Dave Gregg: Living a Life Less Ordinary

Dave Gregg explains the idea of being extraordinary and not settling for an ordinary life. He highlights the importance of following God's ways and commandments in order to experience blessings and greatness, and encourages us to embrace our uniqueness so we may be a shining beacon to others.

What is The Community Church: Sermons and teaching?

In this podcast, we share our sermons and teaching from our Sunday Celebrations + some other additional teaching content.

We just pray a moment. God spoken already, hasn't he? I know, we just want his word to find a resting place in our heart, but the promises of God are all yours. That's going to be relevant to what we hear in a few moments. The promises of God are all yours.

With some great is the Lord. We're going to hear that phrase in a few moments. It is indeed great of all things, in every circumstance and situation and ease. If you know Jesus is Lord King. Sits on the throne of the universe and every universe beyond. That's you, Jesus. Loving Jesus. Everything is found and and complete. And how he took his.

Father, we want to thank you for your amazing word in their life. Thank you for your family and and thank you that you speak to us and just help me. Father, to how to communicate your heart in your word towards your people. Amen. Let's say amen a little bit louder. Amen. Yeah, yeah. You know, you're not going to get away with being too quiet today.

The, The reason there's a little message on the book, on the on the board, it was, a life less ordinary wasn't just so that we had a tape title or a video title or whatever message title. But a few weeks ago, I'd been reading in the Book of Acts where Peter and John had been hauled before the elders and the chief priest and a number of people to explain their actions.

And, in acts four, verse 13, it says these words that the when they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished. And they took note of this, that they had been with Jesus unschooled, ordinary people. And yet other people noticed they had been with him, and it transformed them from the ordinary to the extra ordinary.

That's what they did. They lived an extra ordinary life because they had found the life of Jesus. And to most people in the world, you know, they probably look at each one of us. Well, not maybe all of us, but certainly all of us. Maybe some of us think there's something there that aren't so ordinary. But the world looks at you and says you're pretty ordinary.

Didn't invent something to change the planet. You don't have a CEO big title, but but you've pretty ordinary. But I believe that today God would say to each and every believer in the House that you, extra ordinary. In fact, you, great. Jeff came last week, had David a couple of weeks ago talked about about, that that healing and that real important part that it's not just in, in here, in this building, but out there that we as people can go and and with his anointing, bring healing to the nations.

We heard Jeff talk about, the prophetic thing that we must have anointing. We called for the Spirit of God to touch our life. But if it's not for the Spirit of God, we're doomed because it's not going to be our might and strength is. It's going to be by his spirit. And Jeff talked about a nation that God's people and and they were at a time where all the nations around them, they have they have kings.

And they said, let us repeat, let us have a king like them. And I think God's heart was sad because he wanted to be their Lord. He wanted to be the one that the the people went in on, that trusted on that listen to, his prophet and that they will go and they will be different and marks out from every nation.

But they demanded a king, and they got king. So it didn't work out too well. What? In fact, it was pretty rubbish. And it it wasn't the best. God gave them it because they wanted it. Now his purpose was always going to work out. But we like them. are those who should be set apart. We should be different.

We should be those who were encouraged in Romans. Paul writes in his book, It's letter to the church there. And he says, don't be conformed to the image of the world for each and every one of us, young and old alike, the world is pressing in to try and squeeze us into a particular little jelly mold. Mold. That's what they're trying to do.

Advert society, Instagram, political parties, social new social norms and agendas which say this is the norm. And yet God says, I want you to be a peculiar and extraordinary people. I want you step out. I want you to be great. I want you to be my shining beacon, a lighthouse to the nations. That's what God says about you.

Could you just nudge the person next and say, hey, you're important.

You truly are. Back in Deuteronomy, in the Old Testament, God speaking to his people about the blessings that they should experience in life. He's talking also about some curses that they could get if they don't do the right thing. But in terms of the blessings, he says, he says these things Deuteronomy 28 and verse 13, and he tells his people this.

They were designed to be the head, not the tail. They weren't to be at the bottom of the stack. They were to be something advance. He actually says that you were destined to be at the top, never at the bottom. You can, you can. You get that if you're in his kingdom, if you're part of these people and you're told you're destined to be at the top, never at the bottom.

I told you before, I've got over it. But the school that I was at, the teachers at the exam time, used to pin on the noticeboard at the back of the classroom. Every teacher did it. There was the list of the results from your exam finds. Guys are rubbish at math. In fact, I'm rubbish at physics and chemistry and biology and French.

