Echo Part 2 - Sunday Camp

Who's keen to hear from the Regel's?

All righty.

Well, chat amongst yourselves for two seconds, and Don's

just gonna prepare himself.

Um, to those that don't know me, my name's Don.

Um, me and my family have been part of Red Door for about eleven years now,

and it's a great privilege to share some of my thoughts with you this morning.

So I'll get straight into the opening premise, uh, echo.

God has spoken, God is still speaking, and God wants us collectively, and also

individually, to hear His voice today.

Um, so that's, that's the premise.

The question is often how do we, how do we do this?

And, um, to echo something that was said, uh, yesterday, Hebrews one, the

beginning of the letter to the Hebrews: Long ago, at many times, in many ways,

God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

But in these last days, He has spoken to us, His Son, whom He appointed

the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world.

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His

nature, and He upholds the universe by His word, by the word of His power.

After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right

hand of the Majesty on high.

So this writer to the-- uh, of the, um, letter to the Hebrews in the first

century, uh, he's saying that God had spoken through Jesus to that generation.

And, um, the testimony of Jesus, um, it's not just that we get the retelling of

that, um, and we do get the retelling, but it's not an echo that's just slowly

fading out as echoes normally do.

It's an echo that's sustained by the Holy Spirit.

Um, and through the Spirit who Jesus sent when Jesus ascended on high, and

He sent the Spirit, uh, through that same spirit, uh, He's keeping that,

that echo going, um, speaking to His people throughout all generations.

And, um, that's the claim.

But how does it work?

And also, how do we tell that we aren't just making stuff up?

When people say, uh, "God told me," how do we know?

How do we know personally if we think that God told us something?

I'm gonna start with my main proposal and then share a few stories, uh, from my

formative years to try and illustrate it.

My main proposal is this: that there are four key elements in God speaking to us.

Um, firstly, the Bible, scripture.

Um, that's the, the first and probably the most important in combination, but, uh,

probably none of these work in isolation.

Uh, the Holy Spirit, and often the context for that is prayer.

Um, but the Holy Spirit can speak to us, um, through many different ways.

The third is community or body, our relational context, and that

includes the people next to you, the people in your life, in your

church family, in your house church.

And the fourth is setting or circumstance, uh, our physical context, and many people

have referenced nature, and I will too.

But, um, yeah, uh, those four things in, uh, unison can talk to

one, one talk to us as God's voice

Um, so some stories from my earlier life.

In my later primary years, I attended a church-based school.

I remember responding to God at a camp.

Uh, it wasn't my first response to the gospel, uh, but it was a significant one.

I was young, I was about 10, and there was a call to come up, uh, for, for those who

wanted to get deeper with God, who wanted to, to really live their lives for Him.

And, um, I responded to that call, and I remember going up

And really weeping before God.

Um, I remember being a little bit embarrassed because, uh, I, I

was, you know, a young kid, you're always worried about other people

and what they're thinking of you.

But, uh, I just found myself at the front, uh, in response and just

crying as I was being prayed for.

And I'd already been baptized and moored at that age.

Um, I had already been filled with the Spirit and spoke in tongues, but there was

something significant about that moment where I was overwhelmed by a personal

experience of being seen and known by God.

And despite all of that strong beginning for me, um- The years

of 14 to 19, I was a bit distant, a bit, uh, hand-off-ish to God.

Um, I was never really super wayward as a, as a young lad.

I was al-always the sensible one that, um, tried to help

my friends from, from injuring themselves or doing stupid things.

But, um, I was far from God and, um, but my-- I know my parents

were praying for me and, uh, their prayers were eventually answered.

But anyway, in that time, I, I always loved the outdoors, and I, I often had

a sense of wonder at, um, the stars.

We used to go out camping and just looking up at the stars and just the

sheer vastness of the universe and learning about, um, geography and,

um, uh, astrophysics and stuff like that at school and what-whatever else.

You, you, you realize that we're on this relatively small planet hurtling

through the vastness of space and, um, it makes you ponder your place in it all.

