Talks

In this second part of the series “The day that changed the world”, Matt goes deeper into what significance Pentecost has for us today.
He explains that the Holy Spirit came to be our advocate who walks alongside us and how we are to learn to walk alongside him (illustrated beautifully be two young men walking the three legged race).
The Holy Spirit is also the one who provides legal council and comforts us.
The Holy Spirit will:
never leave you
teach you everything and remind you of everything
testify about Jesus
guide you in all truth
tell you about the future.
Matt also explains what both the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit are.
As we are encouraged to “eagerly desire the spiritual gifts” we set some time apart in prayer to receive God’s spiritual gifts, especially the gifts of speaking in unknown languages (tongues), prophecy and healing.

If you are not sure what “Pentecost” is all about, listen to this talk and let Matt explain to you how this was the day that changed the world. Matt doesn’t just talk about what it meant 2000 years ago when it actually happened, but also the implications from the Old Testament. 
“I will also make you a light to the nations, (or gentiles) so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah) Isaiah 49 vs 6
“You shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth” (Jesus) Acts 1 vs 8

The Holy Spirit comes (still today!) to enable, equip and empower!

Zoe explains the different ways we can support children in foster care and Paul gives us an insight of what God thinks about putting the lonely into families. They also share what fostering has lookied like for them the last few years and how it could possibly develop for them in the future. 

Matt moves us on to the topic of baptism and explains why we baptise people:
1. Jesus says
2. It’s a symbol
3. It’s a declaration
4. It’s an encounter
The highlight of the day was Dan Pepper sharing his moving testimony and being baptised. Oh, what a happy day!

Have you ever wondered what drove the apostle Paul to persecute Christians? Jack answers this question: Paul was afraid for God and felt that he needed to defend God! (As if God couldn’t take care of himself!)
Jack makes a clear distinction between the fear for God (a destructive fear) and the fear of God (an essential fear that leads to vision and mission). Because God is exalted above all gods, we should be in awe of Him and not worry that anything can diminish Him. What are the gods in our lives that we feel we need to defend?
Paul felt helpless, became blind lying on the ground - when Jesus met him on his road to Damascus. Jesus did not leave him there: “Get up and stand on your feet, I have stuff for you to do”. Jesus says the same for us today!

Zoe applies the story of the Israelites who built a tabernacle (movable temple) for God (as the Lord commanded) beautifully to our church life in Ashwood.

The Israelites were told to bring the very best of themselves to contribute to building the tabernacle – today it’s different for us, but we can still do the same! What was the result for the Israelites after they had done “Just as the Lord commanded”? - They had His Glory live among them! Wow!  Do we want more of God’s Glory amongst us?
Zoe asks us: What are we willing to sacrifice for MORE of God’s glory? She shares her personal journey of sacrifice and gave some examples for us too.

Kenneth Copeland said: “Maybe sometimes we are not thirsty enough for God’s Glory”. How thirsty are we?

Have you ever heard the story about how the Israelites built themselves their own god (golden calf) only a few days after Moses left them to go talk to THE GOD on top of Mount Sinai? Well, even if you have, it is worth a listen to what Bob Goody has to say about it!!
Bob wasn’t just pointing fingers at the Israelites though, he challenged us to think about things in our lives which we have deliberately or often subconsciously replaced God as the most important person in our lives.
What do we need to replace?
What have we put highest?
What cloud have we put between us and God?

Zoe continues in our series “The Great Stepping Out”. Based on the story of God speaking to the Israelites from the mountain of Sinai, Zoe illustrates how we can step out both in love and in fear of God.
We have so many misconseptions of God: that he is strict, removed and a kill-joy, or that he is a genie that makes all wishes come true.
The result of shrinking God and not seeing Him as who He really is can cause anxiety. The freedom lays in the understanding that God is SO LOVING we can trust Him AND at the same time SO GREAT that we should fear Him.
We all, just like Israel who had been through very difficult times need to hear words of love. There are plenty of those in the bible, they encourage us to trust Him, not just with words, but also with actions.
Yet God is also and still is GREAT. Do we have the reverence He deserves when we come into His presence? God is not to be played with or manipulated. Like for Ananias and Saphira in the early church, that can have fatal consequences.
Because Jesus death we have the priviledge to come closer to God than even the Israelites did, but we do need to do that with respect.

Joy Blundell shares with us her prophetic word to call the churches in our country to wake up and shout (cockledoodledoo) the message that a new dawn is coming. The church needs to rise up and pray!.
“Shalom” is more than just “Peace”.
Cornelious Plantinga described it as “The webbing together of God, humans and all creation in justice, fulfilment and delight.”
It is a word packed with hope for a broken world.
In Jeremiah 29.11 we read that God has plans to prosper us, to give us a hope and a future. In Hebrew culture that wasn’t understood as a promise for individuals (even though that can be true as well) but as a promise for the corporate church.
“Plans” in Hebrew can be translated as “Weaving together”, “Hope” as “bound together” and “Future” as “an expected end, God knows where He’s taking us”.
Joy encourages us to weave our part in this beautiful tapestry while letting God be the master weaver.

We weren’t expecting a guest speaker but we had one! One of Jesus’ disciples shared his first-hand experience of the events of the first Easter Week.
He reminisced about Palm Sunday, the Passover meal that Jesus shared with them, as well as the horrific events of Good Friday.
He removed some of the myths, particularly that Jesus life was “TAKEN”.  He said it was very clear – nobody took Jesus’ life – he freely gave it.
Maybe the most moving part though, was the account of Jesus with this disciple on the beach…

Matt came to finish the message asking all of us the question:  “Who is Jesus to you?” Just a historic figure? Or is He your Saviour and your Friend? Accept, Believe, Commit and Receive!

In part 5 of the series “The Great Stepping Out” – Matt speaks to us about “Stepping out in Tough Times.”
You can read the whole story in Chapters 15-17 in the book of Exodus.  After crossing the red sea, the Israelites praised the Lord (with tambourines!) and then began the journey to the “promised land”. If they thought life was going to be easy, they were wrong! Immediately they faced a series of hugely challenging times: severe hunger, thirst, and enemy opposition. The Israelites responded with grumbling, moaning and complaining. Despite all they had seen God do - He was still having to teach them to trust in Him. 

2 Key themes we can learn from this message:
God always comes through!
God uses Tough Times to teach us!
When Life feels bitter - God is our Healer
When we experience lack – God is our Provider
When we feel like life is a battle – God is our Victory
When faced with tough times, how do you respond? Do you grumble, complain and moan OR like Moses “Cry out to the Lord for Help?”
Remember today - Jesus is your Healer, your Provider and your Victory – And always watch out for what God might be teaching you during tough times!