Sunday 27th April 2025 | Vision Sunday

Summary

The service opened with a heartfelt reminder of the purpose of worship - to genuinely connect with the divine and to pray for God's kingdom to manifest in our communities. It centered on rebuilding faith and adapting to life's transitions, likening modern life's struggles to the biblical exile in Babylon. Through music, prayer, and a deep call to communion, the sermon emphasized embracing grief and change as pathways to transformation. Berwick's community initiatives were highlighted, encouraging engagement and growth through programs like GTM and Alpha Marriage, and supporting youth through State Youth Games. The service concluded with a powerful encouragement to carry God's presence into the world, despite life's challenges.

Highlights

• Started with an uplifting worship to set the atmosphere of spiritual readiness. 🎵
• Pastor encouraged everyone to actively pray for God's kingdom to manifest in their local community. 🙌
• The sermon used the biblical metaphor of exile in Babylon to discuss life's unexpected changes and how to thrive amidst them. 📚
• Highlighted the importance of community programs like GTM and support for youth activities which emphasize collective spiritual growth. 👫
• Concluded with a powerful worship session reaffirming the core message of faith and transformation. 🎶

Key Takeaways

• Embrace the change: Like the Israelites in Babylon, life throws unexpected shifts. Instead of resisting, see it as an invitation from God for growth and transformation. 🌟
• Transform grief into gratitude: Grief isn’t a destination but a journey that opens us to deeper connections with God and others in the community. 🌈
• Community matters: Engaging with church activities like GTM and Alpha Marriage helps individuals grow while making a difference in the communal faith journey. 💒
• Prayer is power: Regardless of the external chaos, anchor yourself in prayer, knowing that God’s kingdom can manifest in any circumstance. 🙏
• Engage with intention: Every action taken within the church community, from sponsorship to life groups, is an opportunity to spread love and faith. 🌍

Overview

The service began with a vibrant session of worship music, creating an energetic vibe that encouraged attendees to focus on God. The pastor then shifted the focus towards intentional spiritual engagement, urging the church to go beyond just singing lyrics but to pray and believe in the power of those declarations. With a prayerful heart, the congregation was reminded of their role in bringing God's kingdom to life right in their own communities.

In the sermon, the biblical storyline of the Israelites' exile in Babylon was used as a metaphor for dealing with life’s challenges today. It was a call to embrace grief and change, recognizing them as God’s tools for transformation. The pastor shared personal anecdotes and encouraged a shift from anxiety to being anchored in faith, advising the congregation to maintain a robust spiritual life even amidst adversity.

Throughout the service, community engagement was emphasized. Announcements about upcoming programs like Growing to Maturity and Alpha Marriage were shared, highlighting opportunities for deeper connection and discipleship. The service ended on a high note, motivating everyone to take these teachings and be God's presence in every place they go, cementing the message of faith, community, and resilience.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 05:00: Music Introduction - Heat The chapter introduces the concept of 'Heat' in music. It features a segment where the word 'Heat' is repeated, surrounded by musical elements.
• 05:00 - 13:00: Service Welcoming and Opening Remarks by Jenny The chapter includes the service welcoming and opening remarks given by Jenny. The chapter begins with the word 'Heat' repeated twice, followed by a mention of music.
• 13:00 - 17:30: Worship with Build Your Kingdom Here This chapter focuses on the theme of worship, specifically drawing from the song 'Build Your Kingdom Here.' It features repetitive musical elements and the word 'Heat,' which may refer to energetic worship or the intensity of the spiritual experience.
• 17:30 - 25:30: Family News The chapter titled 'Family News' opens with a gentle musical transition, setting an anticipatory mood. The ambiance created by the sound indicates a transition or a pause, allowing the listener to gather their thoughts or prepare for what's coming next. There is an emphasis on family-related updates, possibly involving pivotal changes, emotional reflections, or significant events that concern the family as a whole. However, the absence of spoken dialogue in the transcript suggests that the core message might be delivered through non-verbal storytelling or implied through upcoming narrative developments.
• 25:30 - 33:00: Communion and Reflection The chapter titled 'Communion and Reflection' appears to focus on the concept of 'heat', possibly both in a literal and metaphorical sense. The repetition of 'Heat' accompanied by music may symbolize an intense emotional or physical state, setting a tone of urgency or transformation. This chapter might explore themes of connection and introspection, as suggested by its title, where 'communion' implies coming together, and 'reflection' hints at contemplation or self-examination.
• 33:00 - 73:30: Sermon - Building in Babylon The chapter titled 'Sermon - Building in Babylon' seems to be a transcript focusing on a theme likely associated with religious or motivational context. However, the actual content noted is repetitive with mentions of 'Heat' interspersed with '[Music]', suggesting sections with musical interludes or dramatic emphasis. These elements, without more detail, might imply an audio or visual presentation using music and words to convey a deeper message or ambiance.
• 73:30 - 89:00: Worship - None But Jesus This chapter titled 'Worship - None But Jesus' is highly focused on the themes of heat and music, potentially emphasizing emotional intensity and spiritual fervor through musical expression. There appears to be no explicit narrative or detailed content aside from these repeating elements. The repetition suggests a meditational or mantra-like quality, encouraging reflection and immersion in the worship experience.
• 89:00 - 108:00: Worship - King of My Heart This chapter is centered around a worship theme with a focus on the song 'King of My Heart.' The transcript is brief and primarily includes the word 'Heat' along with some music.