This English. Thank you John I thank you. Thank you. He was my teacher and he also did it. that was the generation that was assigned. That was space. So. Okay. Please don't feel too sorry for me. So I would like to blame the teacher, but he might still have that piece of chalk in his pocket to hit me.

So I've got to be a little bit careful. and I. But he told me this some great and some. But let's put it this way, because nowadays we're not allowed to say some were less great. That's what it told me. But how about a life that anybody fancies that walking in the room? If that was you and you're going to be the top, not the bottom, is there anybody who likes to be the top?

Hey, listen, if you don't put your hand up, that means this. You like being the bottom. God said to his people, you can be the top and not the bottom. You can be great. The sadnesses. It never happened for them, only occasionally. And it was nothing to do with God's promise and God's promise is true for us today.

In all that you're going to hear. The sadness was they chose a different path that was away from him. Of course, it wasn't just going to happen automatically that they were going to be the top and not the bottom. They were going to be the head, not the tail. It wasn't going to happen like that because there were some things they had to do.

It was conditional. It was conditional on this, that they would follow his ways, follow his decrees, remember his commandments, and not follow what the gods. Seems pretty simple, unless you're the kind of guy who gets their Ikea package and thinks, yeah, we'll open that and ship it out and we won't bother them instructions because we can manage to do it.

We can do it. Our way, and it'll kind of work out somehow. And you've got 5000 pieces left on, on the floor afterwards, instructions were given by God for you and I to make it work and to do well and be the top, not the bottom. And that's still the case today. You can be great. You are great.

That was one of the first messages I remember as a young Christian. We went to this place in Harrogate. It was a it was a cowshed. It was a, it was a showground. It was called Dales Bible Week. And a man stood on the platform and one of the first most memorable messages. And there are some memorable. You'll probably forget this one quickly, but it his message.

He was a man by a Dong Silber. God bless him. And he stood on the platform and he was he was going to talk about how you can be great in life. Anybody want to hear a message like that? I said I was a young man, I was 17.5 years old. I thought, I want to be great in life.

I don't want to be mediocre or average or even good. I want to be great. Now, inside your heart. I think we all think that I love to be great. Now some of you then are straight away going to get that. Yeah, but you're not. Because I've been thinking, thinking. I've come to it in a minute. But he stood up and he was going to teach us the keys of being great.

And I remember his message well. I remember his outline. Point one he said, I will make you great in Egypt. He was taking the story of Jacob, who was considering whether or not to go into Egypt and leave to go to Egypt to be with his son Joseph. Yes, Joseph, of the coat of many colors that don't go singing it, because you'll stay in your head all day.

Yeah. And he was deciding whether or not he should or shouldn't go. And God said, I will make you great in Egypt. And point to have done so was message was I will make you great in Egypt. Could anybody guess what point three was right? And what do you think point for us. And his whole message had those I will make you great in Egypt.

Tell me this that that when he's there in blessing, in challenge, in pain, in joy, in hardship and in plenty, I will make you great in all of those things. Whatever circumstance and situation, we need to know that we can be great, we can do great, we can experience greatness. That was the promise to Jacob that he wouldn't be average, but he would be great.

And I believe it's true for us, God's people in this time, in this day and age. You were called to be great. You were called to be great. Now you're going to preach to somebody next to you. You move on and say, you know what you're called to be great.

If you don't know the name of the person next to you, that might be a bit rude. So you might need to ask the name, but you still tell them you're cool to be great. My somebody told you, my auntie, you done it turned the other way. Well, you can preach you the person you called to be. Great.

Here we go. We just need to get a little perspective on greatness. Because already some of you have got a little bit of a check. You're thinking about that parent who always says that the brilliant, wonderful and everything is that poking the finger up another child's nose or emptying the nappy? There's there's pictures going around now. There's reservations about greatness.

Some of you, because of experience and pastor are going to turn around and say, well, that's not me. It might be that and I wish you haven't done that. And I don't want to say it because I wouldn't want to be saying something that's a lie. Well, I want you to get God's perspective in the next few minutes about greatness, and then you're not going to feel it's a lie.

Let's be very clear. Greatness is not, as the world puts it, it's not. Buy the clothes you wear, the followers or the likes you have on social media. Social media, John, is something that's on a computer. It's it's on the web. There's some kind of things called programs, but like TV shows like Instagram and Facebook. Yeah.

