Worshipping Offers Fresh Insight

The theme this morning is about fresh insight in worship.

And I've had a bit of a fresh insight this week.

Because while I was shopping, I found another brand of beans.

Now, believe you me, I have been a 57 different variety.

You will know the brand.

Others are available.

And while shopping, I thought, maybe I need some fresh insights.

Maybe it was to do with money.

Maybe it was I needed a change.

But I have found some beans, which in my opinion, are just as good as my 57 varieties.

And I just wondered, as we were thinking this morning, as Paul is writing to the people of Ephesus,

how many times I have wandered through the shopping mall of worship,

still putting the same thing in my basket time and time and time again.

It was time for a fresh insight.

I don't know what you're like at Fresh Insight.

Because as Paul is saying, the reading this morning, and I love this reading.

Thanks, Rob.

This was great.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you,

this is a prayer, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better.

You see, Paul knows that there is more for them.

I mean, I don't know what's gone on before here, but he obviously realizes there's something he wants to encourage them,

that there is more and that there is always more.

Paul is praying for the spirit of wisdom and revelation to reveal something more for them.

You'll find lots of people ready to give you fresh insights, I can assure you.

If you put fresh insight into your Google search, you will find some very interesting.

Here is one.

This is a company who is going to sell you fresh insights.

I understand that selecting a person to seek help from is an important choice.

Yes, it is.

Experience tells me that you will want someone who you feel comfortable and safe with.

Yes.

Who shows you understanding, patience and respect that you need and deserve.

I think they're beginning to stroke my ego now.

Okay.

Someone who shares in wanting to see you at your best and supports you in getting there.

My sessions start from £150 and I recommend that you book 10 sessions.

That certainly was fresh insight.

You see, Jesus already paid the cost.

We know that.

It happened on the cross and it happened three days later.

So, he offers us a transformational experience again and again.

There is always more with him.

But I ask, do I need fresh insight?

You know, I'm quite happy the way I am.

Why do I need this?

Because, as we've said, there is always more.

When I worship whatever that is, wherever I come to worship him, I ask myself, why do I come?

And I come with expectation that the Lord is going to reveal to me something exciting and something new from worship.

Whatever shape that might be, whatever shape that might be, wherever that is.

To come with a spirit of criticism, to come with a spirit that is anything less, isn't opening us to the fullness of what he wants to bring.

When Paul talks about power, it opens us to this fresh view and expectation that we can come and we can receive.

That there is still more.

Now, I don't know.

Have you ever been lost in worship?

It's a term that Christians often use.

I've been lost in worship lots of times.

It's when I've lost myself in the page that everybody else is holding in the book.

I don't know whether you've experienced that.

You may remember that time when we used to hold books.

But I found myself often struggling.

I had this thing gripped in front of me, trying to catch up with the page that somebody next to...

And then there's the worst thing, that somebody leans over and moves the page for you.

Ooh, doesn't that hurt?

It's good to be on the right page.

So wrapped up in worship.

And do you know, what I'm going to ask again, have you ever been truly lost in worship?

That place where you are wrapped up in intimacy, wonder, and adoration of the one that we love.

You know, we say we come to worship.

Why do we come to worship?

Surely we come to worship wherever that might be.

Because in worship, it offers us fresh insight into a place where we are swept up into his presence.

Paul is articulating this very well in his prayer.

Do you want to know God better?

Some people are nodding their head.

We want to worship.

We want to know him better.

And what better place there is to be lifted together in a place.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.

The riches of his glorious inheritance.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.

Fresh insights.

I was, like many that you have known, I was a hardened, cynical Christian.

I was, I thought my brand of denomination, like my beans, was the only one.

I hadn't looked beyond myself and God hadn't shown me.

And yet sometimes we need to take our eyes off ourselves and look to him in order to receive that fullness of all he has for us.

We learn to trust.

We learn to know him more.

We learn to experience more.

To see as Christians, can I suggest that we are very comfortable with good teaching?

We are very comfortable with pastoral care.

Yet we are less comfortable with the essential element of the transforming, life-giving, life-enhancing, encouraging, empowering, and enabling of the Holy Spirit.

Which we come in all its fullness for what he has for us.

Paul gets it.

He prays for it.

Basically, and I prays for it.

Be filled with power.

Get it.

Get fresh insights.

Paul says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Is that your experience of worship?

I was a chorister for years.

I attended church.

I was baptized.

My heart had grown hardened and accustomed to things earthly.

God knows us better than ourselves.

I know that many women here were blessed yesterday through a woman's breakfast.

Through worship and through prayer.

At this very moment, there are 2,000 plus men in a field, very sunny field, near Lechlaid.

