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Hi everyone, this is Emma from Encounter Church,

Henley, and thanks so much for tuning into our

podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast,

you can have an encounter with Jesus that will

change your life. And now, get ready for an inspiring

message from our preaching team. My name is Josh.

I'm part of the preaching team here at Henley.

and I've got the privilege of sharing with you

today, but I'm just going to pray first. Father,

would you come. Come into this space. Lord, would

you be next to us right now. Lord, would you

soften our hearts so that we can hear what you

have to say. In your name, amen. We've all sat

in a dark theater and watched our heroes have

the same journey play out on a massive screen.

It's the story we never get tired of because

it mirrors the deepest question of the human

heart. Am I meant for more than this? Tony Stark

wasn't just rich. He was isolated. He lived behind

walls of money and brilliance. He convinced himself

he didn't need anyone or anything and it took

a cold dark cave literal shrapnel in his chest

for him to realize that everything was actually

costing him his soul. Steve Rogers was a kid

from Brooklyn who was told no by every recruiter

in the city. He lacked the muscle but he had

the spirit and he refused to stay down. His transformation

wasn't just about a serum, it was about a man

whose internal convictions finally got the body

he deserved. Peter Parker! was a teenager trying

to survive high school until a single moment

changed his DNA and suddenly he had the power

to be number one. But he was haunted with the

realization when Uncle Ben said, with great power

comes great responsibility. Every hero hits a

wall where their old life and their new calling

collide. It's the moment they realize that they

can't go back to who they were. If Tony Stark

went back to selling weapons, the story would

just end. If Steve Rogers stays in an alleyway

picking fights that he can't win, the story just

ends. If Peter Parker ignores the cries and just

goes to prom, the story just ends. But here is

the depth that we missed. They didn't just choose

to be heroes, they chose to let their old versions

of themselves die and decided to become something

else and something new. They all had a moment

of conviction, a deciding moment of, I am cool

to this, but I could continue the life I've always

had. Conviction. It's a weight. all these heroes

have felt it. It's the moment they realize that

staying the same, being content with what's convenient

is actually harder at times than just changing.

For me, this is a constant decision that I have

to make every day. To live for Christ and His

calling over me instead of what I feel is best

for me. I remember coming to encounter so many

years ago in 2019 for one thing, a baby dedication.

I had no intention of coming back. I had no intention

of being involved. I had no intention of tuning

in other than that small snippet of that baby

dedication. And I remember at near the end of

the service thinking to myself, I have to come

back and just give this Christian thing one last

shot. Just one. One last shot, otherwise I'll

move on. I realised that I have to find a community.

I have to be in community. I have to be with

people who mould me. Or, option two, life is

just going to be hard and lonely. I thought if

it doesn't work out, then that's okay. But at

least I tried. In that time really I knew, I

think I knew God. knew of Him but I simply just

didn't live it and my life didn't show it at

the time. So I made the choice to come back the

next week and then the following week and then

I made a choice, I chose to live it and to live

for what Jesus wants us to live. Like all the

heroes we see on the screen, that choice has

impacted my life in so many ways. And it all

came down from one conviction and one simple

choice. I chose, I could have made the decision

to simply ignore the feeling, to ignore the call,

to ignore the conviction. I could have chosen

that, but I responded to becoming something else,

something more and something new. I chose the

harder path. I chose the conviction over what's

convenient. Isn't that something that we consistently

battle with daily? All of us. What we do versus

what we should do, or what might I say, what

we're actually called to do. Every day we battle

with this decision, like working from home and

then doing the hours that we're actually supposed

to do. Yeah? Or snacking 10 minutes after your

spouse has just made your dinner. or buying lunch

from the food truck after your spouse just made

you lunch. When you consistently choose what

you're called to do over what you want to do,

that conviction eventually stops being an effort

and starts becoming your identity. You don't

just do the right thing, you become something

else. And we're nearing the end of this series

of resurrection files and Tim, Ash and Angus

have all spoken into the life of this church.

And we've explored how Jesus meets us in our

disappointments, He meets us in our secrets,

proving that He is present even when our expectations

don't align with our reality. And Angus spoke

into the physical weight that Jesus stepped into

and how He restores us from who we were. And

most recently Ash explored the vulnerability

of God who invites us to simply touch his scars

like Thomas did. Meeting us in our doubts to

build a faith that's both grounded on evidence

and our belief. And all that brings us to a moment

of decision. When we encounter this new reality,

do we stay the same, Church? Or do we allow our

conviction to change our trajectory? A conviction

that changes our lives to change others. And

in this passage, Matthew ends his book with one

final recount of his interactions with Jesus.