It's not based on whether or not you've got a healthy bank balance or, or the car you drive or the job title that you have. And, and, and the job title that you have. We said to Amanda, we say you can have whatever job title you like, intergalactic administrator of the universe. There's no more pay, but it's a nice title.

You call yourself what you want. Some people are big titles, but they're very little people.

Having a title, having a car, having the clothes, having the million followers. That is not greatness. Although the world will try to pin it. Is that having a social position in your family, maybe being up the social scale, whatever that is, Lord and lady, well, they must be great. Not necessarily just giving a lot of money to a political party.

That wasn't a political point. It's a truth across parties. Can I just say it's not against the Lord? I just don't take it somewhere. I didn't mean to. Okay, that has happened. It does not mean that they're great. It just means those people wanted an ego. There are some great people who deserve those kind of titles and accolades.

Let me just look at greatness with you for a few moments.

I believe that greatness actually is given to every single one of you. If you're in the room today, Ethan, you're great young youngest. I'm looking to think anything. You might be the youngest in the room today. Just looking around. Well done. Okay. Just that, that moment and then some of you. Well, I won't look at anybody, but you have more senior year in you.

Everything in between and beyond than before. When you're a child of God, you have greatness in you. Why do I know that? Because Genesis 127 tells me that. We are made in the his image and likeness. Can you just preach to yourself a moment? Leave it in the house? Obviously. Maybe you don't know Jesus, okay. Just be comfortable.

I am made in the image and likeness of God. Will you just tell yourself that when you tell yourself that Tina. I can say you are, but I am. That is what God's Word says about you. Creation reflects the glory of God, but we reflect the image in the likeness of God. That is amazing. Reflecting God is the essence at the center of being in his image.

You were the ambassador of Christ, Pam. Where you go, you carry authority and life and light. Paul is recovering from his operation. How's it going back next week now? Okay, you just. We're missing you. Movie. Sorry. We'll get the missing part first. I missed out, we're missing you. You can be back soon. Looking forward to seeing you back.

Recover well. Recover strong with a lot on. But, Paul, you're made in the image of God. He created you. You're in his likeness. You carry the aroma of Christ when you walk in the room. God is something. If you're a believer in this house, you don't carry a stench of the old life. You carry his aroma. Some some people pass you.

You think, man, they smell good. Eugene. Does that never happen to you? You certainly pick up the bad, but you can thing that's. It's just inappropriate when you're walking along in a lady passes. You do. I just don't go up and say, hey, you smell beautiful today. I love that perfume. My wife could do that. I can't, I can think it sometimes and look and say, hey.

Wow. If this is true. Wow, Mikey. You're great. How good is that? He has his divine power, has given us everything we need, everything we need for a godly life. Is that not amazing? We scrabble around sometimes thinking that we're not going to make it shiny. You're going to make it. You're great. God's life is in you. His divine power.

And and that scripture is really important. Couldn't you just read it to yourself the same way you read it in your head to read out loud? It don't matter. The same power that rose Christ from the grave lives in you. Could you just preach to the person next to you just a little? Don't stare amount too much. Could you turn around?

Come on bench? And why both you children the same power. Steve Hill that rose Christ from the great lives grave from the great lives in you. Wow. Are you getting a sense that you're great? There's greatness in this room. He is great. You are his child. Therefore you are great. You have greatness in you. You are made in his image.

You have the same power that rose Christ from the grave. Therefore, if any I like person. But my version said, if any man obviously includes all of us is a new creation, the old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. Paul says to the Corinthian church. This, he says, is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

Eileen, all those many months ago, you came to an Alpha course, and we talked and we shared and we watched some videos, and you asked questions and the God who you were searching and searched in numerous religions. You found a moment, didn't you? And it was so beautiful. As Sue led you in a prayer which has Jesus, who was out there to come and live in here and be your forgiver and your Lord, and your saving you.

Commander in chief. And the Christ who rose from the dead came and lived in you, and you found him, and he came into your life so beautiful, life changing. Hi. You're great. You're great. You might not want to say that about yourself, as a number of people are saying. That's true, Dave. I'm not going to. Well, I got some more scripture for you.

You are his workmanship. Many of us know these scriptures. We've heard them. So many sound. You are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we could walk in them. One version says this not workmanship. You're his masterpiece. I am his masterpiece. Close your eyes so that it's not embarrassing. But could you do something for just humor me?

Just close your eyes, but with your voice loud enough that your ears could hear these words. Let me say they are God's words and God's view about your life. Nothing that anybody has ever said about you, done to you in the past or in the present can change the truth that you are his masterpiece. Now, there might be pain associated with those things that have taken place.