And, uh, the African wildlife and bush, uh, also spoke to me,

uh, just the, the beauty of, uh, birds and, and the bush life.

Um, I thought I was pretty profound and philosophical as a teenager as I

pondered how intricate things were.

Uh, maybe I still consider myself a bit, um, philosophical and profound, but,

um, as a teenager, I, I really, I really thought, um, I knew and understood things.

But, um, I was far from God at that time, but there was a call for me

at, um, my first year out of school.

There was a visiting speaker that came to my parents' church.

It was around the time of the Toronto Blessing.

Hands up to anyone who knows what I'm talking about if

I say the Toronto Blessing.

Yes, um, so there was a visiting speaker that had come over, and there was a

call there for me to return to God.

And, um, that was through the preaching of scripture, through the movement

of the Holy Spirit in those meetings, and through the community of my

parents' church This involved laying down a unholy relationship I was in.

That took about a year to do, to do fully.

But, um, then unencumbered in my twenty-first year, I really started

to pursue God wholeheartedly.

Um, I'd moved to Cape Town for university.

I'd found a good church and a strong student community too, and it was

in that context I grew spiritually.

Um, and all those elements I spoke about in the beginning were there.

There was good Bible teaching, a strong community, uh, that was open

to the Holy Spirit, and, uh, there was a culture of prayer and waiting

on God, and physical context of, um, being in the shadow of Table

Mountain was, was pretty cool as well.

That spoke to me a lot.

Nature has always been a s- a source of wonder and amazement to me.

Uh, Psalm nineteen says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the

sky above proclaims His handiwork."

Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words

to the ends of the world.

Um, I have this very clear memory of, uh, s-spending one afternoon

s- uh, sitting on a fallen tree in, um, Newlands Forest on the slopes of

Table Mountain, reading the letters of Peter in a small, well-traveled Bible.

Its print I could probably no longer read.

Um, and it was just, uh, in that moment, in that beautiful scenery

and setting, the Holy Spirit made the message, uh, that Peter wrote

to those churches so alive to me.

And there you have it, uh, the word, the physical context of nature,

which makes God's work, um, makes much of God's work and silences the

shoutiness of, of man's handiwork.

The Holy Spirit making, uh, those words real to me in that moment.

And, um, then I took back that message and, um, spoke it to my friends,

and that's the community at work

Sorry, I changed the order of things.

It makes it complicated in this wind.

Um

But I also had many experiences of not hearing God's, uh, voice very clearly.

Um, I don't know for those young people here that are at the age

of, uh, looking for life partners.

Um, my friendship group in Cape Town was in danger of being super

spiritual in terms of finding, uh, life partners and, uh, to the point

where our pastor preached from the pulpit and said, "You know, just relax.

Go out on a date.

Don't be so intense." Um, but, uh, this is probably the hardest area to

discern God's voice accurately because our hearts and passions are talking so

while… um, so loudly, and, um, it's hard for us to discern the movements

of our heart versus God sometimes.

But that's where community comes in and the wisdom of elders and mature believers.

So fast-forward to the year 2000.

I'm doing a year of volunteering in the church.

Um, I'd gone with a church plant to a, a poorer area in

the shacklands in Cape Town.

And during that year, a friend of mine got married, and one of her relatives

came out from New Zealand, and, um, I met her, and I was like, "Oh, hello."

Um, so there was a bit of chemistry there, so I thought

at least, at least from my side.

And, uh, I'd convinced myself that she was the one and, um,

that she was in God's plan.

But the thing I heard specifically was God say, "Go to Sydney and see

what I will do." And she was living in Auckland, uh, but Sydney's a lot

closer to Auckland than Cape Town.

Um, so I, I'd set my course to do that.

Um, if any of you are familiar with, uh, the movie Good Will Hunting,

I had to go see about a girl.

And however, the process was important, so I spoke to senior leaders, at

least three of them, and let them challenge me, make myself accountable.

And they set me up with church people in Sydney, so I could go over to Sydney.

I wasn't just off on my own mission doing my own thing.

