it is we've we've seen where it's been

very unnatural.

I remember an evangelist um wrote in a

book and told the story about how um he

was going to buy something from uh

Facebook Marketplace or TradeMe or

something and he wanted to share the

gospel with the person and so what he

did was he walked down the the driveway

uh to the person's house and as he

walked down the driveway he pulled a

track out of his pocket and dropped it

on the ground and then he picked it up

And then he went and knocked on the door

and he said, "Hey, this was lying on the

ground in your driveway."

I can just imagine the person watching

him as he walked up the driveway

thinking that is the most unnatural

weird thing to do to someone, right?

Like it's really weird. Like I I think

sometimes it's we we've seen examples

like that and we're like, I don't know

if that's kind of a little bit different

or a little bit strange. like I don't

necessarily want to be like that. But

one of the cures for that is we live

fully aware of the hope that Jesus has

for us. In one Peter 3 14 it says, "Even

if you should suffer for doing what is

right, you are blessed. Do not fear

their threats and do not be frightened,

but in your hearts rever Christ as

Lord." So again, it's saying, "Hey,

there's a heart posture that starts."

Wow. When I'm revering Christ, it then

says this, always be prepared to give an

answer to everyone who asks you to give

the reason for the hope that you have,

but do this with gentleness and respect.

Do you know you can be both bold and

gentle and respectful at the same time?

You don't have to leave being respectful

to be bold in sharing what Jesus has

done in your life. And and my hope is

that all of us would grow to the place

where at times we can actually share the

real reality of the gospel with someone.

Hey, Jesus came, he died, he rose again

to pay a price because we were all lost.

And if you'll confess your sins and give

your life to him, then you will be

saved. Like that is what we want to

share. But it says always be willing to

give a reason for the hope. So sometimes

that that that that's the end point, but

there can be steps along the journey.

And man, I hope we have the courage that

when it's the right time, we are willing

to without compromise declare the truth

of who Jesus is. But we don't always

have to start there in the first

conversation.

We can actually have gentleness and

respect and be willing to live in such a

way that they ask. You see, it's

interesting. It says, "Be willing to

give an answer." Uh and one of the most

helpful things in this for me was uh

Aaron Ironside who's coming to our all-

in team night next week. When I was

interviewing him one time about

evangelism, he simply said this. What he

purposes to do in his heart is he

doesn't categorize his friends into

Christian friends and non-Christian

friends. He says, "I just have friends

and I'm a follower of Jesus. So if it

would be natural for me to say to one of

my friends, well, this is something

amazing that Jesus did for my in my life

this week. I'm just going to share it.

Not preach at them, not whatever, but

I'm not going to categorize. This is

just who I am. So, actually, my speech

being unreserved is actually just the

ability to tell you about the hope and

the reality of of Jesus in my life and

and and and with gentleness and respect.

And it's amazing what can happen.

I mean, I have over the years done

street preaching. I've I've preached on

the streets. I've, you know, I preach

approach people I don't know and and

asked them about Jesus and talked to

them. And I absolutely we believe we

need to be people that do that. But I

also think if you're like, man, that's

not me. Can I encourage you? You have so

much ability to reach people in your

world around you.

And and one of the things that this

boldness actually looks like

is us having the ability to be

transparent before people so that they

could they could find a reason to ask

for the hope that we have

like actually just living our lives in

such a way that we are sharing about the

difference that Jesus makes. Uh earlier

this year I was on the sideline of um

one of Jordan's rugby games and one of

the dads said, "What do you do for a

job?" And so um I know it's so funny if

you're if you're not a pastor, you go,

"Oh, it's so easy for you to talk to

about people about Jesus because they

ask you what your job is and you've got

the perfect entrance point." And I'm

like, "Yes, but you don't see their face

when you say, "I'm the pastor of a

church." You know, like uh so often it's

not what people expect. And so he said,

"What do you do?" And I said, "I'm the

pastor of a church." And he said, "Oh."

And you know, I can kind of sense a few

of the other people are kind of leaning

in just to see where's this conversation

going to go.

And uh he said, "Um, oh, how'd you get

into that?"

which was actually a great question

because I was able to say, well, as a

teenager,

I actually said to him, because we're on

the sideline of a rugby game, I said,

hey, I don't want to preach a whole

sermon to you, but you asked. So, as a

teenager, Jesus changed my life and what

thing would I want to do with my life

other than help people find that for

themselves.