• 108:00 - 130:30: Worship - Revelation Song The chapter titled 'Worship - Revelation Song' primarily consists of the repetition of the word 'Heat' interlaced with musical interludes. There is a heavy emphasis on music throughout the chapter, creating an atmospheric experience.
• 130:30 - 135:00: Closing Remarks and Invitation for Prayer The chapter titled 'Closing Remarks and Invitation for Prayer' signifies the conclusion of the narrative and is characterized by a reflective tone. However, the transcript provided lacks substantive content beyond the ambient sound of music and the repetitive mention of the word 'Heat.' As such, a detailed summary cannot be crafted due to the absence of concrete information or dialogue. The chapter may serve as a metaphorical or contemplative pause, suggesting themes such as warmth, energy, or transition, possibly signifying the end of a journey and an invitation for inward reflection through prayer.

Sunday 27th April 2025 | Vision Sunday Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music]
• 00:30 - 01:00 Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music]
• 01:00 - 01:30 Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat up [Music] [Music]
• 01:30 - 02:00 [Music] here. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music]
• 02:00 - 02:30 Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat.
• 02:30 - 03:00 [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music]
• 03:00 - 03:30 Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music]
• 03:30 - 04:00 Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music] Heat.
• 04:00 - 04:30 Heat. [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat.
• 04:30 - 05:00 [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music]
• 05:00 - 05:30 [Music] Well, good morning church. Why don't you stand to your feet? If you're in the foyer, I just want to encourage you to come on in. We're going to worship this morning. This morning, we're going into a song. And it can be so easy to come on
• 05:30 - 06:00 a Sunday morning and just kind of go through the motions, sing the lyrics, and not really realize what it is that we are singing and what we are declaring. And I just want to read the chorus of build your kingdom here. And it says, "Build your kingdom here. Let the darkness fear. Show your mighty hand. Heal our streets and land. Set your church on fire. Win this nation
• 06:00 - 06:30 back. Change the atmosphere. Build your kingdom here. We pray. And church this morning as we sing this song. Let's not just declare it. Let's pray that we would see God's kingdom here in Cadinia, in Casey, in Clyde, in all of the areas that we find ourselves in. Let's pray that we would see God's kingdom here. Heavenly Father, we thank you that this morning we can come, we can worship you,
• 06:30 - 07:00 we can stand before you, and we just want to invite you to move in us. We want to usher in your kingdom wherever we go. And so this morning, Lord, as we declare, build your kingdom here. Would you hear our prayers? Would you empower our prayers this morning as we lift your name high in Jesus' name? Everybody said, "Amen." Are we ready to declare this this morning, church? Let's go.
• 07:00 - 07:30 Come search your rule and reign in our hearts again. Increase in us we pray. Unve come set our hearts ablaze with like wildfire in our veh. Holy Spirit come invade us now.
• 07:30 - 08:00 [Music] We are your church and we need your power in [Music] us. We seek your kingdom first. We hunger and we learn. We refuse to waste our lives. You're
• 08:00 - 08:30 right. See the captain heart. We lay down our lives for him. And we are your church. And we pray about this earth.
• 08:30 - 09:00 Build your heat. [Music] Oh my
• 09:00 - 09:30 god. Heat. Heat.
• 09:30 - 10:00 of our Christ. We are your church and we on earth. Yeah. Heat.
• 10:00 - 10:30 [Music] We build your kingom [Music]
• 10:30 - 11:00 here. Show your mighty hand. Feel our
• 11:00 - 11:30 sweet. Amen. Amen. And why don't we give a hand to the Lord? Lord, we thank you that this morning we can come before you and declare that you are king of this nation. We ask that you would reign in our lives. That you would reign in this nation once again. That Lord lives transformed by your power. In your name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, isn't it good to be in church this morning? Yeah. So good. Why
• 11:30 - 12:00 don't you turn to the person next to you, give them a high five, welcome them this morning. And while that's happening, I just want to welcome everyone who's watching with us online. It's great to have you with us. Please say hello to Pastor Arlo who's on the chats. He would love to know who's watching with us. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Jenny and I just want to welcome you to Bareric. It's so great to have you with us. As a church, our vision is to see lives and communities
• 12:00 - 12:30 transformed by the power of the gospel. That's why we do every single thing we do through ministry on a Sunday morning. We just want to see people encountering the love of Jesus. Uh and we are one church in two locations. So obviously if you're here, you know we exist here. But we also uh have a church in Clyde Clyde Church. They meet at Casey Stadium at 10:00. It's incredible what God is doing there. So I invite you if you haven't been to check them out to definitely check them out. It's wonderful to have you all with us this morning and maybe
• 12:30 - 13:00 this is your first time here. I just want to welcome you and encourage you that after the service just across the foyer we have our connect lounge. We would love to meet you, answer any questions you may have, tell you a bit about us as well as a church and a movement. Uh and so please feel free to head over there after the service. Don't leave a stranger. We would really love to connect you in. Maybe you've been coming for a little while, but you are not yet connected in a life group. This is my chance to just encourage you to
• 13:00 - 13:30 consider joining a life group. As a church, we're a big church, but it's an opportunity life groups to journey with a group of people, a likeminded group of people who can encourage you and pray for you uh and walk faith with you because it's not always smooth sailing, is it? And so we just want to encourage you to really consider whether that might be a way you can connect in so that you can have people praying for you and and encouraging you in your life. Well, right now I'm going to invite us to turn our eyes to the screen for some family news and then we're going to make
• 13:30 - 14:00 our way into communion. Welcome back to family news. I'm so excited you're here with us this morning. This week we've got some amazing things happening. So let's hear firstly from Tim and Leah about GTM. Hi, I'm Tim. And I'm Leah. We'd like to invite you to GTM1. It stands for growing to maturity and it's an incredibly intense discipling course, but it's so rewarding. It's all about learning to hear God's voice clearly and
• 14:00 - 14:30 obey him. Setting you free from past hurts so that you can have total freedom and you can help others explore their freedom. So, it's uh an introductory dinner coming up this Tuesday night. So come along to the information desk. Thank you. [Music] Thanks Tim and Leah. GTM is sounding amazing this year. We also have Alpha Marriage coming up on the 30th of April. So if you and your partner want to grow closer with one another and in your