He ends with two commands, go and number two,

make. Therefore go and make disciples of all

nations. baptizing them in the Name of the Father,

the Son and the Holy Spirit and teach these new

disciples to obey all the commands I've given

you and be sure of this I am with you always

even to the end of the age. And by this point

the disciples they had seen miracle after miracle

in front of their own eyes. They had seen the

blind seeing. They even saw the winds fold at

the command of Jesus. And in chapter 17, Peter,

James and John went with Jesus up a mountain

and they saw the appearance of Jesus change with

two people, Moses and Elijah. They had all lived

through the portrayal. they had lived through

the crucifixion, they had heard the hammer, they'd

seen the darkness and they watched the heavy

stone right across the tomb. But then they saw

the impossible, they saw the stone removed, they

saw the empty linens and then they sat with Jesus

and ate with him. And this was their life, this

was their encounter and this was their experience.

And it all leads to this moment at the Great

Commission, where they're standing on a familiar

mountain in a place that they knew, waiting for

a word from a man who had just conquered the

grave. For Jesus, this was the end of the beginning.

It was the handover, the handover of his ministry

to them with clear instructions. ministry that

he had prayed for and for his disciples which

we jump across to John in John 17 we can see

some of this in verse 9 my prayer is not for

the world but for those who have given me you

have given me because they belong to you all

who are mine belong to you and you have given

them to me so they bring me glory now I'm departing

from the world They are staying in this world,

but I am coming to you Holy Father You have given

me your name now protect them by the power of

your name So they will be reunited. They will

be united just as we are when Jesus meets his

disciples Some are hesitant and this is the moment

the first moment the first conviction the first

change of their trajectory Because the disciples

must decide when more than one possibility seems

reasonable and right. And the disciples, they

have to make a call in that moment. They could

turn around and they can leave or they can live

for Jesus and not for themselves. And Jesus in

the middle of their hesitation, Jesus does something

different in that moment, in that very moment.

And in verse 18, He doesn't shout at a distance

or rebuke them for their little faith that they

had. He does something different. He comes near,

he takes a step and he closes that gap and he

simply just says this, all authority has been

given to me in heaven and on earth. From there,

Jesus then gives two commands. Go and make. The

second conviction. The second choice. Do we stay

the same or do we allow the convictions change

our trajectory? Again, therefore go and make

disciples of all nations, baptising them in the

Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

and teach these new disciples to obey all commands

I have given you and be sure of this, I am with

you always even to the end of the age. When Jesus

says all nations This changes things for the

disciples. At that point all they really knew

was Israel. Until that moment, their world, their

internal world was tiny. It was defined by the

borders of Israel, the traditions that they knew

that their ancestors did and the comfort of their

people. But Jesus is standing on this mountain,

he looks them into the eye and he commands them

to leave what they've known behind. He is telling

them that the kingdom of God doesn't have a border.

He's instructing them to go to the Gentiles,

the outsiders, the rivals, the others, us and

invite them into the same relationship that they

know. The disciples encounter this new reality

and they have a choice. Again, do they stay the

same? Or do they allow that conviction to change

the trajectory of their life? And Jesus isn't

asking them to travel. He didn't say that. He's

asking them to expand their hearts, to take a

step. And it gives them instructions like baptism.

Because it's the physical changing of identity.

It's the public declaration of, I don't belong

to this world anymore. I belong to the Father,

the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen? And what exactly

are they supposed to teach? Well Jesus simplifies

it. Again if we go across to John in 13, 34 and

35, so now I am giving you a new commandment,

love each other. Just as I have loved you, you

should love each other. And your love for one

another will prove to the world that you are

my disciples. And that's it. So where does that

leave us? How do we move on from this point?

It's clear. The first word of the Commission

is simple, go. But what does that actually mean?

What does that truly mean? What does go mean?

For some of us, we may have domesticated this

word and we've turned go into attend. And we

treat our relationship with Jesus like a box

to be checked on a Sunday morning or a Sunday

afternoon and we show up, we worship, we tick

the box and then we put Jesus back in the cupboard

and we stack him there for the next six days.

But Jesus didn't say attend. He said go. If I

asked you right now what your leak... week looks

like, you'd probably pull out your phone and

show me a calendar full of your busy life, the

meetings, the school runs, the gym sessions,

sports, church, the family. The question is,

how much church work can I fit into that schedule?

The question is, who are you becoming while you

do all these things? At Encounter, we have a

new core value, Monday Invaders. And this is

exactly what Jesus is calling for. He isn't asking

for more of your time. He's simply just asking

for all of your life. He wants to invade your

workplace. He wants to invade your living room.

He wants to invade your tough conversations that

you have. To go means to simply carry the presence

of Jesus into spaces that don't know him and

at no point church is this going to be comfortable

for you and This is where the conviction we talked

about earlier comes into play Going is a physical

act But it starts with an internal decision It's

the choice to stop being number one in your own

life And when you choose to put Jesus first,

you are choosing to be someone else in your office.