I understand that I'm not dismissing it, but the truth beyond that is that God views you as his masterpiece. So just with your eyes shut, could you say I am his masterpiece? I am, and it's not saying something about it. You know what? This might be the only thing you take away from today, but it's changing the perception that you have of yourself.

And the only person's view, ultimately that matters is the God in heaven who loved you so much that he sent his son. Maybe you could just say it again. It is not about volume, it's about truth. And I just want you to understand that is a great thing for your ears to hear this, because I know this because I felt the Lord say, there's some people who just are going to struggle saying this.

But this will be release and life for them. Now, you might just have to trust me and that might be difficult. But we just sung something that says, I trust in God, my Savior, the one he is and the one and he says it to you. You is masterpiece. And you can say to yourself, I am his masterpiece.

I am his masterpiece. The back end of that verse tells us this exciting thing as well. You're not designed just to occupy a little bit of space or a chair in a meeting. The stuff that he wants you to do, and he's planned that stuff since before you were even born, because that's how God great is. Why you're great.

You are great. Some of your faces tell me you're still not convinced.

I come to this verse in a moment. Said before you, the light of the world, you are the light of the world. You're just quoting Jesus. He was telling his disciples, so once again, look somebody else in the eye or not. You, the person next to you, just say, I'm anybody next year. Hi, I'm Dave, I am this I don't mean to embarrass you this in any way, shape or form.

Despite what anybody else might say in this room. It is true. I just want you to know that if you know Jesus, you're the light. You are the light of the world. I know I can say this to Jean because I know Jean very well. You're the light of the world, she you brighten up a room when you come in.

If there is darkness, it's going to go when you're around. Just because you illuminate the place with a love in the life of Jesus, that's what you do. Jean could. Thank you. Thank you. I believe that is true. Yeah. If you just said so. Do you. It's true. Young or old, could you tell that person next to you who you've already been preaching at quite a lot?

Just say you know what? You're the light of the world. You have the light of the world.

But most.

I know even after all of those verses, we we. Sarah got up here earlier on and said, we need to know some of the promises of God. She stood up there. She was here. She was right here. Some of you were not in some sense. Amen. It's. What did she say to us? Sarah said, we need to call on the promises of God because they're true.

And they could affect my life, a family's life and everything out there beyond. Is it true what she hear? Some of you. Were you awake? Was she here? Did she say that wasn't true? It is true. His word is true. You can stand on it. Circumstances, people, society. It makes no difference what they say or do. God's word is true.

If you're still struggling this verse, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. I just I'd like to get up and go. Everyone, do you know Sophie? You're fearfully and wonderfully made. It's just amazing what took place when God kind of uses a certain. There's is Sophie. But now they said no, Lynn Bengal I didn't I, I, I like the comics that that allows me the kind of you knew what was going on.

How much fun did God have? You are fearfully, wonderfully made. Don't turn around, Chris, and say, well, I know Jeremy is. I'm not so sure about me. Choose this. It's a lie. You're fearfully and wonderfully made.

We need to be people who take some action on this. And that's this. Stop speaking about yourself in a way that doesn't conform to what God says about you. You just need to stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it. We need friends who will tell us the truth and just say, stop it, stop it, or I'll bury you live in a box.

That's a very famous sketch. The truth is that you were great at our problem. And one of the enemies of great is an absolute disease called comparison. Let me explain. She's got a better job than me. He's got a better car. It can be insignificant. This. He's tall. I'm small. They're. They've got children. I've got none. They're married.

I'm single. They live in a big house. I live in a caravan. They can catch a bull and throw it a mile. I can't do any of that.

I can speak three languages. I struggle to speak English. You probably agree about that one. The list goes on and on and on. As society and school and everything has taught you to compare with others. And if there's somebody there in anything in life, then there's those who are here and they are great and they're less great. Society does it to us all the time, even down to even down to.

That's the best Chinese restaurant going. We we put a pecking order everywhere in your workplace. There's a pecking order in the school. I thought there was a pecking order and it was reflected on who sat where in the staffroom. And I walked in as a new teacher and my fellow teachers had arrived and I was just a newbie, and I sat in the chair not knowing it was the deputy heads wife's chair.

My fellow teachers came in and they saw me say, right, they said, anybody want a fruit? And they all sat in another corner and they put their feet up. And I remember the moment thinking, why sit on the.