• 14:30 - 15:00 relationships with God, make sure you check out the details on how you can sign up. Now for all our partners, we have our AGM coming up on the 4th of May. So, make sure you leave that Sunday available. And our annual reports have been sent out via email. If you can't access it via email, make sure you head over to the desk where we'll have some physical copies available. Clearly, my shot needs some help. And if you'd like to help support our youth and young adults, we have
• 15:00 - 15:30 state youth games coming up. It's an amazing weekend away where they'll meet with other faith communities and play sports while learning more about God. We really need help with sponsorship. So if you can give financially, please come and see us at the desk and we'll help you in how you can do [Music] so. Lastly, we just want to thank everyone who gives to the vision and mission here at B Church of Christ. We couldn't do the amazing things and support our community without your help. And if you'd like to join us in pursuing
• 15:30 - 16:00 this mission, there'll be more details on how to give on the screen now. Well, that's all for family news this week. Thanks for joining us and I'll catch you next [Music] week. Amazing. Well, we're going to head into a time of communion now. So, you're welcome to grab your elements. If you didn't grab one on the way in, that's okay. We've got our amazing team who are going to work their way through the aisle. So, just pop your hand up nice
• 16:00 - 16:30 and high. Keep it up until they come and bring you one of the cups. and uh then they'll help you with that. If you want to peel the first layer off, that will reveal the wafer and then the second layer reveals the cup. Isn't it great that we serve a God of grace? I know this morning I am overcome with gratitude for how gracious our God is. I know for one, I mess up a lot and I'm sure all of us in this room can
• 16:30 - 17:00 relate to that. The other day I was reading in the book of Exodus where God is leading the Israelites out of Egypt. And as I read I caught myself thinking, "My goodness, these Israelites, they really weren't that bright." I was reading and and they know the endgame, right? They know that God has promised them that they will be free from slavery. They will exit Egypt and then they will find themselves in the
• 17:00 - 17:30 promised land. They have this promise from God. And yet time and time again when a challenge came along. When something would happen that didn't go their way, they would doubt God. Right? We read that they continued to doubt God. At times they would grumble against him. They even at times wanted to turn back and go back to the captivity that they had been freed from. And so I caught myself thinking, gosh, like what's wrong with them?
• 17:30 - 18:00 But how often is that us? We have this incredible book called the Bible, God's word, filled with hope, filled with promises. And yet, time and time again in our lives, we doubt God. Time and time again, we fall into temptation. Time and time again, we hurt God by sinning. We know how it ends. We know that the
• 18:00 - 18:30 price has been paid. But we still cave into worldly pleasures and doubt his plans and promises over our life. It's a humbling realization, isn't it? It's so easy to read others others stories and think, "Oh, I would never do that." But really, we all do that. But despite our doubt and despite our sin, he continued to love us unconditionally. He showed unfathomable grace by sending his son knowing we would continue to
• 18:30 - 19:00 doubt, continue to sin, to die and pay the price that we deserved. Ephesians 2:1-5, it says, "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and
• 19:00 - 19:30 thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace that you have been saved. And so this morning as we take communion, I just want each of us to take a moment to reflect on the reality that it is by grace and grace alone this
• 19:30 - 20:00 morning that we can sit here in freedom. Jesus didn't deserve death by crucifixion. We did. But by the grace of God, Jesus took on our sin, our transgressions, our disobedience, and paid the price that we deserved. the debt that we owed. So, right where you are, just take a moment just to reflect on his grace, on his goodness. Turn back to him if you need to. And when you're ready, you're
• 20:00 - 20:30 welcome to take of the elements. [Music]
• 20:30 - 21:00 Heavenly Father, we thank you that this morning we can just be so grateful for the grace you have shown us. Lord, we thank you that there is nothing we can do to earn your forgiveness, but rather it is a gift freely given. And Lord, this morning, we just want to posture ourselves before you, center our lives on [Music] you and just fix our eyes back on
• 21:00 - 21:30 you. We thank you that you are a gracious, merciful God. In your name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you, Jenny. Good morning. Aren't you glad that the long weekends are finally a thing of the past? Isn't it fantastic? We're going to have a 5day work week this coming week. Yeah. All the parents
• 21:30 - 22:00 say hallelujah. Business owners say hallelujah. Employees say oh goodness. All right. I don't know if I'm still fit enough for five day work weeks, but uh it's wonderful to be with you. This morning is the beginning of the school term and it's great to be in a start of a journey where we are going to specifically dive into three books of the Bible. Three of them. And uh you
• 22:00 - 22:30 might not know that but they are actually highly related. It's the book of Daniel, the book of Jeremiah, and the book of Lamentations. You might not even know where they are in the Bible. They are in the danger zone of the Bible. Okay? Because we are as Australians, we are at the start of the election season or we're always halfway halfway through. In a couple of weeks, we're going to vote. How many of you know what you're going to vote? Okay. How many of you
• 22:30 - 23:00 don't want to vote? All right. and put it behind these cameras. All right? You might pay a fine, but it's always a season that causes a lot of tension. Very important season. And some of what we'll share during the series will help you discern how we see God's kingdom come to earth so that you can make the best possible conscious driven conscience driven choice in terms of who you're going to vote for. So this series is going to be called uh building in
• 23:00 - 23:30 Babylon. Building in Babylon. And it's it's a very interesting concept that we see in the Bible. Jenny referenced that the Jews had this expectation that they will go from Egypt to the promised land and then they land up in the promised land. And about 500 years before Christ comes something takes place. uh the um nation of Israel is taken into exile by the Babylonian
• 23:30 - 24:00 kingdom. And you know what? There's there's so much to say about that. But there comes a moment in every believer's life when the ground beneath you shifts. where what you thought was promised is going to materialize but in fact it seems as if just the exact opposite is busy happening. Uh the landmarks we have of