You are choosing to be someone else in your family.

And you are choosing to be something else in

your life. And you are trading the kingdom of

self for the kingdom of God. Putting God first,

it's not complex. It's not hard. It's just small

intentional steps. It's reflecting his love when

you're frustrated with a colleague at work. It's

choosing honesty when it's easier to cut corners.

It's realizing that your mission field isn't

across the ocean. It's literally across the hallway.

For us at Henley, it's the people across the

road. in Henley and Grange. Don't over complicate

it. Just take a step. What's the worst that could

happen? People don't like that you're happy.

People don't want to hear about your weekend.

People don't want to hear about what you believe.

These things are all common responses and I'm

sure you've all felt them. I felt the whisper.

of you're not good enough, you're not happy,

you don't matter, no one wants to listen to you,

no one values your thoughts, no one cares what

you do outside of work, but church these are

all lies and you cannot dwell on these things

because this is only going to empower those feelings

and emotions. Please know people love it when

you're happy. People want to hear about your

weekend. Your colleagues want to hear about your

weekend and your life. As crazy as that might

sound. People want to hear your opinions and

what you believe. Genuinely. They do. And people

care about you. And you do matter. And the second

command is where it gets a little messy. But

it's also very beautiful as well. is make disciples.

And we use this word a lot, discipleship. And

it's intimidating. And sometimes we just don't

know what it means, or we get confused. Some

people seem to think it's a three year theology

degree, and you've got to be a pastor to understand

what that means. Others seem to think that it's

just being a good person, which is true. But

if we look at Jesus this definition of discipleship

is simple Discipleship is the intentional process

of guiding someone toward Jesus and This is literally

what he did literally It's helping someone discover

who Jesus is for the first time then walking

beside them as they learn to reflect his character

It's the shift from me to him And disciples,

they're not created. They're raised. They're

raised in a family, raised in community, right

here. And this is why encounter exists. This

is why we have resilient disciple groups. And

this is why we even have sports clubs like basketball.

People are not called to be individual believers,

but are to be enlisted as disciples within their

Christian community. and then their faith must

be actualized in their lives. Church, you can't

be a solo disciple. I'm just saying it. If you

think you can be, you're mistaken. You're called

to be in community where your faith actually

has to work in real time. Where you have a reflection

of Jesus. But please, see this difference between

planting a seed and making a disciple. Planting

a seed is one moment. Making a disciple is a

season. We're often happy to plant a seed. We're

often happy to say a kind word or to share a

verse and then just walk away. I'd really say

this is the first command, this is go. But Jesus

didn't say plant seeds of all nations. He didn't

say that. You can start there but he didn't say

that. He said make disciples and this is where

the conviction hits. Are you willing church to

stay in the mess? Are you willing to do more

than just live your life but actually invest

in someone else? Like really? Do you have the

time in your life to do that? I'm not talking

about the people sitting next to you right now.

I'm talking about the people in your life that

you see every day outside of this room. This

is hard. It's not easy. Doing all this is not

easy. And Jesus never said, He never said that

this whole process of going and making disciples

is easy. We have a plus -one culture here at

Henley, at Encounter as well in general. And

we all have that one person here that we want

to come to know Jesus. Some may have said yes

to Alpha, some may have said no. I asked a number

of people in my work and I all got nos. 13 to

be exact. Was that disappointing? Yeah, it broke

my heart because I thought I'd built relationship

with them. Was it disheartening? Yes. Was I frustrated?

Yes. Should I give up and just move on? No. No,

we don't do that. It's a journey. We've got to

be the hands and feet of Jesus and invest in

people and teach them. He doesn't give us a command

of go and make in a place of safety, in a place

of comfort. He calls us to take a step because

he already took that step. He bore the weight

of the world, every broken decision we've made,

every broken decision that you've made. And he

did it because he lives by a conviction that

was stronger than his instinct for survival.

Think about the choices he made. He chose to

heal when it made him an outcast. He chose to

love when it simply just made him a target. He

chose to care for people, the very people that

would then turn around and say, crucify him.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus stood there.

And this is one of the defining moments. He's

there with his disciples. And he could have made

a choice in that moment. Instead of being taken

away, he could have made a choice. That would

have just changed the trajectory, the whole trajectory

of the world. We wouldn't be here in that moment

if that was the thing, that was the case. He

could have avoided everything. He could have

just saved himself. and then the story just end.

But no, we know that he didn't do that. And like

every hero we admire, he made the decision to

lay down his life. He didn't just become something

new. He took our old self to the cross so that

we could receive his new life. He traded perfection

for our shrapnel. And because of that conviction,

the trajectory of humanity has become permanently

altered. And we're now standing in the fallout

of the gift of grace that can never be revoked.