So there's the Holy Spirit speaking to me.

There's the community at work.

Um, and then the circumstances spoke, and it was very clear that nothing

was gonna happen with this young lady.

Um, but, uh, a few months later, I met Deb and, um- Good Will Hunting

is one of her favorite movies.

So let's get back to those four elements, uh, and do more

of a mini teaching on those.

Uh, scripture.

Um, we've been doing a wonderful, um, series on the rule of life, and, um, our

church has been encouraged to get into scripture and have rhythms that take

us into scripture regularly of reading.

Uh, but just to recap some of that and some of my thoughts on it, it's

not a magic book we flop open and point to a page and hear from God.

It's a library of God-inspired literature, different genres, and we

read and internalize and meditate on it.

And it becomes the anchor and the measuring stick.

If you wanna… If you think you've heard something from God, and it

contradicts the Bible, you heard wrong.

Um, so-- And often scripture is also the source of the words God speaks.

Um, we hear them in our ears, so to speak.

God uses the words of scripture and makes them to us in a moment.

So you got to get all that good stuff into your head and into your heart, and that's

looks different for different people.

But, uh, personal reading, um, preaching and teaching.

I thank God for Adam and Dale and Luke and other teachers that

I've sat under over the years.

Um, there's also for those of you that commute, uh, spend time in vehicles,

podcasts and stuff that you can listen to.

Uh, be discerning.

There are many unhumful-- unhelpful voices out there.

If I could recommend one, it would be the Bible Project.

Uh, my buddies Tim and John, I've spent many hours with them, um, uh,

just hearing them talk about the word and, uh, that's edified me.

Also small groups, house church, alpha, discipleship groups.

The end point is to be transformed by the renewing of your mind,

as Romans twelve two says.

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of

your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what

is the good, acceptable and perfect-- what is good, acceptable and perfect."

So do you ever hear the words of Jesus as you're just walking

along, ringing in your head?

Maybe it's the words of Paul or Peter or Luke or John.

Scripture should become so familiar to us that we found

ourselves thinking on these words.

And, um, there's a proverb that says something like, uh, "On your

words I meditate day and night."

And anyway, enough said about that.

You get the point.

Um, second, the Holy Spirit.

It starts with having some understanding of the Trinity, um, that Jesus sent

the Holy Spirit to fill his church.

Christ baptized the church with the Holy Spirit.

And we as part of the church, as part of the bride of Christ,

that's part of our inheritance.

And I guess, uh, you've got to be open to sharing in that.

And, um

Got flies up my nose.

Um, I reread this passage in Luke recently, which was, uh, interesting.

Everyone knows the ask, seek, knock passage.

Um, for everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and

the one who knocks will be opened.

To the one who knocks it will be opened.

What fa-father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead

of a fish give him a serpent?

Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

If then you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how

much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?

I think sometimes we think about that ask, seek, knock passage, and we think about

getting things or provision or answers to prayer, but actually the whole point

of it is to receive God Himself by the Holy Spirit, and He wants to be with you.

And it's not a one-off thing.

It's not a, "Oh, yes, I was slain in the Spirit once when I was nine years

old." Uh, it's a daily thing, and, um, give us today our daily bread.

Jesus is the bread of life, and we need Him every day.

So Lord, fill me fresh today

Thirdly, the community.

We are first part of the bride of Christ.

We aren't individuals first in the kingdom of God, and that's kind of

offensive to our Western mindset.

But, uh, he calls us into his bride as in, uh, as individuals, but into community.

And so be humble enough to submit what you think God's saying to you, um, to

others in the community and let them weigh it against, uh, their understanding

and the general word of scripture, but also assess the wisdom of specific

applications, uh, you are considering.

Proverbs 11:14 says, "Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in

Proverbs 11:14

the abundance of counselors there is safety." And a suggestion to you when

you bring a word, uh, that you believe God's saying is to use language like that.

"I believe … I think God's saying this," uh, in a community setting that, um,

allows people the opportunity to weigh it.