Person? I knew why they'd done that. Three minutes later when Mrs. Jolly walked in and the steely, icy stare came, who was this young upstart sat in my chair for, like story, an episode of the three best. Meanwhile, thanks to my teachers who let me just fall into a minefield, I never sat in a chair again. She was a very, very scary lady.

School, society pecking orders, squeezes is a thing. I was a year head. I had to organize in a teaching career. I had to organize awards and ceremonies, and year after year the same kids came up the same 8 or 9 the science prize, the maths prize, the French prize. And it's good to welcome Jimmy Smith and to welcome Jane Doe and another and Jane's and Jane Doe has got 21 year.

We said we don't want to come in ten times because she's going to. So let's just say I'm Jane Doe one. The prize. It told everybody else you didn't win the prize. But they were great and they were rubbish, or that they were not so great and it built something in their that causes to have a bit of a resistance to feel.

But we could today hear that God could come and look us in the eye if he could, through me and say, you were great. And some of us have more defenses than others. But I believe if it's true that love looks at his children and says they're great, is there any everybody who's in secondary school or college who's got do they still do top Trumps?

That card game? It was a card game. Used to play touch on sticky. Maybe it would be a cassette. And even I mean, even the card game was about who's better than the other. We're programed to this, which causes us to resist, and we find ourselves being negative when we really should be going, wow, you're going to struggle with this.

I'm great. But I don't look in the mirror in the morning when I get up and think decidedly average, I might say bags somebody's eyes, a few crinkles of old gray hair that a bit more gray hair. There, there and there was a matter. God says, you are great. The enemy wants to get you into position where you play the compare game, and we need to stop that.

Who's the enemy? The devil comes to do what? Steal, kill and destroy. You try to do it on your life with the car flying over to smash your car into smithereens and see if he could wreck a family in a life and so many other things. And somehow God intervened in that moment. How you lift James is a mystery.

It's a miracle. But we're so glad because you create. You create, not because you play the guitar and lead us in worship and anointed. And you're listening to Holy Spirit, although we're really grateful for that. You just great, you see, because if greatness was dependent on what you did there, there's a load of people out there, you'll lose us.

Yeah, sorry if you don't take that little clip and post that Harry Pickett as the picture of Steve's message, you'll lose his. That's pretty dim, isn't it? The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. And we've got to be those in these days who recognize this, that that's what he does. And so we've got to go into Ephesians for the armor of God, for which I do not have time.

And you've got to put on God's armor, and you've got to learn to take your stand in order that you can know who you are. There's a chorus to a song which is around which we don't do. You struggle with it, but it says, I know who I am because the I am tells me who I am. Can you imagine trying to sing that fast in a worship message?

I know who I am because the I am tells me who I am. And they sing that again and again. It's like a tongue twister. But, you know, I'm going to post it in the church thing and forget the rest of the song. When you just get back to that, just stay with it. Because what I found was this I found faith rising in my heart.

I was trying to do the tongue twisting so we could never sing that because, I mean, I can't do, I don't know, with the musicians, probably better than me to have led, but I know who I am because the hymn tells me who I am. Oh, by the end, when I was with it, I was going. I was belting it out and I came out thinking, that's it.

I have an identity in my life because of what God says, not because of circumstance, situation, wealth and all of those other things. I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am. I have an identity in Christ. Now, if you need to hear from more on that, go back to Community Church online and you'll find loads of stuff.

When we do the series on our identity in Christ. Now, I've spent most of my time just talking about that one phrase that you are great. It's good to know you are. If I tell you just right now, you are last. Better. You don't have to smile to agreement. But if you frown and scowl, come and talk to me later.

But when you come to talk to me. Could you just do this? Could you find me some scriptures that counter what I've just shared with you? Is that okay? Adversarial. Maybe. But could you find some scriptures that counter that? I am not here talking about the need stuff, humility and all of those character dynamics? I just want us today to recognize that we are those who are great and fearfully and wonderfully made.

It's not very I'm going to do this.

You are great. You come to grow Christ. At the beginning of year, we had words that Jeff alluded to last week and and we maybe lost a bit of a track, but God's word came and said this would be a year of increase. There'll be so much more in 24. There's not just a sound bite, but it was this that there would be increasing in our prayer, in the presence of God, in the power of God, that we we experience in our lives, in here together and out there.

There would be a provision of God, which was unprecedented. And if there's going to be increase in your life this year, something's got to change. It was six months through the year. How's it going? Don't answer. Have you given any thought to increase or will we just do that same old, same old? Because I don't know what you do, but they were the only words.