• 24:00 - 24:30 our faith uh that that we so so deeply hold dear disappear in our culture. This used to be a very prominent Christian culture. That has changed. The culture of people just being open about their Christianity in Australia is not something you'll find these days. I see so many people almost making excuses for the fact that they
• 24:30 - 25:00 are Christians, almost apologizing for it. We've had so much good things in our country where there was so much health society that many many people migrated here for that and if you're a migrant raise your hand and say God bless Australia all right came here because of what you saw the values the culture the health and then you come here and you realize not all is what it seemed and all the migrants say okay and
• 25:00 - 25:30 all the Aussies say we forgive you. It feels like exile. And here's what we need to understand. When you feel that your environment has gone through a radical sudden abrupt shift and you struggle with where you are at, it's in those moments that God doesn't abandon
• 25:30 - 26:00 you, but he redefineses for you his purpose for your life. It's such an important season that you should understand that even though everything around me seems to be shaking, I know that God is not abandoning me. He's inviting me to a deeper faith, a truer worship, and a mission that will go beyond my own needs. So today I want to tell you when you experience your
• 26:00 - 26:30 life through the lens of an exile where you thought reality should be like this and now suddenly it is like this. Here's the good news. It's also an invitation from God to help you understand that he is in a process to put you on a marvelous mission with more urgency than ever. Today I want to tell you, you have not been forsaken when you sense that your world
• 26:30 - 27:00 has gone through a radical shift. You have been planted. You have been positioned. You have been prepared by God for such a time as this. Can you say amen? There's a reason why you exist these days. So Babylon might change your surroundings and your environment, but here's the greater thing. He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world. And he that is in you has said
• 27:00 - 27:30 the following. Behold, I have overcome the world. Yeah, that's good news, man. Because many times we are blamed as Christians for everything that goes wrong in in the secular environment. And I'm just standing there saying, "God, man, you must have an enormous amount of confidence in me, way more than I have, that you made me live in this season and through these times that we are in." Do you sometimes have that
• 27:30 - 28:00 feeling saying, "God, you see more in me than I do." And that is exactly it. He sees his son in you. He sees his son in you. So, understanding Babylon and how it changes us. There's a picture on the screen for you guys on TV. of a of a young man and a young lady trying to rebuild their lives in an already established environment. And many times that's what
• 28:00 - 28:30 we sense when our lives go through these sudden shift. You sit with a bunch of rubble at your feet and it seems like everybody else is just going on their own way as if nothing has happened and you are in a rebuilding process. In in a very real sense, we as Christians are building in a Babylon. You can understand for a Jew how confusing that must have been because they were told they are going to
• 28:30 - 29:00 build Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the ideal. It was the dream. It was the hopes of all those people. And here's this young couple. And they are so challenged by their environment. They have to make sense of every single broken piece of their lives. And I know that there's some of you here this morning that has lost loved ones. You've lost uh jobs. I I spoke to an elderly man this week that was moved into a care
• 29:00 - 29:30 home. And he says to me, Brah, this is the worst thing that can happen to me. They take me out of my house that I pay down. They take my car keys from me. I sit in this place, and this is his words, like a pet waiting for feeding times. How do I build a life that makes sense in this? Life is tough, isn't it? It's very
• 29:30 - 30:00 tough. And we when we think about what a couple like this might have to rebuild, they they might have to rebuild their faith as you say at the bottom of the screen struggle. Some of us sitting here have kids that has walked away from the faith and you try to rebuild that you you have the truth in God's word and then you put on the the social media television and you hear everybody has
• 30:00 - 30:30 truths. you one of my goodness is this the world we live in your values changes there's a enormous value shift happening in our country and in the world globally and we need to make sure that we know that God has a specific set of values in his kingdom but we see it dismantled in this world relationships and a divorce pulls a rug out from under you a friend that's lost
• 30:30 - 31:00 All these things needs to be rebuilt. Many times when these shifts happens, your culture, your hopes and your habits. And when we go through these radical shifts and changes in life, there's an amazing English word that describes that. It's the word grief. And here's one of the challenges that we sit with as church is sometimes the church is supposed to be just your happy
• 31:00 - 31:30 space. But we forget that the Bible teaches so much about going through grief. And a modern society wants to medicate grief away not realizing that grief is a very important human part of life. Amen. I mean as men when when you are when you are a bit smaller than the
• 31:30 - 32:00 average guy and you get hurt on the sports field you are told to toughen up. toughen up. And I'm I'm cautious for a society that teaches people that medical chemistry can just take away the grief. I mean, there's a whole book in the Bible about grief. It's
• 32:00 - 32:30 called Lamentations. How many of you love reading at Lamentations? No. We go to Philippians. Rejoice in the Lord always, isn't it? And we treat grief as if it's something to be ignored and subdued. And now I want to say this. If you can discover how to grieve what Babylon has done to your world, you'll be way more healthy than what any medicine can offer you. Amen. So, I'm going to count to
• 32:30 - 33:00 three and then we're going to grieve. It just doesn't work like that, does it? But we need to understand that grief is many times God's laboratory of bringing forth new things in our lives. Many times it's God's laboratory taking time to dissect what's going on and rebuilding our lives completely. And
• 33:00 - 33:30 if you've been through grief and you've experienced that, say, "Yes, pastor. You're not alone. Some of the deepest work God has done in my life was in this grief where I thought Babylon is going to erase me. And I hear God say, "No, in Babylon I'm going to raise you." Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, [Laughter] Leah. Need to understand that. So Christ turns transitions in life into
• 33:30 - 34:00 transformations. And sometimes we fight the transition and if we fight the transition, we'll lose out on the transformation that he has in mind for us. So you have to sometimes embrace that. The first shock of my life in terms of grief was when I was 5 years old. Now you might think this is funny, but it was traumatic. There was a movie coming out. The movie's name was Bambi.
