Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Welcome to the World Changers Church Gold Coast Podcast. Join us as we listen to today's message.
[00:00:08] All right.
[00:00:10] I didn't say a minute or less, right?
[00:00:14] A minute or less.
[00:00:18] Oh, man.
[00:00:26] Hallelujah.
[00:00:29] We're, like, empty right here.
[00:00:32] That's how you can see me. We got, like, a little pocket right here. Anybody need a seat? We got some seats right here. No, I'm kidding.
[00:00:40] No.
[00:00:41] Well, I want to share with you this morning.
[00:00:44] We got baptism coming up right after service for two lovely people. So give the Lord of praise.
[00:00:51] Amen.
[00:00:54] But this morning, I want to talk about love looks like. I want to talk about what love looks like. You know, I know it sounds like an amazing message. Every time we preach on love, people like, sit back. But I'm not going to preach what you think.
[00:01:09] You know, when I was a kid, my stepfather would tell me, I love you.
[00:01:16] Usually when I was doing something wrong.
[00:01:19] Amen.
[00:01:20] Usually when I wasn't doing the right thing or after a late night where he was drunk. So I love you to me didn't really mean what it means to most people.
[00:01:33] I love you came on the back end of a slap.
[00:01:36] I love you came on the back end of someone doing me wrong. Well, you know I love you, right? You ever heard that?
[00:01:43] And so when I came to God and I heard I love you, when I got married, even when Tina says, I love you, I thought, wait, where's the rug gonna be pulled out from underneath me? You know what I mean?
[00:01:56] And she started showing me what love was and what love looked like.
[00:02:02] Not just with words, but what she gave to me. You know, she would fix meals.
[00:02:11] You know, I'm not going to be funny this morning and tell the joke about the first meal that she ever cooked for me.
[00:02:19] I probably am going to do that.
[00:02:21] Yeah, y' all pray for me later. Amen.
[00:02:26] I remember the first meal. And my wife is an amazing cook. Amen.
[00:02:31] She didn't start there.
[00:02:36] Y' all know what ramen noodles are?
[00:02:38] She knew how to mess them up.
[00:02:40] Our first date, it was ramen noodles, mashed potatoes, and broccoli and chicken. I went for the ramen noodles first. Cause that's what I was used to. And I picked up the whole stack.
[00:02:50] Amen. But since then, she's become an excellent cook.
[00:02:56] But she's more than that. She's an independent woman.
[00:03:00] She's fierce.
[00:03:01] She's an individual.
[00:03:04] And she loves me from a position and posture of identity.
[00:03:09] Amen. Not a servitude, but she loves me with who she is. First and then she loves me through how she gives.
[00:03:18] A lot of people when they say, I love you, they don't even know themselves enough to be able to give love.
[00:03:24] The Bible says, love your neighbor as you love yourself. And that is actually quite complicated. If you don't love yourself, we're not talking about loving yourself physically in the mirror. We're not talking about loving your bank account. We're talking about you are in love with. You can sit at a table at a cafe by yourself and have good thoughts towards yourself about yourself and about your life.
[00:03:44] You know what I mean?
[00:03:46] And then you love from that place and you give from that place. And my wife has taught me that.
[00:03:53] But the next person that taught me that is Jesus.
[00:03:58] He gave his life for me.
[00:04:00] Does that make sense?
[00:04:03] So when we look at what love looks like, love looks like serving God by serving others.
[00:04:12] But we do it from a place of identity, not from a place of obligation.
[00:04:17] Amen.
[00:04:19] And that word amen just means, so be it. So those of you Greek and just be like, yeah, I agree with that.
[00:04:24] So there's quite a profound shift that takes place in a life of a person who truly encounters God.
[00:04:31] It's not always dramatic. Sometimes it's a slow process.
[00:04:35] For me, it took a long time, almost unnoticed at first. But over time, that change becomes unmistakable that you give from a place that is noticed. I had a compliment from this church the other week that me and my wife, we used to sit right here.
[00:04:52] And as the place started filling up and we didn't have extra seats, we had to go get more seats.
[00:04:58] Me and my wife just naturally gave up our seats. And someone said, I've, in 50 years, never seen a pastor give up their seats.
[00:05:06] And I said, that's strange, because that's what I'm supposed to do.
[00:05:11] I'm here to serve, not be served. I don't have a green room mentality. Doesn't matter how much money I make or what I do in life, I'm not here to be served. I'm here to serve others and make sure that they're fulfilled in life. That's what love looks like. Amen.
[00:05:27] So when we begin to see this change happen, a person's center of gravity begins to move. It gravitates less from them and more to others. It looks less within about me, myself and I, and more to how can I help my community? How can I help my neighbor? How can I help my friend? How can I love the person next to me? How can I help? I mean, we built this Creche because we saw mothers needed it.
[00:05:54] And now we see that we need a new building because you're coming here for some reason than to just hear an American accent.
[00:06:03] Amen.
[00:06:04] And when Paddy preaches, it's different. I mean, you put an American and Irish in the same space, I don't know how you understand us.
[00:06:12] Amen, Holy Spirit.
[00:06:15] Amen. See, Paddy, I didn't completely throw you up underneath the bus.
[00:06:20] Close, though. Close.
[00:06:21] I was the driver, though.
[00:06:23] Yeah.
[00:06:24] But before encountering Christ, most of us live a predictable life.
[00:06:30] You know, we look towards the world's orientation. We think about our needs, our plans, our security, our comfort. And even when we care.
[00:06:41] But what begins to happen even when we care about others, we often do so from a place of where our own lives remain primarily the focus.
[00:06:50] The world has a different way for caring for other people.
[00:06:53] We do it as a vicariousness.
[00:06:56] We do it to make ourselves feel better.
[00:06:59] Doing for others is not about making yourselves feel better. Doing for others is because it is your natural identity and it is who you are.
[00:07:07] You care about other people because you genuinely care about other people.
[00:07:12] It's not a staple.
[00:07:14] It's not just something we do. So when we volunteer in the community, when we go out into the community, we're not doing it just to hit some pain point for the Gold Coast Council. No. We're doing it because we love our community. Amen.
[00:07:27] But we do it here first and we do it in our homes better. Amen. So what does love look like? It's more than just I love you. It's love in action.
[00:07:37] Amen.
[00:07:38] Look at your neighbor and say, I love you because I love you.
[00:07:43] If that person is somebody you don't know, make sure they know they ain't getting a date afterwards. Amen.
[00:07:49] Amen, dad joke number one.
[00:07:55] But when the grace of God begins to reshape a person's heart, sometimes something deeper starts to happen.
[00:08:03] The question that once dominated our thinking about what do I need? Turns into, what do others need?
[00:08:10] I don't wake up in the morning and say, what do I need? I wake up in the morning and say, who can I help today?
[00:08:16] You know, who can I what? How can my life serve others?
[00:08:20] I spent the majority of my 30s and 20s and teenage years serving myself. I want to spend the last leg of my life serving others. And I want to do it the way God has called me to do it. Is there anybody else out there that wants to do the same?
[00:08:38] Amen.
[00:08:39] Jeremy wants to. That's good.
[00:08:43] So from the beginning of Scripture to the end, God reveals himself as a giver. Creation itself acts out of generosity, life, breath, provision, redemption, everything that goes into the ground gives us something that produces out of the labor of its growth and gives us life.
[00:09:04] And just like serving others, everything we do gives life to us and life to others, but not vicariously, because it is the fruit.
[00:09:14] Amen. Love looks like caring, but love looks like something hidden. It's not always seen, it's not always loud, it's not always boastful. It's not always coming with applause, and it doesn't always come with a thank you.
[00:09:28] Anybody know what I'm talking about?
[00:09:31] So let's look at James 1:17.
[00:09:36] Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation. In the shadow of turning, the apostle James writes this to us, that God has a generous heart.
[00:09:50] Now, let me make one thing clear.
[00:09:54] I used to think I could just sit there and, you know, God's will, God's bill. I used to think that I could just sit back and, you know, hey, open up a church and people will come.
[00:10:05] There is a natural standard to. To produce spiritual fruit. That is first you putting every effort you can forward and believing God for the rest.
[00:10:15] Amen.
[00:10:17] And love doesn't come natural to us.
[00:10:21] A friend of mine, me and Tina, recently, we've been big givers our whole life. But I make this joke quite often when I give money to people. I was like, y' all know I'm Jewish, right?
[00:10:31] Because I don't give money freely.
[00:10:34] And when God says, give money, I know it's God.
[00:10:37] When God says, give something that's mine that can help. My house to give. My home. I've given cars, I've given homes, I've given savings. I've given everything away. Not so I could feel good, but so I could surrender to giving.
[00:10:51] I'm not doing it so I can feel good about. Look at how much I got to give. I'm doing it because I'm surrendering to the principle of love that I'm giving because I love you. I'm giving because I see your need. And my love has more than words of like, I'll pray for you, good thoughts towards you. I'm sending good energy. No, my words have action. Love takes action.
[00:11:14] Amen.
[00:11:16] Anybody else know what I'm talking about?
[00:11:18] So Jesus did not arrive in the world demanding recognition or privilege. He entered quietly, born in ordinary circumstances, and spent his life moving towards those who overlooked him, wounded him, and Forgot him.
[00:11:32] In Mark 10:45, he described his own mission with a remarkable clarity.
[00:11:38] Do we have that scripture? Mark 10:45. No. From even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.
[00:11:46] For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom. For many.
[00:11:53] This principle shows us that somewhere along the way, religion has taught us that we're supposed to just lift God up and lift ourselves up. And pastors are to be lifted up and people of authority are to be lifted up. No. When you really begin to understand the most powerful being worshiped by the angels, step down lower than the angels. Born in a manger to serve humanity, then you know how we're supposed to serve.
[00:12:20] From a place of humility and a place of love. That make sense.
[00:12:26] So those, those words reveal to us the essentials about nature and the nature of God's kingdom make sense.
[00:12:35] I know love is not.
[00:12:36] And giving is not something that we just go woo hoo about.
[00:12:41] Because I've worked hard for my money. Have you?
[00:12:46] Yeah.
[00:12:47] And why should I give it to someone that hasn't stewarded it? Right?
[00:12:53] Because they don't know better. And my love can change that. The Bible says that the goodness of God turns all men into repentance. When I take the time to help someone homeless, when I take the time to help someone in need, they look at everyone that's walked past them, everyone that's laughed at them, everyone that said you should know better, everyone that has said you stink or whatever else, and they see someone that loves them right where they are, man, it changes their life.
[00:13:23] I'll tell you a story. Jamie Brown, he's coming here to preach May 12th. May 10th. Not May 12th, May 10th.
[00:13:30] One of my best friends, we used to feed 4,000 people a month in a homeless ministry.
[00:13:36] You know what? Jamie was well known for hugging the homeless, not for feeding 4,000 people. He was known for hugging the homeless. If you talk to any one homeless person, they'd say, I love that Jamie Brown.
[00:13:50] They'd call him James Brown. Not gonna make that joke.
[00:13:55] And one guy I met one day, he ran a business, he ran a store, just opened up, recently married, look like he used to be homeless.
[00:14:12] I said, man, it's good to meet you. Jamie said, you're one of his good friends. He said, yep.
[00:14:17] I met Jamie on the end of a bologna sandwich when I was homeless. And he gave me a hug that showed me love and it made me want to change everything about myself. I'm now married, I now have a business.
[00:14:28] But he hugged me when I was drunk, he hugged me when I smelled, and he hugged me when no one else would love me.
[00:14:36] And that love changed my life.
[00:14:39] It wasn't the money he gave.
[00:14:42] It wasn't the action he took, other than one simple hug that held on for more than three seconds and said, I love you. God bless you.
[00:14:54] We don't realize that love looks like something so simple, as a smile, as a kind remark, as a compliment. Amen. As a kid running across the front.
[00:15:07] Amen.
[00:15:10] And there he goes again.
[00:15:12] There's mom now. Y' all know I love seeing kids run around, right?
[00:15:21] That means there's life in this church.
[00:15:25] But to understand what love looks like in practice, Jesus once told a story that echoes through centuries of Christianity. It appears in Luke 10.
[00:15:35] The story begins with a legal expert, right?
[00:15:39] That's how it usually always begins.
[00:15:41] Approaching Jesus with a question about eternal life, after some dialogue, and loving God, and loving others, and loving your neighbor, the man asked for simple clarification. Who is my neighbor?
[00:15:55] Behind the question lies a common human instinct, the desire to define boundaries of our responsibilities.
[00:16:04] If we can identify exactly who qualifies as our neighbor, perhaps we can also determine who does not.
[00:16:12] So he was wanting to justify himself and said to Jesus, and whom is my neighbor? And then Jesus answered and said, a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, who wounded him and departed, leaving him dead. Verse 31. Now, by chance, a certain priest came down the road, a religious man, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
[00:16:40] Likewise, a Levite, when he arrived at that place, came and looked and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, someone that was an enemy to this man by race, by boundaries, by country, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had what?
[00:16:59] Compassion? Love.
[00:17:01] So he went to him and bandages his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, and he set him on his own animal, brought him to the inn and took care of him.
[00:17:12] On the next day, when he departed and took out two denarii, which is good money at that time, gave it to the innkeeper, and said to him, take care of him. And whatsoever more you spend, when I come back, I will repay you.
[00:17:28] And he said, who has showed mercy to him? Then Jesus said to him, go and do likewise. That is your neighbor.
[00:17:35] Your neighbor is someone in need, anyone that you walk by. Not someone in your neighborhood, not someone at your job.
[00:17:44] Your neighbor. Love your neighbor as the person sitting next to you right now, love your neighbor. As the cashier at Woolies today, that might mess up your order.
[00:17:53] Maybe even Zaraffas, if you dare go there for coffee. Praise God.
[00:17:58] Sorry, Zaraffas, please strike that out of the podcast. Amen.
[00:18:03] So wherever you. It might just be that person that doesn't serve you well.
[00:18:10] Serve back with love, because that is what God has called us into. The first fruit of the spirit that everything hangs on is love. No matter how many people wrong, you love them. What am I supposed to do when someone really does me wrong? Turn the other cheek? Well, let me tell you something.
[00:18:30] People will be held accountable for their mistakes. Someone comes and robs your house, you're not just saying, I love you, you're gonna need to call the police.
[00:18:37] Amen. I'm talking about when loving someone is not convenient. When loving someone is uncomfortable, your choice is to love anyway so it produces a different fruit. Does that make sense?
[00:18:51] Okay, so Jesus describes a man traveling down the road to Jericho.
[00:18:59] He shows the religious figure and how they walk by.
[00:19:03] You see the injured man, but Jesus doesn't tell their motivations. He just tells what they did, that they hurried by, but for whatever reason, they all saw the same man suffering and walked by.
[00:19:16] I'm not telling you, church that every homeless person you walk by that you need to throw money in their cup.
[00:19:22] That actually doesn't help them. Money probably only enables them further to do what they shouldn't be doing.
[00:19:28] But what you should do is go volunteer at Meals on Wheels, have a feed, or any other program that's educating them how to get off the street while giving them a meal instead of money, instead of enabling them to stay where they are. Love will pick you up from where you are and lead you out to. Too many people think loving someone is just throwing money at the problem. No, you throw money at a system that leads people out of the problem instead of leaving the minute. Amen.
[00:20:01] Jeremy thought that was good.
[00:20:04] Amen.
[00:20:08] I'm going to stop right there. Praise God.
[00:20:13] So the original Jewish audience listening to Jesus, they would have had a surprising and uncomfortable choice. Samaritans and Jews shared a long history of cultural tension and religious disagreement.
[00:20:27] Samaritans often viewed with suspicion or contempt.
[00:20:32] Yet it is the Samaritan who becomes a central figure of the story.
[00:20:38] Luke records this as in Luke 10 and 33. If we can go back there, he had compassion on him.
[00:20:46] That's the moment that is crucial.
[00:20:49] Generosity always begins with seeing the priest, saw the man, the Levites saw the man, but the Samaritan saw him differently. He saw him with compassion, not judgment, not criticism. He. He saw him with feelings of sadness about someone else's pain. It is the recognition of another person's suffering that matters enough to interrupt our own plans.
[00:21:16] Amen.
[00:21:23] It's not convenient to serve at a charity during the week, maybe even when you get off work or it's your only day off.
[00:21:34] It's not convenient to make meals for people to feed them on the one night a week that they eat. But right now in this city, homeless people are eating one night a week because there's charities that decide to feed them. I can't wait to see the day that they're eating seven days a week and that there's a plan to get them off the street.
[00:21:58] Amen.
[00:21:59] Cause that is coming. That will happen. Can you give the Lord a hand clap of praise?
[00:22:07] Cause if Hollywood's coming here and Trump Towers is coming here, then that mean there's some money coming here, folks.
[00:22:16] And that means homeless people can't stay homeless if we help them. Amen.
[00:22:21] But more than money, compassion is the staple of our community. The gold of the Gold coast is love.
[00:22:28] When we care for one another, when we live for one another, when we look past our own fences and paddocks and go, how can I help somebody today? Amen. I don't know if this gets you fired up, but I want to go make some sandwiches and feed some people. I don't know. I don't know. Praise God.
[00:22:48] The Samaritan simply acts. He gives his time, he gives his attention, he gives his energy, he gives his resources. In doing so, he embodies the kind of generosity that reflects the heart of God.
[00:23:01] Sam and Kristin, there you are.
[00:23:04] I get to pick on you at least one last Sunday.
[00:23:09] This may make you feel uncomfortable, but rock with me, okay?
[00:23:14] They don't understand why I want to give to them to go to Germany.
[00:23:19] There was a time in my life 10 years ago when God told me to come to Australia and my mother in law was asking my wife, so who's picking you up from the airport? I don't know.
[00:23:32] Where you gonna live?
[00:23:34] I don't know. Where are the kids gonna go to school? I don't know.
[00:23:38] She looked my wife dead in the eyes and said, divorce that man. You and the kids stay here.
[00:23:43] That man crazy.
[00:23:45] Amen.
[00:23:47] Sometimes the plans of God doesn't look natural to everyone else.
[00:23:51] But we can sit back and say, I'm praying for you and I'm thinking of You. Or we can put our money where our mouth is, and we can help you get there better than we did. Amen.
[00:24:03] For too long, we think that everybody else has got to go through the same lessons we have.
[00:24:10] How old are you, Sam?
[00:24:13] 23. How old are you?
[00:24:15] 23.
[00:24:16] Yeah, 23. And you're going to another country to do a ministry for however long, and you're going there. Cause God said 23.
[00:24:26] They're doing something most of us won't do.
[00:24:30] Taking a leap of faith. You know what I hope? I hope you learn wisdom. I hope you learn business. Hope you learn some dramatic ways to do great things, and you come back empowered to build some of the greatest things on the Gold Coast. That's what I hope for you. Amen.
[00:24:46] All right.
[00:24:49] Serving others often looks less spectacular than we imagine it appears in quiet moments, helping someone carry a burden, often encouragement. Providing practical support and giving someone who feels alone is seen in Galatians 5:13.
[00:25:09] For you, brethren have been called to liberty only. Do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another.
[00:25:18] Through what?
[00:25:20] Love. Do what? Serve one another.
[00:25:23] Could you imagine what would happen to the Gold coast if we just served?
[00:25:29] Amen.
[00:25:31] If we just served one another.
[00:25:33] Somebody came up this morning to me. I was outside just shutting the.
[00:25:37] The door on the cafe.
[00:25:40] They know I'm the pastor of this place. Even though they're visiting today. They say that's why I love to see a pastor that's out there serving man. It's just what I do.
[00:25:48] I'm not here to be served. I'm here to serve.
[00:25:51] Amen.
[00:25:54] I'm not here to condemn you today. I'm here to ask you that if you see someone picking up trash, grab a bag.
[00:26:02] You see someone fixing a meal, ask them who they're feeding.
[00:26:05] If you see somebody doing something, get involved.
[00:26:09] Amen. It's the best thing to do.
[00:26:13] But the Samaritan's action revealed something else to us. Generosity often involves sacrifice. It took his money, what he had, and money when he came back.
[00:26:25] It's gonna take your time, it's gonna take your talent, and it's gonna take some resources for you to be able to serve others.
[00:26:33] You cannot serve other people while serving yourself, because eventually you will serve yourself over others. You have to enter into serving others by saying, I'm doing this because I love my community.
[00:26:47] I'm doing this because I love the people I serve. I'm doing this not for me. Not to be recognized, not to be thanked, not to get my name in a library, but to serve and love others as he first love us.
[00:27:02] Oh, praise the Lord.
[00:27:06] Genuine generosity often requires us to move beyond comfort.
[00:27:12] But sacrifice reveals something deeper about the nature of a Christian life.
[00:27:17] The Bible says that obedience is better than sacrifice.
[00:27:21] When our heart aligns with God's purposes, we begin to see that our lives are not solely our own.
[00:27:28] Our time, our abilities, our resources become tools through which God and his compassion are revealed to others.
[00:27:35] Amen.
[00:27:38] Don't say you love me. Oh, man, how do I say this? This is where I get a little funny. Most people have bipolar love.
[00:27:46] You know what I'm saying? Like, they love you. I love you so much, and in the next five minutes they hate your guts.
[00:27:53] You didn't do this for me.
[00:27:55] Did I do that In a high pitched voice? That was not. No, no, no, no.
[00:28:01] My wife loves me consistently. Amen.
[00:28:05] I'm the one that's got bipolar love, man. You ever heard of man flu?
[00:28:11] That'll tell you how men love.
[00:28:13] We get the simplest little code and we're like, oh, I can't get out of bed today. They can have a cesarean, a kid on the hip, a broke ankle and the flu and still fix us dinner.
[00:28:26] What we complaining about, folks?
[00:28:30] A love that God has for us does not change by the season or what's happening in our lives.
[00:28:38] And the love we have for others that serves our community cannot change because of circumstance.
[00:28:44] If the world goes into financial crisis because of whatever else, earthquake, flood or war, that'll change the financial streams of things. But God is setting up things that can't be shaken.
[00:28:58] And if we're connected to those things and we're in alignment with those things, no matter what is happening around the world, we will not be moved. So no matter what's happening on social media, how many people have called me and said, pastor, what you think about the war?
[00:29:14] I don't either it is or it ain't gonna happen.
[00:29:19] I'm looking at my home, I'm looking at my. What I've gotta take care of. Because until I'm enlisted somewhere, I can't do anything with that war. But what I can do right now is the war within me and the war around me. And do that from love. Amen.
[00:29:37] Okay, I'm going to wrap this up.
[00:29:43] Giving in Acts 2 and all throughout the Bible is more than just money.
[00:29:49] The early believers were known for their willingness to care for one another. And Acts 2 describes a community where people shared their possessions and supported those in need. Their generosity was not imposed by External pressure and flowed from a natural, transformed life.
[00:30:06] If we was to read this scripture today, you would see that all that believed were together and had all things in common and sold their possessions and goods and divided them amongst all as anyone had in need. Now, I want to talk about this for a second.
[00:30:25] A lot of times religion will manipulate this and say, you should give everything you got to the church.
[00:30:31] These people were running for their lives.
[00:30:34] They were being persecuted, executed.
[00:30:37] Different scenario than we live in today.
[00:30:40] We're blessed.
[00:30:43] We're not being asked to sell our homes and sell our cars and sell our goods and give everything to the church. No, we're being asked to simply love one another.
[00:30:53] To give from a place that comes from a need. If you see someone hungry, fix them a meal. If you see someone thirsty, hand them a glass of water. If you see someone that needs clothes, give them clothes to wear. And Jesus said, if you've done this to them, you've done it unto me, to the Father, how amazing is that? If I just cook you a meal, Jesus says that I have served him just as much as I've served you.
[00:31:18] That if I give you clothes to wear, that I've done. If I visit you in prison, if I visit the widowed or the orphaned, done the same to God, I've shown real, authentic love.
[00:31:31] It's more than money.
[00:31:33] It's about how you serve.
[00:31:39] Church. I hope we're the church that serves this city well, that we volunteer wherever we can, wherever there's a need, wherever God calls, and wherever there's a place that we can stand in line, I hope we show up.
[00:31:54] We may be needing more ushers in the house today.
[00:31:58] We may be needing more children's workers upstairs. And maybe that's where you want to serve.
[00:32:04] But today it's more than just financial generosity. That's just the beginning.
[00:32:10] It's a reality that sometimes our own family and what we experience at home, others aren't experiencing.
[00:32:17] And God has given us the ability to do more.
[00:32:21] Now I'm starting a series next week on righteousness and right standing with God.
[00:32:26] But the reality is this.
[00:32:34] Go and do likewise as you've seen it done.
[00:32:38] Go respond with compassion. Go serve. That reflects generosity.
[00:32:45] Because in the end, generosity is not primarily about what we give. It's about the kind of people we've become.
[00:32:51] I won't let that sink in.
[00:32:54] Generosity is not about the picture we get each month. So who we're giving over in some other country, it's about who have you become?
[00:33:07] Who are you in here?
[00:33:10] And that person and that heart giving. Amen.
[00:33:14] So this morning, Will you be able to walk by those in need or will you stop and say, I know a place that you can go get some help?
[00:33:30] So what we're gonna do is we're gonna send you an email soon that's gonna give you every charity in this city so that when you meet someone in need, you don't just get burdened with trying to do it yourself, that you can send them somewhere.
[00:33:49] But what we're also gonna do is try and form something within this community where you can say, come to World Changers and there's help there. Not just a prayer and a hope, but the first thing we want to do is empower you with places to send people that you can just focus on praying with them, that you can focus on sharing Jesus with them and that you can focus on what love looks like in that moment. Buy them a coffee, buy them a meal, buy them some clothes, help a mother in need, do whatever the situation calls for.
[00:34:26] But then your work stops there and you send them towards someone that's equipped to help them further. Amen. You are going to become. Watch this. You ready? You going to say this to your neighbor. You are going to become the agents of change for this city.
[00:34:41] Amen. Look at your neighbor. Say you're now an agent of change.
[00:34:52] And what that means is.
[00:34:56] What that means is, is that love can change a city by one simple act of kindness at a time.
[00:35:03] And if you are empowered, if you are empowered to make that change, then we can see this change happen one person at a time and that times itself by 10.
[00:35:16] So, Father, we thank you this morning as we bow our heads and we close our eyes, we thank you this morning that you have given us the ability to be agents of change.
[00:35:31] That we will be world changers, city shapers, that we will reach this city connecting one heart at a time, connecting the agencies and the charities of this city to bring hope and life to families, to those in trouble and those in need. And let us fulfill what James says, pure religion is this.
[00:35:56] So, Father, let us not just sit back and read the news about the change that needs to happen.
[00:36:02] May we in the name of Jesus, walk in that agency and say, lord, I want to be your agent of change by giving hope to one person at a time. It's in Jesus name I pray and we all say amen. Come on, give the Lord a hand clap of praise.
[00:36:23] Now.
[00:36:25] Next week we'll get back to Glory Road and all that God's doing for you.
[00:36:29] We'll get back to what God's done for you, but can you do me something this week? I got a weekly challenge for you.
[00:36:36] I'm not going to ask you next week, but this week, can you stop and ask someone? Hey, everybody. Are you okay?
[00:36:45] How are you?
[00:36:47] Can I pray for you?
[00:36:50] Can I help you and see what the answer is?
[00:36:53] And I'm gonna do my best to get that email out to you this week.
[00:36:57] And if you want to do that more effectively, more openly and have more opportunities to do that, come see Jeremy. They go out Tuesday, they go out on the street and they pray for people.
[00:37:10] And you can go out and you can be one of those people that prays and impacts and shares the gospel, but also gives opportunity to help people out of their situation.
[00:37:20] Amen. So see Jeremy afterwards if you want to.
[00:37:24] I can't see Paddy anywhere.
[00:37:27] He's upstairs.
[00:37:29] Is there anything else I gotta do? Is that it today other than baptisms?
[00:37:33] Water baptisms at the Broadwater Cafe at 12:30.
[00:37:39] Is it 12:30?
[00:37:40] Okay. Please come down there and spend time with us as we do the water baptisms. We'll have fellowship Sunday next week, so hang out for some. What are we doing, Jim?
[00:37:51] Sausages.
[00:37:53] Oh, come on. Sausages and lamb. Hamburgers. Nah, I don't know.
[00:37:58] For you healthy people, we'll get you something to eat. Amen.
[00:38:02] Father, we thank you. We ask you to bless this day, bless this time we've had together. Bless our visitors as they come and they go.
[00:38:10] Bless this community.
[00:38:11] Bless our hearts. Fill us full of your hope, your light and your love.
[00:38:15] And Father, may we laugh, may we live.
[00:38:19] But God help us to love better.
[00:38:22] Put a smile on our face, put a pep in our step. May this week be the best week we've had. In Jesus name. Amen and amen. God bless you. See you next week.
[00:38:36] Thank you for tuning in to today's message. To connect or find out more, you can reach us online at worldchangers.life. Remember to subscribe for more uplifting messages from our pastoral team. And may you continue to walk in faith and transformation until we meet again.