And um he oh, okay,

you know what? I felt I didn't say

anything more. the we started cheering

for the rugby. It wasn't like now I need

to find another way to get you to ask

another question so I can I'm just

willing to share the reason I have this

hope. And there would be times where

there is a need for a follow-up where

hey what do you think about Jesus or but

I was like I I I didn't feel the

pressure to have it all done there and

then. It was simply the pressure to say

man I'm willing to share with you the

reason why I have hope. Why am I a

pastor? It's not for the pay.

It's

um we're not a prosperity gospel church.

We are very blessed. But you know, it's

it's because Jesus changed my life.

And I hope that we end up telling people

about the gospel and and the reality of

Jesus. And I hope we are unashamed to do

that at times. But if the very first

step is I went to church on Sunday,

that's okay. If that's the very first

step that hey, I went to church on

Sunday. It was awesome. Or it wasn't

awesome. I don't know, [laughter] one of

the two.

Because what's interesting is there when

you journey with people, there becomes a

time where they go, "Oh, well, what

church do you go to? I go to the

church." "Oh, why do you go there?" And

all of a sudden, conversations begin to

flow when we're willing to be step out

in boldness and share the hope that we

have in Christ. And so what I actually

want to do this morning is we have three

of our young people here who um have

been just uh active in sharing their

faith. And so I thought it would be

awesome to have uh Angel, Asher, and

Monga come up and UH

IF I'M REALLY HONEST, AND I'M NOT saying

this this isn't this is just true, these

guys are bolder than I am in this area.

So, I was like, man, I I want to get

them up to to share cuz um so come and

grab a seat, guys.

Do you guys just want to introduce

yourself? Maybe say how old you are,

what school you go to. Is that cool?

>> Go Ash.

>> I'm Ash.

>> I'm Asha. I'm 13 and I go to TBC.

>> My name is Mong and I go to Autosai

College and I'm surprisingly 16.

Hello. Um,

>> hello. I'm Angel and I go to Tonging

Girls and I'm 16.

>> Awesome. So, uh, each of these guys

actually share their faith uh, in

different ways. So, um, Asha, do you

want to kick us off with uh, giving us

some examples of some of the ways you

uh, share your faith?

So I just share it to my friends at

school and like get them coming to along

to our school Christian group which is

and a few of them who have like never

even stepped foot in a church have came

before and some of them like have now

started coming to youth and are growing

a relationship with God. And then we

also just go around school as a

Christian group and just tell people

about Jesus and get them coming along to

Christian group getting them to know

Jesus and Yeah.

>> How awesome is that?

[applause]

>> Angel, did you want to answer the same

question? Um yeah, we also have a

Christian group at Turinga Girls and we

meet three times a week to either pray,

evangelize or um get into the word and

fellowship. And um every Tuesday we um

during lunch we'll meet up and then

we'll pray and then we'll split off into

groups of two or three um and then we'll

walk around school as well just um

inviting

so we start off by mainly inviting them

in um to our Christian group and um

sharing how there's a space there that

um they're welcome to be in. And yeah,

the sole intent that I have in coming to

these girls is just to um share the

gospel and get them thinking about the

message of Jesus. Um and I don't have a

set way of sharing like um because it is

quite new to me as well. But sometimes

I'll ask questions like

um what what's the meaning of success to

you or like what gives you purpose and

um then kind of bringing in Jesus from

there. But most of the time it's just

the do you know Jesus or like can we

talk to you for a couple minutes and

then um yeah just the question of do you

know Jesus and then breaking down his

death and resurrection and the value of

that and

uh then ifying of why there's worthiness

in getting to know him before. Yeah. And

some of the conversations that we've had

are intelligent and girls bring their

like they have openness towards us and

they bring genuine questions and have

their own experiences

um and knowledge of the faith. And some

of the girls we just um

we can

they're not some of them don't really

care. Um, some of them are quite

avoidant or shy to talk about Jesus, but

that's okay. And um, yeah, all in all, I

think it's a really good it's a good

Yeah, it's great.

>> So good. Isn't that awesome? [applause]

>> And I know um Asha when he actually came

home and um one day and said, "Oh, you

know, I've been out preaching the gospel

today." And I was like, "Wow, I never

did that at school." So, um, I was like,

"Hey, well, what what does that mean?"

And he said, "Um, I was inviting kids to

youth." And now, unfortunately, the way

my brain works, I'm like straight away

like, "Well, that's a courageous thing

to do." I'm like, "Not technically

sharing the gospel." But I realized in

that moment that uh the spirit of shut

up came over me and uh here is Asha uh

you know, going out into the school,

inviting kids to youth. So, I didn't say

anything. I was like, you know, um, and

so a few weeks later, I said, "What did

you do at school today?" "Oh, we went

out and shared the gospel, Dad." I just

asked the same question. "Hey, what did

that look like?" We went up to people

and asked them if they'd ever known

about heard about Jesus and shared about

his death and resurrection. And I was

like, man, like whether it starts with

inviting someone to church or to um pray

with you or whatever, like man, how

awesome. And then to have the courage to

uh share that. Mong, you sometimes uh go

out onto the streets.