But here's the catch. A gift that is never opened,

a gift that is never opened is simply just a

box on a shelf. Jesus, He went He shared, He

conquered. If you want to summarize His whole

life, that's the very quickest way to do it.

He went, He shared, He conquered. And now He's

standing on a mountain in Galilee, looking at

the disciples. He's looking at you, and He's

doing the handover. He's passing the baton. And

Jesus celebrates when you make that same conviction.

He celebrates when you decide that good enough

is no longer good enough. He celebrates when

you choose to be a Monday invader instead of

a Sunday spectator. Because the power is there

and the authority is his and the mission, the

mission is yours to take. You need to make that

choice. when we planted here was a year of us

just simply just kind of like working out how

to make this church work. For everyone that was

here at the start you would know exactly what

I'm talking about and we watched God bring in

new faces and we saw transformations in that

year and now they're part of this family and

some of them are even leaders in our church.

In 2025 that was a really year last year was

a year of just kind of foundation building And

we put in the hard work of building a healthy

culture. And as an example, we really pushed

into our welcome culture because we felt like

it wasn't 100%. And we poured the concrete, we

reinforced the walls so that when growth came

into this place, we could bear the weight of

it. So if revival ever came to this place, we

could withstand it and hold it. But this year,

2026, Pastor Tim shared last week that this is

a year of greater vision. This is the year of

growth in this church. This is the year of fresh

faces finally coming to see Jesus in their life.

And church, I want you to see that this is already

happening here. In January, we had 17 new people

walk through that back door in three weeks. Some

are here right now. Did you notice? We have to

notice. Because while inviting them through the

door, step two is the mission of making disciples.

But if we can't get to step two, we fail at step

one. If we aren't talking about Jesus, if we

aren't talking like Jesus, if we aren't acting

like Him, then I have to ask you, why are we

here? What's our mission here at Henley? Has

He not delivered us? Has He not brought us back

from the grave of our own past? And so I'm asking

you this week, I'm gonna say go. Go be Monday,

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday invaders.

If you walk into your workplace tomorrow and

you simply just blend in, honestly, that's just

gonna break my heart. Jesus didn't call us to

be invisible. He never asked that of us. He asked

us to go. and then he asked us to make. We didn't

plant this church to be a comfortable social

club for the saved, we planted it to see every

person from Adelaide City to this beach having

an encounter with Jesus. So tomorrow when a friend

or a colleague asks you that standard question,

how was your weekend, this is all I want you

to do. Tell them about your usual things, how

your coffee was. how the beach was, how the bowling

was. But then just add five words at the end.

I went to church yesterday. You would be surprised

by how quick of a conversation you can have with

that. That's it. You don't have to preach the

person a sermon. You don't have to force a debate.

You just got to say it. Just reveal your identity.

your identity in Jesus. Because that other person

may not even know that you're a person of faith.

You just gotta leave it there and then plant

the seed. Because once you do that, that might

be the reason why we had the 18th, 19th and 20th

person walk through that door. And this year

is a season of growth. 2026 is a year of growth.

So go. Make disciples. Let's pray. Father, we

stand before you. Not just as a crowd in the

building, but as a people standing on a mountain

with a decision. And we thank you that you are

the resurrected King. who doesn't just watch

our lives from a distance, but comes near to

close the gap, a gap that no longer exists. And

Lord, we confess that it's easy to choose what's

convenient over what is called of us, and we

admit that we have often treated our relationship

sometimes like a checklist. Lord, forgive us.

And right now, we feel the weight of that conviction

that you've given us. Like the heroes that we

admire, we've realized that staying the same

is more expensive than the cost of changing.

And we thank you that you didn't stay in the

safety of heaven, but you chose the harder path.

You traded the perfection for our shrapnel, and

we thank you for that. Today, Father, we respond.

So help us to go. Give us the courage to be Monday

invaders. And tomorrow when we walk into our

office, our schools and homes, remind us that

we aren't invisible. Help us to simply reveal

our identity in you. And to have those, to say

those five words, I went to church yesterday.

Father, you have the authority. and you've given

us a mission. And this year, Henley is a year

of greater vision and we refuse to let our old

versions of ourselves keep us from the new life

that you've given us. We choose the conviction

and the identity of the Great Commission instead

of that convenience of simply living life. God,

we thank you for what you did on that cross.

We thank you for the gift of grace that you've

just poured out on us. And so as we lift up your

name, Father, Would you just continue to be in

this place? Thanks so much for tuning in to this

week's message. If you felt challenged or need

prayer, we'd love to hear from you on Instagram

at encounterhenley. Or if you're interested in

how you can support this ministry, please go

to our website encounteradelaide .com .au. Thanks

again for listening. God bless you.