• 34:00 - 34:30 cartoon movie. How many of you have watched Bambi? Okay. It should have been R-rated. Okay. Because when when those woods burned down and all those beautiful little animals was killed in the fire, I just couldn't cope with it. First time in my life, I was confronted with death. I was a mess for weeks. Emotionally a mess.
• 34:30 - 35:00 The sad thing is life is not a cartoon. It's real. It's real. But I want you to open up your vision and see that the God of the universe knows what you're going through and he's saying, "Listen, while the enemy is threatened to erase you in this culture, watch out my church. I'm going to raise you for this culture." And therefore we need to have the
• 35:00 - 35:30 ability to to respond responsibly to our grief. The challenge is for a Christian to engage with the grieving process in our lives is that our minds about grief has many times been formed by the world. And sometimes experiencing something that is so grievous and so tough as a culture that opposes your faith or your family, whatever you hold dear. The challenge is that this culture has transformed our thinking and we need to get back to biblical thinking about
• 35:30 - 36:00 how we engage with grief. Listen to this scripture. Do not conform to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And sometimes in God's economy, grief is important to get your mind open. To open up your mind and see
• 36:00 - 36:30 things you've never seen before. Otherwise, you'll fill your life with just a cognitive bias of what you think how life should be like. It should be like Jerusalem. And then God takes you into exile into Babylon and you thinking, "Man, I hate this. This is not for me. I know God's going to deliver me in three days. I'm out. And there's Israel. 70 years of living in Babylon. Everybody over 70, lift your arm if you still
• 36:30 - 37:00 can. All right. All right. I know you. I know your pain. I've got a crook elbow, so I know the pain. But listen, listen. 70 years taken out of the promised land and they wrestled with this God. God, what's going on? We had minds schooled in what the promised land would be like. And now we sit in Babylon and nothing we see makes sense. And that's what grief does.
• 37:00 - 37:30 Grief reinterprets your whole reality. Most of you know the fact that we have have lost a child many years ago and we had a car that we really liked. Man, we love that car. But the weirdest thing happened after his passing when I got into that car. I hated the car. Suddenly there was a lot of stuff wrong with the car. It made weird
• 37:30 - 38:00 noises. I didn't like the way the engine sounded. The sound system was pathetic. I was just I was just annoyed with this car. And I and I thought, man, I'm just going to buy a new car. And and luckily, we were we've gone for good counseling. And the the counselor told me, he said, "Bro, you know what's happening? Your brain is disassociating with what it held dear after your trauma. And you need to you need to suck this up, baby.
• 38:00 - 38:30 because it won't stay with your car. The next thing that might go might be your family members, your job. And slowly but surely, if we don't grieve well, the enemy will rob us of the transformation God wants to do in our lives. And I realize that my enemy isn't the car. I am in grief. Can you imagine that? That grief can make you hate your own car, sir.
• 38:30 - 39:00 But it messes with your mind. And therefore, Romans 12 says, listen, be be careful. Don't let this world tell you how to handle your grief. It says there, if you are transformed by the renewing of your mind, then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good and pleasing and perfect will. And sometimes grief is just God coming to remove at one swipe all of our stinking thinking and then we don't know
• 39:00 - 39:30 how to relate with our reality. And that's why grief can be a good thing because you can change your stinking thinking for godly thinking. Amen. Yeah, it's a tough message this. But sometimes we hold our own worldview so dear that we won't let go it for the kingdom worldview unless we go through grief. And if you've ever stood next to
• 39:30 - 40:00 a grave of a loved one, you'll know it's true. When you realize this life is not forever and you've occupied your mind with this life and that grief confronts you and say, "Open your eyes. There's a way bigger reality than just this life." Amen. Can you take some more? All right. Good. So, intellectually, grief has a
• 40:00 - 40:30 massive impact on you. Secondly, it has an enormous impact on you emotionally. Listen to the scripture in in Lamentations. It says,"I called out your name, oh God." So this was a believer. I called from where? The top of the mountain. How many of you have been tempted to walk away from God because you were in a pit? This person say that's the position
• 40:30 - 41:00 you need to be in to have a strong call towards God. I called out your name, oh God, from the bottom of the pit. You listened when I called out. Now follow with me. Don't shut your ears. Have you said that to God? Yes. Okay. If I pray and God doesn't answer shortly, I'm going, "Somebody's
• 41:00 - 41:30 deaf." Uh-huh. Don't shut your ears. Get me out of this pit. Save me. You came close and called me and called out, "Let me take you out of this pit. Huh? No. What does it say? It's going to
• 41:30 - 42:00 be all right. Some of you are in a pit you know you can't be dug out of. Let me tell you, it's still going to be all right. Why? Because he didn't just visit a pit. He emptied the grave and he's with you. Amen.