If you say, "Thus saith the Lord," or, "God told me," it doesn't leave

a lot of room c- for conversation.

And, uh, I think, uh, because this is relational and it's not an exact

science, we've gotta be open to having correction and challenge

from our brothers and sisters.

So, um, frame it that way.

And lastly, as I wrap up, um, put yourself in a in positions of wonder.

Um, I needed to go to the loo in the middle of the night, and I was up, and the

stars were just, like, so breathtaking.

Um, I, I just love getting out into, into nature, um, getting

wonder back into my heart.

And, uh, take some time to, to walk with the birds, to watch a little insect

munch on a leaf or something like that.

Uh, it's these simple day-to-day things that can really, uh,

magnify God in our everyday life

But it can also be things just in our commute.

It might be

observing delight in a person's eyes.

It's just, it's been such a pleasure watching some of the youngins with their

parents over the weekend, you know, just seeing a baby and a parent's embrace.

The beauty of a musical score, the words of a poet.

Thank you, Matt, from yesterday.

There's so many expressions of God's

character and nature and the joy in the life that he's given us in everyday life.

So have eyes for it.

And even in brokenness, we see, hear God's heart for the lost and

hurting people because the joy we have tasted is for them too.

And perhaps you're the voice of God to them in that moment.

And finally, in closing, I think the most important thing is, um, that

we all need to hear our Heavenly Father say that He loves us.

Um, and it's not just daily.

His, His love communicated to us defines us.

It shapes us.

It reshapes us when we bent out of shape, when we've, um, you

know, got trapped in things, when we've got, uh, wounded by things.

It's His love that pulls us straight, that redefines us, that

gives us perspective, that helps us know what's really important.

And, um, as I was, um, thinking about this, my very first response to the gospel

was on a church camp, and I thought, "Well, maybe there's some people here

that have never responded to the gospel."

You've never had the opportunity to respond to God's love, and I

don't wanna take that opportunity away from you this morning.

Um, but I'm gonna invite all of us into a prayer.

Um, and would you do the physical action of putting your, your hand

on your heart, um, just to, to kind of focus your attention on that?

And, um, yeah, let's just pray together.

John 3:16, something we, if we've been in the faith for a while, we know so well,

John 3:16

but maybe it's not really hit home before.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes

should not perish but have eternal life."

He so loved us that He gave His only Son

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the way that your love has communicated to

us so clearly in the sacrifice of Jesus

And Holy Spirit, thank you that you're sent to com-communicate

that afresh to us daily.

I pray for anyone here, Lord, who's not yet responded for the first time, Lord,

that you'd help them to know your love, to feel the warmth of your embrace, to

know your delight, and, um, to respond.

Lord, thank you that you call us into relationship.

Thank you that you call us to response to a life, um, yeah, just walking in,

in step with you and in unison with you

Thank you all for listening to my ramblings, and I just wanna encourage

you, if you responded in that prayer for the, uh, the first time, when

we gather for communion, uh, after Zoe's spe-- uh, preach, that, um,

that you share that with someone.

And maybe, maybe you've been far away from God like I was in my

teens, and, uh, you wanna respond and say, "I wanna get serious with God.

I wanna know His love.

I wanna hear His voice daily." Uh, please tell someone.

Please share with your community because, uh, yeah, it's important, and, um,

we wanna be on that journey with you.

One very last thought.

Um, I read recently that scripture that when one sinner turns to Jesus, the angels

rejoice in heaven, and, um, we rejoice with them if you've turned to Him today.

Amen.

This is a very spech- special and proud moment for me because many

years ago, I both, brought both my daughters, uh, on different years.

But, uh, Zoe was first.

We came on a daddy-daughter camp here, and we've spent many, um, church camps

here together and many times in the bush together and talking about God,

and such a, a privilege to hand over to her and, uh, for her to bring us home.

Mm. Thank you, Dad.

Thanks, Pa. That was so beautiful.

Um, I have learnt many things from my dad, but one thing I have not

learnt is to staple my sermon notes.

So we'll see how this goes.