Many of whom will come to know Jesus for the first time.

In worship.

God used a moment for me.

And I had grown cynical, hard, and not trusting.

Worship for me was coming along on a Sunday, doing what I need to, put my brand of beans in.

Thanks very much, God.

And moving on during the week.

Until my son, who was aged eight, came home and said,

Dad, can I go on a venture camp?

I said no.

Because I'd given up trusting anybody, let alone with my son.

We had what we called was heavy negotiations between Mandy and I.

You know what they are.

And she came up with this great formula.

And she said, why don't we go as helpers?

Then he can go.

My idea of babysitting a whole load of eight-year-olds on a week's annual leave was not on my agenda.

We went.

They were an amazing team.

And the idea was this venture that we were going on.

It was like a nautical thing, theme.

And they had this thing called the engine room.

Down in the bowels of this great big public school where we were for the week.

And I stood at the back.

And the children, I asked the question of God, why am I here?

It's a very powerful question to ask God.

Why am I here?

As the kids sang their song.

Those things as你就无 Murder The unexplained

Jesus of Jesus on Fox

And how do you log on?

Who prays and things like us

Thank you, Jesus, thank you, Lord

For loving things I love

I know I know you're loving me today

Help me feel your love right now

I know you're loving my heart

That I'm your special friend

To know deep in my heart that you're my special friend

I was broke

The Lord broke me at the back of that room

I was lifted into worship like never before

Sometimes the Lord takes us to a different place

To show us stuff

And I knew that I was loved

I was accepted

And most of all that there was more

Much, much more

I broke through the low ceiling of my narrowness

Of my prejudice, of my hardened heart

And at last I was free

There are people here that know that is the truth

Because they were there

Weren't you Margaret?

That was wonderful

I got it large

And I just thought today for us

As we talk about worship

And this new experience

Maybe this fresh insight

That there is more for us

And I want to encourage you

That there is more for each and every one of us

I don't lift my hands in worship

Now because for 38 years

I held on to a book

I lift my hands in worship

For the one that I love

The one I adore

The one for whom I live

And because I am free

To enter into worship

I have a foretaste

Of what eternity is going to be like

I have a picture

We are part of God's new creation

I've seen people's lives change dramatically

Through worship

It's been a blessing

It's been a blessing for you to see as well

And I just thought really about this ceiling this morning

You see

This ceiling for us is

There

Maybe

For some of us

And that was my ceiling for a long time

That's where I was

But I realised that the Lord had to take me to a place

Where he had to free me

In order to let go

And I don't know about you

For me it was a lot of things

For each and every one of us

It would be different

But I sensed this morning

The Lord wants to

The words I had this morning

Was you for

To let go

And let him do what he wants to do

And so I'm going to offer you this morning

To let go

And see where it goes

Because my ceiling was here

Until that amazing day

When I asked the question

What am I doing here

And suddenly it takes on a different perspective

Because from there

I can see far more

As he sees

He sees and has shown me

And will show in each and every one of us

More of what he wants for us

And for our heart

As we partner with him

One of my favourite films

Is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

I'm aware that we're going to play football later

So I need to come into land

Paul says

The power is the same as the mighty strength

He exerted when he raised Christ from the dead

And if I were to cut this line

We don't know where it's going to go

But Willy Wonka

In his chocolate factory

Had shown Charlie many different things

Charlie had broken through

Because he didn't have the prejudice

He wasn't full of pride

He wasn't gluttonous

He didn't want everything

Charlie was Charlie

And Willy Wonka

Had one more thing to show him

And that was the glass elevator

And there's a button on the glass elevator

That says up and out

I'll just remind you of the clip

That I love so much

Come on

Up and out

What kind of room is that?

Hold on

Oh my goodness

We're going to need to go much faster

Otherwise we'll just never break through

Break through what?

I've been longing to press that button for years

Well here we go

Up and out

What do you really mean?

Yeah I do

But it's made of glass

It'll smash into a million pieces

You might have missed it

But Willy Wonka said

I've been wanting to press that button for years

I've been wanting to press that button for years

This morning is about freedom

And fresh insight

And I pray

As Paul prayed for the Ephesians

I pray for us this morning

That we would let go

That we would have fresh insights

That God would break chains

That have held us at a ceiling

For whatever reason

The women's breakfast yesterday

They were read Ephesians 3

And from the message

God can do anything

You know far more

Than you could ever imagine

Or guess

Or request

In your wildest dreams

He does it not by pushing us around

But by working within us

His spirit deeply

And gently within us

Glory to God in the church

Today is about fresh insight

And I pray for us all

That whatever it is

That held us at a ceiling

That we may receive

All that he has for us

Immeasurably more

Than we can ever imagine