• 42:00 - 42:30 You know what? Your loved ones become more precious to you in your most desperate times. The beloved of God becomes most precious to us in our toughest of times. But here's the key, man. You have the right to call out. Give a yell and get rid of your
• 42:30 - 43:00 emotions. Get rid of it. Speak to God about how you feel. He's going to be okay. All right. He's seen rough stuff when people talk. Have you read the Psalms? When David has a go, one of the Psalms, it's softened in the translation. David calls out God and said, "You're just afraid of my enemies." Imagine that. David scraped the bottom in terms of how deep a human can go. I want to challenge you. Take your
• 43:00 - 43:30 emotions to God when you grieve. You'll be surprised by the fact that it's going to be all right. When you hear that voice, calm settles in. And you know, yes, this is more than I've ever had to handle. But if you say it's going to be all right, it's not just here. It's ciphers down to here. So grief has an emotional effect
• 43:30 - 44:00 on you. Thirdly, grief has a relational effect on you. So a bit back to our trauma. I don't know if you know this but more than 80% of parents who lose children their marriage don't survive the two years after that. You know why? Because there's a relational impact on trauma. Your stinking thinking says
• 44:00 - 44:30 someone is to blame and you starting to look to blame people for what has happened to you. And guess where you would eventually end up if you've cancel all the options? You'll end up with those closest to you. And you see blame happening in those marriages. And that is such an unhealthy response during times of grief. Don't blame others because you'll
• 44:30 - 45:00 just further break down your network of support. But we like blaming, don't we? Someone angers you and you just go on social media and you let them have a piece of your mind, okay? And you like and subscribe and share and go crazy just to get at someone. Listen, blaming gets you nowhere. Do you know what you need? You need what Romans 12:15 says. It says, "Find people who rejoice with
• 45:00 - 45:30 those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn." Okay? And here's the weird thing with grief. We all work through walk through grief at our own pace. And I saw that in our marriage. I'd walk at a certain pace in terms of getting over the grief and Sonia would be either faster or slower going through that grief. And then when I want to rejoice again, she's still in mourning. Or when I'm still in mourning, she wants
• 45:30 - 46:00 to rejoice again. And we start to miss each other emotionally. And if we want to get healthy through grief as Christians, we need people that is mature enough that says, "Hey, I see you rejoice. I'll rejoice with you." But when you mourn, I'll mourn with you. And suddenly two people carry one load. And it just gets better. Amen. But my problem was I wanted to fix her. When she was down, I was like,
• 46:00 - 46:30 "Hey, hey, toughen up, man. Sun is shining, birds are singing. What's your problem? Just get get with the program." Huh? Helpful husband, isn't it? Okay. Listen, as Christians, we are not called to fix one another. We are called to carry one another. Amen. Yeah. So, it's so important to find people that you can mirror your experience with. And when you rejoice,
• 46:30 - 47:00 they rejoice back. And when you mourn, they mourn back. But you're not alone. And this isolation epidemic we have in the western world in the rich countries is because we can just suppress our grieving without relational interaction. Amen. So the girls here that's young and still looking for husbands or old and looking for husbands. Okay. How do you know he's
• 47:00 - 47:30 marriage material? When he takes you out, you cry. Okay. What? You have a flatout cry. And see if you can handle it, man. There's a song that says, "I feel the earth shake under my feet." Yeah. Yeah. Which psalm is that? It's not a psalm, isn't it? Yeah. Okay. But but you know what's
• 47:30 - 48:00 important for us sometimes as Christians is just to acknowledge where we are at with others who acknowledge that with us. That's why a life group is so important. That's why you need to enroll for something like GTM to help you work through what you're going through and get deliverance from those things. And there's a great bunch of people that will rejoice when you rejoice and grieve when you grieve and mourn when you
• 48:00 - 48:30 mourn. So engage upon those mechanisms. We can give you mature Christians journeying with you through your stuff. Amen. So it's got an intellectual effect on you. It's got a relational effect on you. It's got an emotional effect on you. But mostly grieving has a spiritual effect on you. Uh it's it's amazing if you look at Daniel's life in the book of Daniel, how Daniel managed himself in
• 48:30 - 49:00 exile. Just look at the scripture. This is this is astounding. It's Daniel 6:10. So as if exile isn't enough, they get a letter, a decree that has been published that they cannot worship anymore. So here's what Daniel does when the grief gets so intense. He went home to his upstairs room. Too many Christians go home to their downstairs
• 49:00 - 49:30 room. You want to go up so you could get God's perspective. Amen. Where the windows open where the windows open towards Jerusalem. So he stands there. He opens these windows and he probably could see in the direction of Jerusalem which was his loss. what is grieving. And I wonder sometimes if we have enough guts to take what we grieve into the presence of God and say, "God, you handle this for me. Help me with
• 49:30 - 50:00 this, Lord." Three times a day, he got down on his knees. Do you have a rhythm and a life with margin so you could work through your stuff? Or are you running so quickly to and fro in your life that you are just sweeping the problems in your life under the carpet hoping you can ignore it
• 50:00 - 50:30 away? Daniel said, "No, this is so heavy. I need to face it. Jerusalem, my loss from God's perspective, the upstairs room. And then I need to pray. Then I need to anchor myself in who I am in God. And he prayed. This is important. Giving thanks
• 50:30 - 51:00 to his God. This was a strong man because there's a psalm written Psalm 137 that shows you what the typical Jew did. They did not thank God. They sang songs of bitterness towards God. And one of those songs you know well because it was made famous by Bony
• 51:00 - 51:30 M. Remember that song by the rivers of Babylon where we sat down. You thought it was bony him. Hey, we wept when we remembered Zion. How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? You know what? Daniel could.