Bear with me one moment.

Maybe we'll have to use your stick, Matt.

We'll see.

It could be backup

Wonderful.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Guys, it is such a profound delight to be with you all in our last few moments

of 2026 camp, and I'm so honored to be up here and to speak back to back with Dad,

a man that has taught me so much, um.

And just pr- even serving, prepping with him, and sitting around at home

and just thinking about and, um, just pondering on these thoughts

together has been such a gift.

So thank you for trusting us, Luke.

We appreciate you and love you so dearly.

And thank you, Matt and Mick, Ma- Matt and Mick, yes, for yesterday.

I haven't seen Mick yet today, cannot see him at the moment.

Um, but thank you so much for your encouragement and your poetry

and your theological thoughts.

It is such a gift to us all.

Um, this camp theme of Echo has struck so close to home for me,

and I know so many of you can agree that it resonates as well.

In times of such desperation and doubt throughout my life, my long 22 years,

nature has constantly been my retreat.

It is where I feel the presence of God with the most vibrance,

color, awe, and potency.

I'm gonna testify this morning of how God has spoken to me through his natural

creation, and I hope to lead us through this continuing story of the echo of God.

So when I say that God speaks to me through creation, um, I laugh to myself

when I say that 'cause I'm like, "Are the trees speaking to me?" And, um,

I wouldn't go so far as to say that.

They definitely do come close on occasion.

But, um, not only is nature one of the most powerful witnesses, uh, to

me of an intelligent designer, but it also reveals the character of

our God, the God you and I share.

And I have recently read Hinds' Feet on Hind Places.

I know Cynthia just mentioned this morning that she's read that, and maybe

it's been the same for a few of you if you've read this beautiful book.

Um, but it's by Hannah Bernard, and I can't recommend it enough.

She speaks of creation and how it testifies of its maker in a way

that brings, like, the language of the Psalms just come alive.

So I've got a prayer that she's written that I'd like

to pray over us all to begin.

Oh, my Lord, what do you want to say to us today?

Help us to hear your voice.

Teach us to understand the language spoken by your creation all around us.

Bless this time, Lord.

Amen.

So as I found myself praying this same prayer over s- the last week and

so, and since finishing this book a few months ago, um, I found it echoes

the words that are in Psalm 19, which Dad read as well, but I've got a

different translation, so buckle up.

So in Psalm 19:1-4, it reads, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the

Psalms 19:1–4

skies announce what his hands have made.

Day after day, they tell the story.

Night after night, they tell it again.

They have no speech or words, and they have no voice to be heard, but their

message goes out through all the world.

Their words go everywhere on Earth." And in the message translation, that last line

is written as, "The silence of creation fills the Earth, unspoken truths spoken

everywhere." So this morning, I have three characteristics of God that I feel

the language of creation has revealed to me, and through the s- as the psalmist

would say, these unspoken truths, um, I hope bring home for many of you, too.

So the first of which I'm going to talk about is God's

consistent and steadfast character

Most mornings I go and sit outside, sometimes for 10 minutes, sometimes

for an hour, and it's one of my favorite practices that I do.

Um, every morning I hear the birds sing, I watch the seasons change,

and everything grow with persistence.

These beautiful, cyclical, and rhythmic cycles of nature and routines that

exist all around the world witness to me of God's steady character.

It's a reminder that our God is the same today, yesterday, and forever, and Him

truly all things really do hold together.

The second of this, of how creation testifies of His character, is of

His magnificence and His glory.

If anyone has had the privilege of standing at the base of a mountain, um,

not a little glorified hill that Perth and its surrounds have to offer, but

a true mountain, I find it impossible to not look up in absolute awe.

At the sheer size of one, I can't help but glimpse how vast and

infinitely powerful our God is.

As I read earlier from Psalm 19, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the

skies proclaim the work of His hands." As Dad mentioned about his experience

growing up in Cape Town, South Africa, with Table Mountain, it's the same

thing, um, that I've experienced too.

The grandeur and beauty of creation envelops me and

invites us to wonder in awe.