There's plenty of other words. And it's not just because I was speaking, I do this. Do you know, does anybody remember what this is? What? What is it you it's it's it's all. Oh thank you Ali. It was so long to tie one thing. It's quite a bit on time. Do you know what I do? And I've been doing since Ali came and brought that word.

Every pair of trousers I do, I just move each day from one to that. I'm not reading it. Do you know? Do you know why I do it? Go on, treat me like a variable. Anybody? Guess? Why do I do that every day I come to remind me. It reminds me God's word are active in. And I will faith I just one, as I put it from here, from one chance into another.

I say, God, every word of yours to be true and I want to align my life up with it. But I want there to be increase. I want to be because. Not just because it's me, one of the leaders, or the team of elders or or our church family. I want it because God said, you going to be the head, not the tail.

You're going to be the top, not the bottom. And so I'm going to do everything I can to lock myself up with his word in order that that might be true. Now, don't feel bad about yourself. The enemy comes to accuse of the words just fallen to one side and we just so busy with life. Well, should it be a time where we just remember God's word is powerful.

It's true. It's time for us to grow. It's time for us to do something. Peter says he commands the Christians to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. Ethan, when a young man, guess what? You're going to learn some new stuff. Elisha. Elisha is going to do something in a moment. Now's the time to get nervous, I did ask, I'm not picking on it.

Just so you know. Here's the thing. What can I do with these ingredients?

Oh, will anything happen if they if I physically have them there? We just there know. We all know that these simple ingredients that are there need to be mixed together in a bowl. There needs to be something combined together. And then heat applied for this to be produced on their own, they'll just sit there and those prophetic words that we've had into our lives, we need to do something with those.

In fact, pull it that right. Hebrews? I think it is. It talks about that. Some people hear the word, but they didn't combine it with faith, so it didn't have any benefit for them. Even the words you hear today, the words that were on the platform, if you don't combine it with faith, they were just words, noise, no effect.

But we want to have something, some increase out of the things that God has given us. And you and I can all do some stuff in order to grow, in order to have fruit and harvest. Paul writes to the Corinthian church, and it's a service. He says, brothers and sisters, I couldn't address you as people who live by the spirit, but as people who are still worldly, mere infants in Christ.

I give you milk, not solid food for you. We're not ready for it yet. And here's the real kicker indeed, you're still not ready for it. His heart must have sunk a little bit. You had hope for them, but their life clearly was not matching up. They were still needing to be taught the elementary things going round and round.

And if Paul wrote you and I a letter today, if we got it through the post special delivery, it's on the mat as you go home. Would it be that he said, you know, by this time you ought to be.

Again, don't beat yourself up. But I believe this. Today is a day that your life can change, and we can start growing and motoring and go into another level. You all have that. You all have the potential to reproduce. Here's this. Who knows who that is? It's not any kind of potato. It's a seed potato. Within the seed you can see a bit larger when you see it like this.

See, this is one that wasn't planted, has so much potential for life, but it was just left on the side. I went to Dobbies, I bought some, I foolishly, I tried potatoes, I didn't work, I come around this year and thought I'm no quitter, I'm a winner. I can have a go. Why not? And then I bought some some of these.

They didn't quite look as bad as this, about eight weeks ago, but it's looking pretty grim. This will just consume all the stuff that's good inside and then die unless you do something with it. So I went in the garden, not Auntie Gibbs. Please forgive me for what you're about to see. Okay? Please forgive me. So I went in and and I had about 20, 25 of these these these these things.

And about 20 or 25, stupidly. And they I didn't read the manufacturer's instructions, and I put three in each of those tubs. They should have spaced out about 30cm. But you see, what I did was I took the seed, I put it in the ground. And then after, after literally a week, there was some green bits sticking up and the and the book said, and YouTube told me, because YouTube is always right, isn't it?

You might you should have said, no, it's not beige. Can I just tell you YouTube is not always right? Okay. But on this matter they were you put a little bit more soil and then amazingly, after another week they grown again and they were going up. And so I put a bit more soil on. Then I realized this stupid thing of putting three in a tub where I had filled the tub quite near the top, because then it became impossible for me to put any more soil on.

They've not the gardener, Greg. Okay then we went away on holiday for two weeks. I was going to bring one of these in because it was only like that. But we came back and suddenly like that. And my neighbor, who had just harvested his first crop of potatoes, we were talking over the the garden wall that's fallen down.