• 51:30 - 52:00 Daniel could. He stood there in the upper room, saw his loss, and still could say, "Thank God that I breathe." I don't know what he thanked God for, but he thanked God for the fact that his loss isn't bigger than his destiny. Amen. So, when you're going through grief, remember Daniel 6:10. That last phrase is important. Thanks, guys. just as he had done
• 52:00 - 52:30 before. Your spiritual life is your anchor. Do not throw away what has held you through all these years when you go through grief. Hold on. Hold on. God's going to do a transformation that astounds you. Okay. So, here's reality. An anxious Christian becomes reactive to what they're grieving. But an anchored Christian is
• 52:30 - 53:00 transformative. They change the environment. What are you going to be? You going to let anxiety drive your behavior? Are you going to anchor yourself in God's presence? This is an invitation. Babylon is an invitation regard to me, not your circumstances. especially when you're grieving. And then there's this beautiful prophecy in Jeremiah which we all quote so
• 53:00 - 53:30 easily also seek the peace and prosperity of the city. You know, sometimes we lose the plot a bit and we want to break down Babylon as Christians. God says, "No, even though you're in exile, seek its peace. Seek for it to prosper. Pray to the Lord for
• 53:30 - 54:00 it because if it prospers, you too will prosper." And God said, "Listen, here's what you got to understand that what grieve can do is grieve can make you so selfaware that you end up entitled. But you've got to own your reality. If you work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon and it goes well there, it'll go well with you." And that's how God ushers in his kingdom. We
• 54:00 - 54:30 do it in a way different way. But when we pray for the city, when we pray for the grief areas in our lives, when we pray for it and we seek peace and prosperity again in that area, as God leads us, we will start to prosper again. But sometimes we attack, don't we? Attack the city. We want to pick it, you know, away with Flender Station. It's a nest of sin.
• 54:30 - 55:00 God is saying understanding grieving I'm bringing about a transformation. I'm going to change your life. So I don't know where you are this morning. Maybe you are grieving something and you realize grief has come and pulled the rug out from under me and I haven't been handling it well. And this is God saying you are in exile. Understand that even in Babylon, my
• 55:00 - 55:30 kingdom will break through. It will break through. Amen. Why can that happen? Cuz the king of the kingdom has overcome this world. There's nothing he didn't come come through and was victorious. And this morning, we're going to dedicate ourselves. Say Lord in this election season in this crazy world where people have foreign values etc and we grieve what we had
• 55:30 - 56:00 many years ago maybe you grieve something else just say God take my grief and make it a laboratory of transformation so that I can be someone that say God's peace and prosperity breaks through my life into this world. Amen. I'm going to ask the worship team to come forward for us. But maybe just spend a few moments there where you are. And I want you to think through your life. What? And here's my question. What are you
• 56:00 - 56:30 grieving? What are you grieving? What What is causing you to think this? I won't get through it or this I'll be stuck here forever. That area might be the exact area God wants to use to bring about a massive godly transformation in your life. But how will you respond? Daniel prayed to the Lord. That
• 56:30 - 57:00 was his response. Will you be able to say this morning, Lord, there's no one but you that can get me through this. Will you anchor yourself again in him this morning and say, "You are my security. You're what it's about. I know if if I'm in exile or there's this radical shift in my life, you are the one that says everything's going to be all right cuz
• 57:00 - 57:30 you've got this. You've got this." Amen. Let's close our eyes and we are going to spend it spend a few moments and if you are going through grief or you have that exile experience, I want you this morning just to put your hand on your heart and say, "God, I'm struggling with getting over stuff. Help me to hold on to
• 57:30 - 58:00 you while it seems I'm in exile. Let's all stand. Going to invite the encounter team forward and and if you during the worship sense you've got a need for prayer and some ministry, they'll be here willing to minister to you. But let's go into a time where we dedicate our lives and say, "Lord, thank you that no matter what goes on in our lives, you are the one that will get us through
• 58:00 - 58:30 it. You are the one that makes us strong when we feel weak." You are the one that whisper, "It's going to be all right." You are the one that say, "Watch out. My kingdom can exist even in the Babylon you find yourself in." Can we do that? Good. Let's close our eyes. Lord, we thank you this morning that we don't hold on to a bunch of intellectual concepts or medication or shallow hope. We hold on
• 58:30 - 59:00 to the one that has overcome all things. There is none but you. And as believers, Lord, as Christ followers, we come this morning and we dedicate our lives to you. And we say, Lord, thank you that we can know that you that are in us are greater than whatever happens around us. And so we come and we anchor ourselves again in you this morning and say, Lord, thank you that you are our
• 59:00 - 59:30 security in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Thanks, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. [Music]
• 59:30 - 60:00 In the quiet, in the stillness, I know that you are
• 60:00 - 60:30 God in the seeker. of your presence. I know there I am restored. We're going to sing that verse [Music] again cuz only he can restore. In the
• 60:30 - 61:00 quiet, in the stillness, that you are [Music] God. In the secret of your presence, I know there I am restored. [Music] When you call, I won't
• 61:00 - 61:30 [Music] refuse. Each new day again I'll [Music] choose. There is no one else for me. [Music]
• 61:30 - 62:00 Jesus crucified to save me. Now I live to bring you praise. [Music] In the chaos, in confusion, I know your son is here. [Music]
• 62:00 - 62:30 In the moment of my weakness, you need grace to do your will when you feel [Music] this song through all
• 62:30 - 63:00 There is no one else for me. No but Jesus. Crucified to set me free. Now I live to bring you
• 63:00 - 63:30 praise. There is no one else for me but Jesus crucified to set me free.
• 63:30 - 64:00 [Music] [Music] Yeah. Heat.
• 64:00 - 64:30 Heat. Heat. Oh my, all I see you forever more. [Music]
• 64:30 - 65:00 My life is you forever and there is no one else
• 65:00 - 65:30 for me. None but Jesus. [Music] crucified to set me free. Now I live to bring [Music] praise and there is no one [Music]
• 65:30 - 66:00 else but Jesus crucified to set me free. [Music] Now I live to bring him praise. There is no one else for
• 66:00 - 66:30 me. None but Jesus you crucified to set me free. Now we live to bring you praise. Yes, we do, Lord. [Music]
• 66:30 - 67:00 Let the king of mine be the mountain where I run, the fountain I drink from. Oh, he is my song. Let the king of [Music] mine. Oh, he's my song. Cuz you are good.
• 67:00 - 67:30 Good. Oh, you are good. Good. Oh, you are good. You're good. Oh, you are good. Let the king of my heart be the
• 67:30 - 68:00 wind. The anchor in the way. Oh, he is my soul. Let the king of my heart be my you are good. You are
• 68:00 - 68:30 good. You are good. You are. You're never going to let You're never going to let me down. You're never going to let You're never going to let me down.
• 68:30 - 69:00 You're never going to let You're never going to let me down. You're never going to let You're never going to let me down. You're never going to You're never going to let me down. You're never going to You're never going to let me down.
• 69:00 - 69:30 Never going to let me You are Heat.
• 69:30 - 70:00 [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] You
• 70:00 - 70:30 [Music] are. And when the night is holding on to me, God is holding on. Yes, he do. And
• 70:30 - 71:00 when the night is holding on to me, God is holding on. And you are good. Good. Oh, you are good. Good. Oh, you are
• 71:00 - 71:30 good. Good. Oh, you are good. You're good. You are good.
• 71:30 - 72:00 Heat. Heat. who you [Music] are. And when the night is holding on to
• 72:00 - 72:30 me, God is holding on. And when the knife is holding on to me, my God is holding on. You are good. Oh, you are good. You're
• 72:30 - 73:00 good. Oh, you are good. [Music] Oh, heat.
• 73:00 - 73:30 [Music] Worthy is the lamb was slain. [Music]
• 73:30 - 74:00 Sing. Worthy is th lamb was slain. Holy, holy is he. Sing a new song to him
• 74:00 - 74:30 song. Heaven's mercy sing. [Music] Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to [Music] come. All creation I sing praise to the King of Kings. You are my
• 74:30 - 75:00 everything and I will adore you. Clothes in rainbow of living color flashes lightning rose and
• 75:00 - 75:30 thunder. [Applause] I see glory to you. Holy, holy, holy is God Almighty who
• 75:30 - 76:00 was with you. Heat. Heat.
• 76:00 - 76:30 filled with wonder [Music] at the mention of your name.
• 76:30 - 77:00 [Music] Filled with wonder, Austin and wonder at the mention of your name. Filled with wonder, oh stration of your name. Come
• 77:00 - 77:30 on, Jesus. Your name is power. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.
• 77:30 - 78:00 Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.
• 78:00 - 78:30 And [Music] I Lord we adore you Jesus.
• 78:30 - 79:00 Holy, holy, holy is not for God [Music] almighty and to come with all creation. I sing praise to the king of kings. You are my everything and I will adore you. [Music]
• 79:00 - 79:30 this morning. Lord, you are our everything and we will adore you right where you are. Why don't you just praise him? Thank [Music] him. Give him the glory. Even if you're in a season of grief, turn to him in this moment, allow him to minister to your
• 79:30 - 80:00 heart right where you are. Lord, we thank you that you were the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. and we can stand on you as our rock, as our Lord, as our savior, as our hope, and as our comforter. We thank you that you are good. You are so, so
• 80:00 - 80:30 [Music] good. And this morning, we just give you the glory. And all God's people said, "Amen." Amen. We are at the end of the service, but these guys at the front, the encounter team, they want to stand with you and they want to pray with you. We've spoken a lot about grief this morning. And it's so much easier to walk that
• 80:30 - 81:00 journey with someone else, to have someone stand with you in prayer. There's no shame in coming forward for prayer. And so I just want to invite you again if you would like someone to stand with you in prayer, come forward. Don't leave this space. Don't miss this opportunity. We would love to pray with you this [Music] morning. After the service uh at the desk, two things for you to remember. We have Leah who is going to be there to answer any questions you might have
• 81:00 - 81:30 about GTM. So please feel free to go and speak to her. Also, I will be at the desk if you would like to help us sponsor State Youth Games. We would really, really appreciate your help to make it possible for young people to go. So, please come and see us at the desk. Don't forget to pick up your kids. We'd love you to grab your kids from Kids Church. But otherwise, that is officially the end of our service. So, go be his presence in every place and we will see you next Sunday. Thanks, church. [Music]