And creation does this all around the world to all people, whether

they are looking for it or not.

Um, and that makes me think of a time in my life about three and a half years

ago now, which is a long time when you've only lived for 22 years, and I

was traveling alone in New Zealand, um, quite unsure of my place in the world.

I wasn't really sure what my purpose is.

Um, I just knew I wanted to get out and see what the world had to offer.

I hadn't been engaging in church community much before leaving, um, and I was

literally wandering in the wilderness.

But I can vividly recall multiple moments throughout my two months or so

there, where the presence of God was so undeniable when summiting a mountain, when

looking out over His vast creation, when sitting at 1,700 meters above sea level.

And it felt as though though the mountains were screaming in this unspoken language

to me, just declaring His supremacy and declaring the grandeur of our God that

we get to live in a relationship with.

And so when I wasn't in community and I wasn't opening my Bible, it

was His creation that pointed me back to Him, that caused me to wonder

and welcomed me back into His arms.

Creation can speak and testify of God whether we are wanting to hear it

or not, and I'm so grateful that the mountains spoke to me in this way.

The mountains have also been speaking to saints throughout the ages.

This is not a individual experience for us in this time now.

Um, the-- when you read the Bible through the Old Testament, the imagery

of mountains is just rich and on every single page of how God is using

this to witness of His character.

In the Book of Isaiah, we hear this beautiful proclamation, "You will go

out in joy and be led forth in peace. The mountains and hills will burst

into song before you, and the trees of the field will clap their hands.

His beauty is revealed!" I have three exclamation points next to that.

What a profound delight that is, hey?

That His beauty is revealed to us, and that creation brings Him

glory and testifies of His majesty.

So the first was His steadfast character, the second His glory and magnitude, and

the third is for my visual learners, if you enjoy imagining a picture.

Um, so the third is how creation reveals God's love.

I want you to imagine watching a-- if anyone's been to, uh, not many people have

been to Kununurra, but a big waterfall that you can see cascading off the rocks.

I want you to put that in your mind as I read this next part.

So in Hines' feat on Home Places, the book I mentioned previously, it

speaks of a waterfall, and in doing so and how watching the water fall, in

pouring itself down, it is as though it is doing so in an extraordinary

ecstasy of self-abandoned giving.

And so the lesson creation utters in a waterfall is that of love's ex- eternal

ecstatic joy in ceaseless, blissful giving These next characteristics of love

are taken from Bernard's observations of a waterfall in Switzerland, the

writer of the book, and how it testified of the love of the Father to her.

Has everyone got a waterfall in their mind?

Yeah.

Wonderful.

Okay.

So the first of these three characteristics of His true and

divine love is that of humility.

God's true love is shown in humility.

As the water pours down from the heights, seeking lower places, God does the

same in how His love in Jesus came down as true humility to dwell among us.

And as we are called to the same message of the running water that we

see in a waterfall, to go lower, find the lowest place, and that is where

true fulfillment can only be found.

The next characteristic of love shown in a waterfall is giving.

The water pouring over the crest of the mountain down far below is bearing

witness of the poured out love of God and how it gives life to many.

So we are called in response to do the same.

The more love gives, the more it fulfills.

Love's prerogative is to give and give and give.

So humility, givenness, and the last of these is service.

The third characteristic is service.

In the act of the waterfall giving itself, the water serves

the whole valley and beyond it.

So we are also called to this, to show God's love in being abandoned to the

goal of giving oneself, that going down lower is the joy and ecstasy of

love Uh, I believe creation sings of His love in so many different ways,

but this one really struck home.

And if it didn't, or if it did , maybe you'll never be able to look at

a waterfall the same, um, without seeing God's love imaged through it.

So when I think about these three things, these three

characteristics that you can… I've narrowed it down just to three.

You could s- say so many more.

I believe all of God is witnessed of through creation.

But these three characteristics, um, it, I, is as if I feel and hear, um,

the character of God being revealed to me in these ways, the direct response

of my mind is to live in realignment.