>> That's right.

>> You want to share about that?

>> Well, [laughter]

it's it's quite um yeah, it's quite

tricky sometimes um finding the right

time. Well, I found out if I plan

something um every single time if I make

a plan to go out or plan to eat um I'm

not joking to you. 100% of the time God

will do this. Oh, yeah. You know, the

angel's coming over and God's receiving

the paper that Oh, mom has plans, boss.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That's pretty cool.

He has plans. Yeah. Yeah. All right.

Give them this one.

Every single time I try to make a plan,

it goes downhill. However, God actually

fixes it and he makes it way better

unexpectedly. Um, he perfects it, the

plans. So, um, straight preaching. Don't

get off topic. Um,

yeah. Uh, can I stand, please? I don't

like sitting down. Woohoo. Yeah. Okay.

So, street preaching is something that I

like doing.

>> I hope your lunch isn't on, guys. We

might. [laughter]

>> So, I like street preaching and I

invited my two friends to go out one day

and I have a Instagram post about it

about our experiences going out and I

forgot the three people's names. I'm hor

I'm terrible at knowing names, but I

remember, you know, faces. I remember

whether beautiful faces or quite stern

mean faces or just any faces really. E

um yeah, I should look up to the crowd

too. Hello. Um yeah, I'll be going out

sometimes. I'll get Bibles ready to hand

out to the homeless, hand out uh some

like flyers out to anybody who comes my

way and first things first, I'll just

pray about like, Lord, um who do you

want me to pray for? Who do you want me

to go out to? You know, Lord, can you

reveal to me those who you have a heart

of? So, I'll pray that and I'll be like,

"Sweet. Let's go for a walk." Yeah. You

know, going out for a walk. And then

sometimes I may not even go as planned.

Like, "Oh, I didn't pray for anybody.

Oh, I didn't g any Bibles. Oh, I didn't

do anything. Oh, man. Oh, that's that's

dumb." Start walking around.

But the truth is, even if you don't if

you even if you didn't preach to anybody

or even if you didn't um share the

gospel with anybody, you still had a

heart. Your heart posture was right. You

were still going out searching and

seeking like God, man. Come on, move on.

So, this one time we went out um me and

Josh. Stay on topic, mama. Me, Josh, and

Elijah. Elijah Moore, Aaron's, um son.

And uh we went out preaching, prayed for

these people. Um there was this lady who

had an incredible testimony. She's been

homeless for 40 years. Um she I think

around 70 years old. Um she was doing

drugs at the time and um she was sober

for 10 years.

Man, that's incredible if you think

about like 10 years sober, used to take

crack, used to take heroin, used to take

cocaine. She said these things, but then

she had a dog with her. And as we

approached her, I was like, "Um,

is that dog going to bite me?" So, I'm

walking closer and the dog looked at me

and lay back down. But I I I looked at

that lady though and I I saw people come

up to that uh lady just, you know,

walking by. The dog was barking at them,

literally barking at them. But as I

approached with my um men of God, we

approached and the dog looked at us

didn't didn't care. Even though you know

it's not human, even animals know the

true nature of God. Animals know who God

is. That's for sure. I don't know if you

know that, but I believe they know God,

[laughter] you know. So, I approached

him and as I'm going um to preach to

this wonderful lady, man, her story was

incredible, man. And um just street

preaching is something I like to do. Um

kind of went off topic, but um Gilda,

do you know uh actually Monga is uh in

part here today because someone uh

pastor in the town uh from Hope Center

at a four square went up to him and

said, "Hey, could I pray for you today?"

And uh that uh really began his deeper

connection with the Lord and him turning

back. And so um amazing a that someone

just literally that was hey bro I just

feel I was just wondering could I pray

with you and ma that day had said to God

hey I'd really love someone to pray with

me and just just amazing when we have uh

open eyes and ears but hey Asha how do

you find the boldness to go up to uh

speak to um people

>> uh probably the main thing is just

praying before we go out to have the

boldness to speak to people. And then

another thing is just having the right

friends who can just like help me with

my boldness and not set me back.

>> So good. Um,

Angel, what would you say to someone who

wants to share Jesus but is nervous or

scared about doing it? Um, I would say

just to

um remind yourself about what the word

says about who you are and the power and

authority that you have in Christ. Um,

I think when I was nervous to share

with others and even talk about Jesus or

my faith, like that was kind of because

I had a mindset of like I'm not good

enough or like qualified yet to share

with others. Um, and like maybe like I

need more Christlikeness or knowledge or

like something else like anything else.

But and those things are good, but I was

like just kind of stalling out of fear

of going into the unknown and um just

holding on to like lies then rather than

holding on to what the word has to say.

And um yeah, I would say

that even like even like sometimes going

out and approaching these people, I

still have like insecurity and doubt and

fear. But I think sometimes when you

have that, you still have to act. You

still have to step out anyways. And I

think just like

just remind yourself of the importance

of these people and the life that

abounds in a relationship that um they

could have with Jesus. And um yeah,

>> so good. and and long on the way here

you were telling me a story about a

Christian group at school just I think

yesterday or last week or where there

were some girls outside um yeah did you

want to share what that what happened

there

>> um I want to stand up again

>> yeah um every Friday um we have this uh

Bible study group have my um school wai

college um me Elijah and Josh again we

started this group and um every single

Friday We see I see I'm not too sure

they see but I see like just girls

hanging around this area the uh English

block upstairs and I was wondering

this was um uh this week Friday I was

wondering like man

okay Lord I went inside inside the

classroom hey guys how you going close

the door and I'm looking outside again

I'm like

I'm going to talk to them open up the

door going over hey guys would you guys

like to come over to um our Bible study

and I get to know Jesus anymore. And

they'll say, "Oh, no, I'm okay." Or,

"Um, [laughter]

um, no, it's totally fine. I rather eat

my lunch and have a talk with my

friend." I was like, "Oh, you know, just

you can come inside if you want, you

know, it's totally free, you know." And

there was this one girl. She said, "Oh,

but I'm not Christian."

So, I said, "I'm God bears witness. Hey,

you can enter in a Christian, but you

can exit out a Christian." M. So that

those were bars for me. Those were bars

for me, you know. And um there was this

one girl, this uh kitty bus lady. She

came up and said, "Yeah, I want to come.

I don't come." Her name's Siku. And um

she comes over, enters in and wow, her

testimony is awesome. She was she was

doubting if God was real. And um there

was this moment when she heard um an

invitation that I said um you know, come

along to Bible study. She's like, "Okay,

this must be a sign of God." So she

stood up, came over and um we did the

Bible study. Elijah was speaking that

day and he was incredible. Um and he was

talking actually about boldness.

Doesn't that seem strange? About

boldness.

Stole my message.

I think it was inspired by you.

[laughter]

So you're speaking about boldness. I'm

like that's strange. All right. So I was

talking to her and um after the um

preaching was done, we have a prayer

time. So we have prayer time and I was

um talking to her and she was doubting

God if he was real but she still wanted

to believe that God is real and um she's

in an adopted family. So her family's

back over at Kitty but she's back here

um in Alier and she her her um adopted

family does not believe in Christ

whatsoever. And sometimes she has a hard

time because you know sometimes she

actually get persecuted uh by them

because of her faith. And I'm like man

that is a struggle. But her faith wow

she is so strong. She keeps saying but I

know I know God's I know he's I know. I

just know. When I keep hearing hearing

her say that I'm like you have faith

young lady. You have faith. [laughter]

However,

I I I prayed for, you know, I prayed for

her, but man,

it just it just stuck with me cuz like

faith like that is so awesome.

>> So, um prayed for her, she did she

was awesome, right? She stood up, felt

as if rejuvenated and walked along. So,

um yeah, it's something I did last week

Friday.

>> So good. Just the simplicity. A hey,

this is what's on and uh you know, I'm

almost wondering if uh if these young

people do workplace visits or something.

Hey, we might need to um get them into

the church um staff meeting and see if

we can get some people saved or

>> send me in.

>> But, you know, I hope uh just even in

hearing this, I hope it's encouraging

and it's really just a reminder of how

simple it can be. You know, that we

actually don't have to have every

answer. We don't have to have every uh

thing down pat. we can actually just

reach out to people and and encourage

and share the hope that Jesus has been

for us. So, can we give these guys a

massive hand?

[cheering and applause]

>> And

the way we're actually going to finish

up is uh uh Pastor Paul will close us at

the end, but what we're actually going

to do is we talked in week one of uh

week two of boldness about being bold

and finding our place in prayer. And so

what we're actually going to do is uh

split into groups of three and there's

going to be some prayer prompts um up

the top. Now if uh if you're new to

church or you're new here and you're

like, "Oh my goodness, what is this?"