And he said, I said, oh, have you got some potatoes, Mike? He said, oh, yes, we, we had them actually yesterday. They were very tasty. And then he looked at mine and said, yeah, there's a lot of green at the top, isn't there? Now I know, but probably when I pull them up my potatoes are going to be about this size.

They're going to be tiny things, but I'm going to enjoy every one and I'm going to I'm going to tell him, well, I did this. I'm going to tell my just I'm going to say, Mike, they were delicious. I'm never going to show them. I'm going to find one big one, probably from Tesco's, and show. You think, Dave, you'd never do that.

Oh yes I would. Well I would just to wind them up I, I, I will, I will get one from Tesco. I might actually get a bag from Tesco's, mix it with a little bit of soil and then show him the bucket. Let him think for at least two seconds. Then I'll admit what really happened. I think I might not.

I just said that because I felt like I needed to for the sake, see whether it's bread or whether it's the potato, we've got to do something. We've got a mix of faith, we've got to change it up a little bit. Sometimes we've got to step out and do something a bit different. Same old, same old, just won't cut it this year for us individually or as a people.

And that's not about doing more to make God do it. It's just saying, Holy Spirit, I want you more. If you want to pray more, yeah, you can go to more meetings. You could. But how about just starting this week with finding a little bit of space where you can just talk to the Lord and and listen to him?

How about on Wednesday? Forget the football. Whatever's on our England if they play playing on Wednesday. Now, forget it. Why not come here at 730 and give an hour, an hour and a half of your time and join with God's people and pray and praise and and just do something that's different. If you haven't done it before, just say, okay, I'm going to do that.

Sorry to shout, but I'm just saying the urgency that because it's only six months for Christmas, six months to the end of the year, do you want to get to the end of the year and find that you're not the top, you're near the bottom, or maybe middle down here when you could have been here? The head's not the tail.

That's what we've got, folks. That's what we've got.

I just need to show you this verse, and I've got a couple of things to say on one point. There could be if you're over the age of, we'll just say 60 in particular. This was just given me for you. The righteous will flourish. The righteous are you when you know Jesus and you've been forgiven and you live, his life will flourish like a palm tree that will grow like a seed of Lebanon planted in the house of the Lord.

They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age and they will stay fresh and green. I mean, I just want you to know that in this period where you learn it's not just down to the learners who were young, every single one of us, whatever our age, this stuff that God wants us to grow into knowing in these days.

Okay, growth is for everybody, not just a select few. And if you, any of you in this room think you've made it, to be honest, you haven't. There you go, blame me. But then have a little conversation with God afterwards and then you won't blame me so much. It's gone off there. But you're called to go. And this is where it's so important.

Go into all the world and make disciples of every nation. I just want to say, Lisa, can you just come over here? Let me just close. Thanks, Jeremy, for your help. Going to all the world. Sadly, some Christians take Psalm 46, verse ten, which says, be still and know that I am God. And they have taken that verse to be their life mantra, and they've turned it into an art form of being still.

We need to be those who go now, don't hear what I'm not saying. Stillness is really important. I really should give it a little round applause. Everybody.

Go. Go is a word which should be in our vocabulary and in our life. Okay, go. Not stop and be still. And Alicia kindly volunteered. Well, thank you. Volunteer. Steve. I think you me, Alicia, you're going to try and do something for me on you, okay? So you can get get on the bike. Can I just say this is just.

If Emma ever watch this. This is your bike. 15 years in my shed, and I've still got it. Take your stuff to Bristol. My lovely daughter. However, it it helped today. Now all you're going to do is just see if you can balance. And I think we need some motivation for this. So of course I bought chocolate. So so this although your sister got wind that there was chocolate in the house and said to me straight away that share that was the first word.

Okay. So while I'm talking you just going to try your best ready feet off the ground and just long as you can I'm ready. Steady. Go feet off and don't move. Now you just oop. Well you just keep going. See how long for how long you can do it for. I'm just going to say a couple of things.

You just keep going. Don't worry about it. You're not failing because. Because Terry here, put your hand up Terry. He does BMX and I get him in there on Friday and said, you do BMX in and all that stuff. You have a go. Terry fell off in the first second, humiliating you my friend. Obviously it's not a BMX bike.

You should keep on going. I know that you could do. It's more than five seconds. Julie. If she does it more in five seconds, I'm going to get another chocolate bar. Okay, so count five. Don't cheat now. And don't you be sympathetic, Julia. Okay? It's the real clock, okay? Not the chocolate bar. Just for you not to share with your siblings, okay?