So it- let's say you're having a really stressful week, and you're

feeling like your perspective has completely l- been lost, and your

worries and anxieties feel overwhelming.

When seeing His character in creation, it's as though as I come back into

alignment to look to true North, to look to my Savior, to look to my one true love.

It's so hard to feel anxious as you watch the wind ripple through leaves,

as you hear small birds chatter despite your perconal- personal circumstance.

And on so many occasions, I have learnt to respond to fear and

worry now by retreating to nature, and in it immediately the gift

of perspective feels given to me.

I think of some classic and beautiful verses that explain this experience

Wonderful.

There we go.

The first of these is Matthew 6:26.

Matthew 6:26

"Look at the birds.

They neither sow nor reap or gather into barns, and consider the lilies of the

fields, how they neither toil nor spin.

Yet our heavenly Father cares for them.

How much more will he care for us?" Our worries slip away when faced

with the beauty of his character and unending love shown through creation.

The next one is Psalm 21:21, which has grounded me so much in my walk.

"I lift my eyes to the mountains and where does my help come from? My help comes

from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." In recognizing his glory, in his

magnificence, magnificence, and seeing a physical representation of his strength,

it makes me bow to my knees in surrender.

How dare I think that my help comes from myself?

It comes from the maker of heaven and earth And lastly, Psalm 8, "When I

consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which

you have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him, son of man that you

visit him?" This verse I feel captures the experiencing of noting- noticing the

infinite detail in our world, the world in which God has made, and really the

gift he gives us of feeling oh so small when we see all this detail around us.

I know so many of you have the experience of stargazing, as Dad just mentioned,

and I'm sure many of you have enjoyed that activity over this weekend.

And when you look up and just thinking how simply surreal it is that He has

made the whole universe and yet has love and care left over for us, and

not only left over us, but that He desires to give and pour out to us.

The psalmist did a beautiful thing by putting it into words for us.

Because our God is so mindful us-- mindful of us, He set the moon and

stars in place, and then He asks us to govern it, to delight in what He has

created for all we are and all that we are surrounded by to point back to Him.

Um, so as I've mentioned, I have found myself retreating, um, to nature and

using it as a grounding point in my life.

I get this habit from my parents.

Um, as early as I can remember throughout childhood, spare moments, reactions to

stress, overwhelm, joy, and celebration always sent us out meandering in

the bush or swimming in the ocean.

I have had autonomy about where I go for the last six years, but

prior to that, um, I was with them, and this is their bread and butter.

God revealed through creation is what has grounded them for years as well.

Um, throughout my adult life, I have found great joy following the practice

exampled to be by my par- example to me by my parents, and this has led me to

creating my own splace- places of retreat, one of which has been dwelling up.

Has anyone been there?

Put my hand up.

Large majority of Perth.

Um, and as soon as I got a car, I began taking my friends and

camping solo there as well.

And dwelling up to me is now defined by quietness with God, where I

feel His presence most tangibly.

Sure, other places like the couch in my backyard or the prayer corner in my room

have the same meaning, but this spot in the bush speaks to me and to my soul in

a way that no elaborate prayer wall can.

I think of the people here that call paddock, um, a routine and a habit,

a place that they've constantly come to over the years, and they'd

experience the same thing there as well.

And I'm sure so many of you have places like this in your life.

Um, and in this space, in dwelling up, I have trained my mind to lean

all my attention to my Creator there.

As I exist in saturation of what He has made.

Maybe it's the no signal, the lack of concrete , or the fact it literally has

dwell in the name, God's Spirit dwells there as I retreat to dwell with Him.

Maybe you can think of places in your life that feel the same, maybe

something's come to mind, and places that are defined by intimacy with Him.

Proximity can build habit, and as I've retreated to dwelling it repetitively

over my life, it is if my brain has reformed to view that place as

actually looking for God in that space.

And it, it has become a routine, and it has become something

that is now second nature.

Um, and I love it.

It's like absolutely one of my favorite places to be, and when I have had a big

week, it's where I want to retreat to.

