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In this podcast, we share our sermons and teaching from our Sunday Celebrations + some other additional teaching content.
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Hey, everyone. Just just smile at the person next to your fish. You've all been looking forward most of the time when you smile at the person next to.
Not a creepy smile, please. No creepy smiles. Okay. Can we just pray a moment just like you, to make a prayer to God that don't know where you are in your faith and in your life? Maybe you're trapped in this room and you're thinking, I don't even really know what these people are talking about in terms of, Jesus, but you could do this.
I did it once. I said, God, if you're there, will you speak to me? It was a start of the journey, coming to encounter the the God out there that I heard about actually could be very real and personal in here, but it just started with that not particularly faith filled prayer. God, if you're there, I want you to speak to me.
And God heard my prayer. I mean, here's yours. So closing your eyes does not is no more spiritual than opening them. But I don't think in the room, we've got any children that we need to worry about running away. Why don't you just shut down a natural sense? And just make a prayer to God? Because he knows where you are.
He knows what you're going through. He loves you, and he is for you. And even through maybe some of the words that I might share. He does want to speak to you today, if he hasn't already. So God, we just give ourselves to you.
And we know that you're there. So will you speak, please? Will you speak? And will God's people in the house set up a few more than that? All God's people said in the house that. Amen. It's okay to say it. It's good for the guests around us. Don't worry. You're not going to get picked up. You might get some chocolate because it's Dave's talk.
We call it. What's my thing? Doesn't really tell you what I'm talking about, but during this last year, we've had many encouragements. God's commonly spoken. He's talked about increase some growth. He's talked about the Holy Spirit coming in and filling our lives, that we might have a powerful, presence filled lives that were fruitful and productive. It's clear that God wants us as a church family and as individuals to to grow and to discover a greater awareness of his presence.
And just my hope today is that we might, having heard lots of words and they're all good words recently, sometimes I just need one thing I know James will make sure I'm not too boomy here, but just one thing. Sometimes I need to do not be overwhelmed with 50. But one thing. So in actual fact, may be the, title of a sermon should be what's my One thing?
What's my one thing today that I can do that could cause something of growth and increase, just like God has spoken to us about, that we wouldn't get to the end of the year in in three four months time and be living with regret. Before I just talk about a few one things that we might need to look at.
I need to talk about decisions that you make. The choices that you make, that choices are crucial. You all know that, don't you? The choices that you and I make. You see, it's not about the circumstances and situations that you and I face. Some of those, they're great, aren't they? They're uplifting. They're brilliant. Exhilarating. We win a competition, a world cruise, maybe, we receive an inheritance.
They they're great money. Quite frankly, most of us are more vulnerable when good stuff is going on and when the bad stuff takes place. But you could be feeling bullied at school, at work, you could be feeling lonely. You could have received some bad news about a diagnosis from a doctor. But it's in the circumstance, the choice that you and I make is in that moment.
We make choices that can affect our physical or mental, our emotional and our spiritual health. It is so crucial that we're able to make good choices. Isn't that true? Do you think seek is circumstances as bad and as desperate as they can be, and as great in as fantastic and everything in between? Our life isn't shaped and determined by them, is determined by our choices in them.
Appreciate that. Sometimes it can be a little bit difficult. And we've got to ask the Lord about direction and future and what we should or shouldn't do. And there's so many verses. It's, true, but these three verses have really spoken to me just recently. I'm going to rewind a little bit. Just on the choices. How many people know that verse?
How many believers in the house, most of us, a lot of us have heard of Deuteronomy. It speaks about God's blessing and the choices that those people make. And he says, I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life. God gives us the answer. I mean, is there anybody in the room? If you were given blessings and curses, is there anybody who would choose curses?
I mean, it's just it should be taken for obvious. And yet God's people needed to be told choose life. And it was choose life so that your children may live, and that you may love the Lord your God. Listen to his voice. Hold fast to him, for the Lord is your life. If our choices can lead our lives into blessing, then the opposite is also true.
Because God's Word says it. There can be curses if we make the wrong choices. We need to be aware and just look at the verse that the choices that you and I make in our faith and in our life, they don't just affect us. We find out that the choice could affect our children.
You just could affect your family, your friends, your relatives. If you haven't got children, you're not at that stage of life. One of the saddest things over the years is when we, as leaders, have seen some parents make choices that cause them to drift and walk away from their faith. And the impact that we know that that's going to have upon the families.
I said just before that, I'm just telling myself that sometimes we're not sure what to do. Anybody not being sure about what to do in the life, where to go, what to say, what to do. Yeah, we all there. These are the these are the verses that just come to me. I love them. The Lord directs the steps of the gospel.
He delights in every detail of their lives. Can I just tell you that the Lord delights in every detail of your life, no matter how old or young. No detail is too small that your God is not interested in. It's only whether or not you'll include him in the small details or not. That's the matter. And though they stumble and yes, sometimes we just make mistakes.
Mine too many to mention. But it says you'll never fail. Fall, for the Lord holds him by the hand in Proverbs. That's a great scripture. We make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. I was going to go to Warwick University or Bangor University and study. And I actually think it was my lack of effort and work okay that I didn't get there.
But one point more with my A-levels. One point, that's all. And I would have been off in a away. And it was just so God intervened. And Edgehill, it was only a college of higher education. But then, by the way, it was obviously an inferior institution. Oh yes. You went ooh. And I live off I went. It's now university in a splendid place.
Splendid place. It was good back then, and it was better because it was the place where God wanted me to be. It was the place where my wife to be was going to be. Yeah. A better yeah than that, David. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. God intervened. I thought something and to be fair, I was I was asking the Lord where to go and what to do.
It wasn't that I was asking in. And he intervened because he knew there was a destiny ahead, which I knew nothing about what was going to take place and involve this place, and involved a wonderful church, family. And oh, that's interesting, but I love this. The message is Isaiah writes that God says, I am God, your God who teaches you how to live right and well.
I show you what to do and where to go. Well, he does show you if you listen to him, if you give him the space to speak in God and leave. So I just hope that within the power of choice, with everything else that I might say within the choices that we make, that we might put him and listen to him first.
The Lord wants to be intimately involved in all of our choices. I wonder if I will allow him to have that.
We need to be able to choose one thing. Now. The good news is it's a delight to see some of the students back. Reuben, just come and stand by this little table here with you. You want to do it then? If you want to be involved, come. Come on, come to the front. Come to the front. Come and stand by that table.
Don't do anything. Just sit right.
Okay. You don't have it. Take it off and have a little. We look for stuff. Oh, yeah. Table of chocolate.
You can take it off right? Sorry I wasn't looking at you, but we got there. We got chocolate and munchies and galaxy. And if you can choose one thing off that table and it's yours. Anything. Make a choice. Pick it up. Oh, it's Biscuit City. We got Jaffa cakes and cookies and Oreos and so much. You can choose one thing.
Oh, hold them up. What? Why would you choose the Oreos they have? Favorite? Anybody else would to choose the Oreos? What? Maltesers. You know, fun and games with Maltesers. Who the chosen Maltesers. You see the guys take him back. You can sit down with them. I just wanted to physically show you there was no task. There was no question to answer.
There was no quiz. They just had the ability to have whatever they wanted and choose one thing. And we get a choice for one thing. In actual fact, we're going to realize when we look at some of these things. But, one thing actually always has some more dimensions to it. Okay. We read about King David and we read these words.
I have asked one thing from the Lord. It is what I desire to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking him in his temple. His one thing, the these one thing phrases that we'll do this have an 11 to 18 of them within the Bible and and they're various, but there are five one things and I believe these these apply to us at least one of them is going to and he's going to be a help for us to say, God, I want more.
I want to have increase. I want to because I want you to do something amazing. I want where there's a blockage for it to be loosed so that I can just move into a new season of fruitfulness, of harvest, a growth. David was a man after God's heart. That's what it talks about in the Bible. King David, he could have had anything.
He made lots of mistakes. He was the adulterer. He was the murderer. He was the liar. And yet for him, he understood better than king. So before him who was a proud man, who resisted God and following God's ways, David, he said, when he did something wrong, I'm sorry. And he couldn't live without the thought of God's presence.
Being with him. I wonder if that could be true of us. If the one thing that we have where where it's nearly like some people will stand on, on a hill and say, this is it, I'm going to fight for this and nothing else. I remember walking into my house one day and the children were younger and as I walked in, those of you coming in the house, there's a bit of a big space that was a bag, a coat, some shoes.
And it became my I was it was going to be my custom last stand. It was going to be the children. I built a cupboard here with shelves for them to put their shoes in and their coats in. My customers last stand was going to be they're going to do how ridiculous. It wasn't going to be long before I would have loved to have walked in shoes.
When you take your stand, for one thing, parents, especially those of us, have learned sometimes the things that we try to take off standing. Guess what? They just aren't worth it. We've elevated something up here and it should be down there. You find the one thing in your life the as David did, he says one thing do I desire that I might dwell in the house of the Lord?
I wonder if today, for some of us, the one thing that we need to recalibrate is to say that is true of me as well. I just, I just wonder if that is the case. I wonder if we should be those. Who say, God, I've been a bit distant, but I want to place you as this is something like David, I am never going to settle for something inferior other than your presence being with me wherever I go.
Bill Johnson's the leader of the Bethel Church, and he. If you read anything on him and about the presence of the Lord, get it, read it. It's great. And he just said these words. He said, we all have the privilege of stewarding an awareness of the presence of God in our lives and living from a place of intimacy with him.
Nobody else can do it for you. You're the only one who can make the priority, the time. Set aside the disciplines of life to be able to steward the presence of God. That would seem as though we're saying that we're handling it. No, it's just we choose our priorities that we could. You smile at me because I know it seems very serious and there's not many jokes and only two people have got chocolate, so the rest of you must be feeling miserable.
Your time will come upon. We have a responsibility. So maybe today the one thing that the Holy Spirit just allows to speak to you and say there needs to be an adjustment, a recalibration, so that we two can say one thing I can do, one thing I can say, I will stand on this hill and fight for it more than anything else.
And maybe we've just got things out of perspective. We're moving to New Testament, and we find that there's a scripture in Mark and it talks about the rich am ruler, and this is a one snapshot of Jesus's interaction with him, and it's Jesus looking at him. Jesus loved him and said to him, you lack one thing. Go sell all you have, give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come and follow me. One thing, one moment and he starts talking to him about the physical, the material, the possessions, the finance, the wealth that he has. And maybe that could be something was the one thing that the Holy Spirit wants to come and just put his hands on today. Or maybe already you suddenly feel that? Don't think you're going to talk to me about money if we have time.
We read in the story that the the the rich, ruler came in and he ran to Jesus. He came and knelt at his feet. That's a great place for any of us to find ourselves in life. He asked Jesus, what must I do to get eternal life? And it was a beautiful thing. It says Jesus loved him.
He didn't look down on him. We look and think that he was a bit of an arrogant copy of God. We think that there was some yeah, yeah, we love you. But no, he just says we love him and say God loves you. Wherever you are at today, God loves you. That does not mean that he's happy with the way we live and what we do.
But he loves you, and that's a great thing to know about any of us. But people aren't asking me to be on a leader, worship or do the car park well, do a job. You just love a part of this. For me, here.
It's a surprise, really, when you read the story. Because. Because he comes and says what? We're striving for eternal life. And. And Jesus, two of the people, he said these words, believe in me and you will have eternal life. That's what he says. And yet he doesn't do that and give him the answer. In fact, sometimes I don't know about you.
I find Jesus doesn't answer the questions I have because he's got some questions for me. I got to tell you, sometimes there's a bit of an ouch factor, but Jesus goes straight to the money issue. He tells the man to sell all he has give to the poor. Then you'll get treasure in heaven. And then he says, then you can come and follow me.
It seems like he's putting a lot of hurdles there. I mean, Jesus grants you Jesus is at your feet. Jesus, he he said that he's done all of this stuff. Can we just say before you all, it's worth the challenge, isn't it? In terms of our possessions and our attitude towards the things that we have. But before you race out to eBay and Facebook Marketplace and and the pawn shop or the estate agent, the root of the problem was not the things that he had, but that the things he had had him.
That was the root of his problem. They had a disproportionate hold, and maybe it was because if he didn't have them, he wouldn't have a position in society. Maybe it was his pride. Maybe you have the wrong priorities. We don't know those things. We just read in and but Jesus went and highlighted the very thing that maybe he had a sign up saying access not permitted here.
If Jesus is Lord, we're going to just say anything. Anything Jesus, my life is open to you. That's if he's Lord. Or maybe we just pay lip service to a man like this new to the Lord. Because he told Jesus about all the things he'd followed. He knew in Deuteronomy 14 and verse 23, that these words are said, bring the tithe to the designated place of worship, the place that the Lord your God chooses for his name.
To be honest. He talks then about some of the things that they bring because it was an agricultural economy. I just praise God that I don't have no sheep because I just seem to kill pet some animals. I'm not very good with them, so the sheep won't do so well. I'd rather just get a wage and a salary that I have to deal with.
And and there in Deuteronomy, the the phrases that doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God. I could believe that he practiced those things. You see, I can believe that he practiced tithing. And yet, even though he did that, he went away. A South man because Jesus put his finger on the issue. These were the things that were controlling his life and determining everything.
And he went away south. And even as he went away, Jesus loved him. Jesus loved him, and Jesus loves us. And we have to ask ourselves, what about us? Maybe the one thing that we need to address is our attitude towards our finances. A wealth of possessions, how we look to steward and handle those things that we do have.
Can I just to show you, if you're a student and you're kind of pretty broke, when you're a student, and then there aren't so many young people, but maybe you got a paper around or or you got some pocket money. So if you can't, if you can't find a place to start tithing when you are earning very little, let me tell you, in my experience, I've met very few people who could manage to do it when they're older because he was faithful in small things, to be faithful in much and and the, the, the handling and the shooting of finance is such a key issue.
Maybe just maybe, that's the one thing in the light of this story, in the light of the rich ruler who went away, said that we need to address is certainly worth thinking about. So we have David's one thing a desire to know and experience the presence of God all the days of his life. We have a rich ruler.
His one thing was certainly the stuff that was holding him in his life. And then we come to a story which many of us have mixed feelings about because it's it's Martha, it's Martha's one thing. And the Lord said to her, my dear Martha, you were worried and upset over all these details. There is only one thing worth being concerned about.
Mary's discovered it and it will not be taken away from her. We know the story may be those of us who know the Bible Mary, Martha, Lazarus. Jesus comes to town and Martha is there, and they're preparing the food and getting the house ready. So they've been hospitable. And where's Mary? Everybody at the feet of Jesus, at the feet of Jesus listening.
And the siblings were not getting on the gritted teeth. I wish she'd get up and come and help me with the hot water or the food on the table. We know that. And listen, we've all got a sympathy for because you think somebody had to do it. If they didn't, they weren't eating. So our sympathy kind of don't do the sympathy thing.
Jesus came and put his finger on an issue here. Wrong priorities. Jesus himself identified that the one thing that was necessary was to be with him. I don't know how the food with food and drinks would have worked out, but I've got a feeling they would have worked out.
And maybe from this story today, with so many opportunities, activities, distractions that face us, we need to ask our question is this the one thing that I've just got out of balance with that you need to find a quiet or quality time. We've got somewhere in your day going for a walk. There's this prayer meetings coming up, opportunities to prayer, walk opportunities to gather together.
Maybe you're going to have to disturb the comforts in the rhythm of your life in order to put something else in, in order that this one thing would come and open up something powerful and new into your life, who knows? But wouldn't it be worth asking the Holy Spirit today if maybe were too busy with other stuff and we don't spend enough time coming and finding time at the feet of Jesus, I said, it's such when parents, take steps away from faith, away from the Lord.
It's not about away from meetings, although that's the evidence of it. But it's also sad when anybody in the family, they were passionate about Jesus, but suddenly gardening, cricket games, the gym, swimming, running, National Trust visits and a whole host of other things including family, grown children in the house. They all take priority over something that there was a passion and a fire for.
Let me just say before that you need to smile when you read this. Because of this, I love all of us. Well, I don't like gardening too much and I'm rubbish at DIY. They all have a place that beautiful. There's nothing that I enjoy more than being. I'm called, Pops or Papa to four grandchildren of two of them.
Talk to me about being tougher, and I can't wait because I know that that my my, my oldest grandchild, these Ashura. And he's waiting for me to arrive because he feels that I've got to go and cut the hedge. I'm thinking I think it's time to cut the hedge. But, but he he's waiting for me to go and visit him so that papa can can put the hedge.
Beautiful. I love it, I love it, it touches something in my heart that I cannot describe to you in words when he just says, come on, Papa, let's play dinosaurs.
But it has a place. It is a priority. But it's not the priority. It's not the priority. Pestilence and Martha. Yes, that we can have a servant heart. God bless people. Jeremy. We honor you early in the building, going round, turning lights on, making sure it's good, making sure it's safe. And you and everybody like you, who's here today, coming and setting up so we can have drinks and refreshments and and pray them out on the car park to welcome us with these big smile.
Serving hearts. Yes, but it's worth thinking about. I think it's worth thinking about whether or not we should be spending a little bit more time with Jesus. The fourth thing, very quickly, in John nine, verse 25, we find that there was a blind man who was healed. He answered, whether or not he's a sinner, he was questioned by the religious people.
He says, I don't know. But one thing I do know, I was blind, and now I can see. We see the story of a man born blind. The religious leaders are getting stuck on the fact that Jesus did something on a Sunday, on a Sabbath day, and the. And they ignore the fact that there's a miracle. It just.
If ever there was something about wrong priorities, it's there. But here's the thing. The one thing this man was able to, the one thing he was able to say, What is Jesus done for you? Once I was blind, now I can't see eight words succinctly express no jargon, just the truth of what Jesus had. Though now you and I, we we may not have had something so dramatic as a sight restored, but every single person is a believer in the house, has a story to tell.
Hopefully you can say it in very, very few words with no joking. Or maybe you get 30s. Occasionally you might get a couple of minutes. Don't drill people into the ground with 25 minutes unless that's appropriate. But each one of us may be the one thing we need to do in these days is all of us have an ability to tell our story, and a desire to tell our story and ask God for some opportunities.
Because God said that this house will be filled. It's going to be filled because God's people share their story, invite people that we have seats. So is. And then we will be. Harvest gathers. Maybe the one thing that all of us would need to do is to be able to tell our story. Give yourself a challenge. How few words could you express it?
Once upon a time, as a 17 year old, I thought about the stories of God, and I looked into it and I found this, that the God out there could become a God in here and powerful and real. When I asked Jesus to come and be my commander in chief, and the Bible uses words and laws and say to to joking with people, get it?
I've said it hundreds, if not thousands of times in my life because I learned to. And maybe the one thing that we need to do is to do that. And finally, Paul's one thing now that I have not that I have already attained this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of me.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do forgetting what is behind, straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for God, for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Paul never settled in life. He writes, this is probably his last letter.
He's in prison. It's 1861 or 62. The scholars tell us. And and he writes this letter. He got every reason maybe to just to sit back and think, hey, what a life, what a life, an amazing conversion experience. Baptism in water, baptism in the spirit. He's been bitten by a snake and survived. He's had beatings and floggings and he's been shipwrecked.
I went to Malta recently. Jeff always said to me, even Paul only got shipwrecked on Malta to go that. It's true, isn't it?
He he he had he had an experience. And he talks about when he went into the third heaven and saw stuff which he was forbidden from talking about every reason, just to take the foot off the gas. It's been a good life. But he didn't. He said one thing I do, one thing I do. I press on, forgetting that which is behind tabs.
Can you see me just so quickly? I like, I wish it seemed to come back up onto the platform place now, just because some of us operate more physically.
Can I just tell you this is heavy? So I've had to think about this. So if there's an injury okay. It is quite heavy. This isn't it. You just going to walk up and down. There's loads of things in here. This is representing as fast just as you could just kind of walk up and walk down without falling over it be helpful.
Oftentimes we carry stuff through life that we would never designed to. We were to learn from stuff that was good or bad. But yeah, let me help you a bit. And how heavy is it that it's very heavy. You have to be a big Jim. So let's get rid of something that we shouldn't really have to carry, or we got a bit of loss and defeat.
We're going to take that a bit out here. Don't need to carry that around. He might have learned from it. There'd be some scars, maybe a few losses, a few defeats in life. Anybody other defeats in life or a feeling of a sense of loss. Does anybody it's okay. It's okay. Anybody don't put your hand up. If anybody's still carrying that around with them.
Well, I'm not saying that it's as easy just to take it out, but the Holy Spirit is a comforter and a counselor who can help us. Is it a bit easier just. Oh, much easier. I see. There was a script. No there wasn't, there wasn't. I'm going to take out. It's a bit of success and praise. Yeah. It's not just the bad stuff.
Sometimes the successes. Remember that moment you got baptized with the Holy Spirit and you're still talking about it 15 years later? But as for the last week, month or six months or 12 months? Yeah, not gone anywhere near asking the Holy Spirit to fill you. Sometimes the successes and the the good stuff can be the enemy of the great stuff that God wants.
They are heavy. Oh, what else we got in there? Oh, two mixtures, two sides of the coin. Joy and sadness. How are we doing? Are we carrying that around with us? You know? Yeah. We want to joy the memories and all of the. But all of. So we want to remember that God helps me in my sadness and though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I don't stay in the valley of the shadow of death.
But I can walk through it somehow, with his help and his comforting hand, because we heard a voice, a verse that said that God would not allow us to fall, but would help us. And in no way can be painful. But to journey on. Oh, I think it's getting a lot easier for you, I think. Is that one more I so these are two very painful words betrayal and failure.
How many people of I could say that I've met that fail and their oath in life? I was sat talking to somebody in a coffee shop last week, and the sadness.
Was that you sensed that failure that had happened 40 years ago was still haunting that person. We prayed and we asked Douglas help that I think it'd be easy now, isn't it? Wouldn't it be easier to go for a run and everything without all of that stuff? You can sit down. Oh, whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. I'm going to take it off.
You you can you can go and help yourself to some biscuits and some chocolate because you did something for it. You can have more than one thing, and we can all have more than one thing. But wouldn't it be good if just today we could leave without the stuff of yesterday that was back then? We could set it aside and all of us together.
Say, I press on towards the goal. I press on, forgetting that which lies behind, straining forward. Wouldn't it be good to be able to do that? And sometimes we need help. We need friends. We need counselors. We need we need assistance in that. That's why with church family, we were never designed to be on our own and on our riches.
But together we're always stronger. What's the one thing? What is the one thing that maybe is your thing? What's your thing? What if you could stand up together? We're going to have a moment of the Holy Spirit. Have a moment where we can just come. As we worship him. Maybe you'll sing. Maybe you won't. But could you just allow the Holy Spirit?
And if you don't know that language and because you've never asked Jesus into your life, my prayer is this God, if you dare, I want you in my life. That could be your prayer today. If you don't know Jesus, if and there's not been a moment in your life, in history, your destiny up to this point is never know that you have asked Jesus to be your Commander in Chief.
You forgive him, your healer, your Lord, your Savior, right here, right now, today is the start of a new destiny and future. If you believe in your heart that Jesus raised was raised from the dead, if you confess with your lips that he's Lord, you can be saved. And for those of us who know it, for those who are living it, God comes as a God of all encouragement.
So maybe you said just one thing, just one thing. Today. Whether it's putting him at the center like David, whether it's having the right perspective on the stuff of life, if it's sorting our priorities out, if he's being able to be a seed sower and and be able to share about our faith because maybe we haven't done it, well, maybe he's just setting aside the things that have happened in order that we might move forward.
Well, maybe another thing is that's just how the Holy Spirit works.
I just have a moment as you worship Jesus, as we try to close, if you need prayer, if you want to ask Jesus for to come in your life your first time, maybe somebody's family to come down to front where there's Harry and Jeff and Polish people who. Want to worship Jesus.