You just go. Well, I'm talking. See, the bike was never designed to stay on the spot. If you want to stay on the spot, use your two legs or a chair. The bike here represents our life. We were designed for motion, were we? You see what happens now as somebody tries to stay still on the bike and even Alisha in this one.

Keep going. You can do this. You can do this. Yeah you can, you can do so. You can you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Not this.

It wasn't designed for this, was it? As she tries to stay still, it takes all of her energy and effort just. She's she gets totally focused on here. She's not looking up. She's just trapped on this spot, trying to bounce. Still. And some believers have just stayed still for so long. They need to get some motion and movement.

Okay, let's see if you can manage to get round them okay okay. I'll push them back.

See you. You were designed for motion. You were designed to progress by having momentum can be your greatest ally. By having momentum and going, you can achieve something. She can have a head up. She's not looking right here. She looks ahead. Like when we drive. Those who look down when they drive crash, she's looking up. She's going forward.

She's got momentum, she's got some drive, she's got some direction. And what is direction? Her goal is to get back to me so she can have a bar of chocolate and ride off into the sunset. Except she's not going to be like that. England footballer who fell off the bike and smashed his face served him right, believing that he was doing a selfie on the bike.

How are the mighty fallen? You can still play football, but every press conference is spoiled now for him with the scars on his face. If you haven't seen the nice nails, nice writing, you can get off and get over it. I give you a round of applause. Everybody.

You need energy, you need momentum. And for some, it might be to go to Cuba or Zambia or the Philippines. And that's great. It can be life transforming. But for most of us in this room, as we close, it's going to be this musicians, can you come up, please? For most of us in this room going, he's going to look like this.

Stopping and talking to the waitress. There's no person in the world that I'm just. I just want to honor you. I have been reviewing countless restaurants over decades. There is nobody in my life who engages waitresses, puts them at the ease, who talks and takes a genuine interest in them, and just create. There is nobody in my life who I've seen who does that better than you, but every single one of us could.

Rather than looking at our phone, look the person in the eye and say, hi, thanks for your service and, and your conversation. Like Debbie described, would been very natural. And they will hear you talking, maybe about church, about faith, about life going, looks like that. Talking to the waitress, going, looks like going and cutting your neighbor going looks like Val Morrison, who talked to me about what she did was her neighbor was kindly cut in the hedge and she went out.

She started chatting, saying hello, engaging with him, mentioned about coming to church. She didn't want to. That didn't matter. He loves now he's going to come one day. Maybe not to this kind of a meeting. He'll come to a barbecue or a come to a football match. He'll come to something. Maybe it looks. Maybe you're going. Looks like Keith.

Mel, who so kindly offered to babysit some friends. Who's who? Both the parents are having to go to a mass and and, English GCSE class so they could help their children go through that themselves. Going will probably look like somebody expresses something in terms of an illness. And I was in the office in the building and then somebody was delivering some sandwiches for a conference or picking some trays up, and Ali went out and with a smile said hello.

The people knew each other and then said, how are you doing? And I was listening. I was tweaking the conversation. Not kind of, yeah, I was listen daily. I'm sorry. I was listening as I was listening, particularly because I heard Ali say, how are you doing? I thought, this is interesting. She's given the Holy Spirit something to work with.

And the lady just she shared something about a problem healthwise that she had and Ali straight away without even a heartbeat, said, could I pray for you? And the lady said, yes. And then maybe thinking that Ali was going to do that later. But Ali then straight away made this beautiful short prayer non-religious. You see, it just had heart felt.

God. Could you do and bring about healing? Amen. The lady didn't feel about storm off and say I'm never coming here again going looks like that to us. It looks like that to you. I don't know what it'll be this week, but as you go, you go and you make a choice that God has at this moment with the prophet Isaiah and and God says, whom shall I send?

Who will go for us? And Isaiah says, here am I. Send me. I can't make that choice for you. You can only make that choice. But you could say, God, I don't know what it totally takes, but I'm all in. I'm all yours. If you're a believer in the house and you want a year of increase and growth, if you want something to be different for your life to end up with you being the top, not the bottom, the head, not the tail, God has made you great.

He's called you to grow and he's called us to go. If you want to say, I want to go, I want my life to count as you stand up and we're going to sing this response song, Holding Nothing Back. It's an upbeat song, but it is a declaration that God set us free. And it also is. This week we will go into the week ahead of us with life, faith, and hope that God will use your life wherever you are and whatever you're doing.

Hallelujah!