So I encourage you, if you can't think of a place like this in your

life, just go repetitively to a spot, find a park or somewhere nearby,

find a tree that you love and gaze at it, and God will move through that.

God will speak to you through that tree.

I believe He is inviting us all to that Psalm 23 line that says, "He

makes me lie down in green pastures, and He leads me beside still waters.

He restores and refreshes my soul." So what is my reaction to this?

To seeing His character and then s- having my perspective

and life put back into place?

Um, what is my response in hearing God speak to me through creation, revealing

His character in wind and waves and trees?

Well, my first is comfort and peace knowing that my God is speaking to

me despite my worries and my doubts.

And then I wonder if my God is louder in the bush than in the city . Or

am I just deafer and more defiant when the noise of life is louder?

Which is 100% true.

Um, but then in response to seeing His character all around me, to having

my personal life shifted back into perspective, the first response is

praise, of gratitude, of a reassurance that the hope that is within me is true.

The doubts and anxieties seem to diminish when I do so.

And then I am led to consider that we are meant to do for others

what nature has just done for me.

As nature has pointed me to my creator's character, I feel called to do the same.

That we are both made by this intelligent designer, that tree, and

me, and you are all made by this one true powerful God, and we are meant

to image him too as image bearers.

So in summary, the response is surrender to our God and seeing his

character around us, to worship in gratitude, and then feel invited

to participate in the same mission.

That as we see this echo of our God all around us, that we are called to be

echoers as well, to join in on this song.

This is our design.

And I feel so comforted by the fact that there are so many

saints that have walked before us.

I think there's such a gift of the Old Testament that gives us when we read

it, to have our lives actually put in perspective and to feel small in

the grand scheme of his powerful work and powerful plan, that he has been

speaking to people through generations, and he has been moving through nature

and gener- through generations, and we merely get to join in and continue it,

continue this song And it's as though when I look at a tree that is very likely

older than me and has stood strong all this time, I am encouraged to do the

same as the waves of life come at me.

Um, but it is up to us to tune into this language of creation, the echoes

of God's glory that have been ringing through valleys and mountaintops for

centuries, and then it is also our choice to actively join in and participate.

So let us bear witness together as we have heard this weekend, family.

Let us bear witness of Him, of His creation.

May we declare to others that God is magnificent and worthy of praise.

May we reveal as a church family and as Christians that His love is humble,

servant-hearted, and ready to give.

May we base our lives on the only constant thing, our God,

and show that He is steadfast.

May we join in in that word of scripture that says, "Everything that

has breath shall praise His name," and may we be led to do also too.

My closing encouragement is that hopefully after this weekend and

after hearing Matt and Mick and Dad and myself speak, and in hearing just

conversations, I've had so many beautiful conversations with people, um, with

the ladies yesterday in the afternoon, and parents as well, and just going,

"Ugh, you're, you're all like-- You're living out what I'm sharing tomorrow.

There's, there's no point in me talking about this because you're all living

it out." Like, it's so beautiful joining in one accord to realize that

this is how God is speaking to us, and I feel so encouraged by all of you.

So this week maybe your actionable is to sit in silence and ask for

God to reveal to you the language of creation, to speak to you through it.

Maybe it's to open the Bible and to hear Him speak through that.

And additionally, it is also to join in in witnessing of His character through an

act of service or spoken encouragement.

I have a prayer for us to read, and then we're going to go into communion.

Um, so as I read this, I was gonna ask you to close your eyes, but I also encourage

you to look around, um, maybe hyper-fixate on a piece of grass or a bug that you

can see, or look up at the trees as I pray this closing benediction, and then

we're na- gonna gather in small groups.

So Father of lights, Creator of heaven and Earth, reveal to Your

children how You are speaking through the mundane and the magnificent.

The echoes of Your voice have been heard throughout time through both

the people made to image You and the natural world that You've created.

This song has been sung for centuries.

May we join in one accord.

May we see that in every moment there is a holy conversation occurring

that we are invited to join in on.

May we echo your praises, Lord.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen