couple of weeks, well, the last few months past, has sort of been talking about how we witness to people and sort of making that next step in our walk, and it's a difficult thing to do. It's not normal for us, is it, to step out of our comfort zone and to sort of think about what we can do and get into those uncomfortable situations when we're talking to others about our faith. This is a difficult thing to do. But when we look at the world today, I wonder, do we ask ourselves, you know, how can we be a Christian? How can we live out what we're supposed to do in the world today? You look around you and there's all that's going on, all the materialistic things the world's turning to, the events that are happening, everything that's going on. Do we just sit there and sometimes think, well, you know what? What possible reason can I have for doing anything? What difference can I make? What impact can I have on all of this? It's just too much. Too much bad stuff going on in the world. I'm just going to leave it in God's hands. It's easy to say that, isn't it? I'll just leave it in God's hands. Which is a good thing, because it's showing that we're trusting the Lord to do His will, do His purpose. That's fantastic. But it's not an excuse either. It's not for us to say somebody else can do it. You see, Everything seems to be going against us, isn't it? You've got war, you've got suffering, you've got pain, you've got anger, you've got hatred. How can we make a difference when there's so much wrong in the world, when nobody's got even an eye on the Lord, when nobody's even thinking about what the Bible may or may not say? If you have your Bibles with you, let's turn to James. James 2, I'll start at chapter 2, and we'll start at verse 14. So it's James 2, verse 14. It's quite a famous portion, I guess, of scripture. It's probably familiar to most of you. But I'll read through to verse 26. So it says, what does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not the things that are needed for the body, what does it profit? Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead being alone. Yea, a man may say, thou hast faith, and thy works, and I, sorry. Yea, a man may say, thou hast faith, and I have works. Shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith with my works, by my works. Thou believest that there is one God. Thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. You see then how that by works a man is justified and not by faith only. Likewise, also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead. Let's just commit those simple thoughts to the Lord in prayer. Let's pray. So thank you, Lord, for all that you wrote to us, all that your breath comes through the Bible. Thank you so much for the words you put before us and the things you have to say. Help us, Lord, to remember that every single inked word on the page has meaning and has purpose for our lives. And everything comes from you. Help us to be mindful of what we're reading, to act upon what we're reading, and to take that to heart. So bless the rest of this message, we pray, in this time together. In Jesus' name we ask, to his glory we pray. Amen. So, I'm not sure if it still happens today. The children have gone downstairs, they can't tell me. I know when I was in primary school, not so long ago, you used to do a thing called show and tells. I'm not sure if it's still a thing or not, yeah. So it was usually something, you'd go up in front of the class, and usually after the holidays or something like that, you'd tell them what you'd been up to in the holidays, or maybe what hobbies you were into, that sort of thing. I don't know if anybody can remember what that sort of thing was for at the time. usually to sort of promote yourself, wasn't it? It's about getting yourself sort of confident and talking about hobbies, passions, whatever you're into, something you're really excited about. And we only have to look at the actions of Jesus to understand that he did quite a lot of showing and telling during his time on earth. Of course, at the time, no one could explain what it was that they were seeing. No one could understand what was being done. They just simply called them miracles. Now, we always talk about Jesus' miracles, don't we? It kind of rolls off the tongue and sometimes we become quite flippant about them. I mean, if you put it into context and back in the day when these things were happening, you can imagine what people were seeing. These are things that people can't explain. The word miracle, it comes from Latin, mirai, which means to wonder. And that's also described as an event that's not explicable by natural causes. So, naturally, when people looked at these things and they couldn't explain them, they were called miracles. Now, we know Jesus drew crowds of people wherever he went, showing them things they didn't understand. People would often look at him, they'd question him about who he was, what he was doing, Sometimes they would accuse him, because people are frightened of what they don't understand often. So they would accuse him of doing all sorts of horrible, weird things. They'd look at him and they'd think, who is he? Why is he here? But instead of just telling them, just responding and lecturing and preaching and saying, this is what you should do, he showed them. It wasn't just a verbal response. He showed them how they should be living, what they should be doing. He used examples, scenarios, actions that were very, very relevant to the people of the day. If he was talking to farmers, he would talk about agriculture. If he was talking to teachers of the law, he would talk about the law. He would apply everything he did to individuals and the circumstances they were going through and the things they'd been seeing and make it really relevant to them. You know, how often do we only see God in our lives after we've come through something? You know, we've come through a trial, we've come through a problem, we've come through a valley, and we look back and we say, oh yeah, I can see where God was carrying me. I can see what God was doing. How often do we look back? How often do we say, actually, I should probably have asked God to help me through this bit. I should probably have turned to God a little bit sooner than now. See, times have changed, of course they have. We don't live doing the same things as we did in biblical times, that's a given. The way people communicate and accept information is completely different these days. I tried people a lot more visual, and they respond a lot more to what they see and then do and what they experience. Someone's gonna tell a lot more about us through how we do things than by what we say. Now, I had a look and there's loads and loads and loads of studies and discussion and, you know, you could read all day long about how people learn and how we could glean knowledge. Ironically, there's a whole sector of learning about how people learn, which is odd to me. But generally, and I'm being very generalistic, I got a bit of a stat that says people generally hear 10% of what they hear, or they take in 10% of what they hear. They take in 20% of what they read. and generally speaking, they take in 80% of what they see. So 80% of what people are listening to and taking in and thinking on and pondering comes from what they're seeing, what they're looking at. See, their experiences will live a lot longer in memories and are far more likely to impact decision making than any other form of information. I mean, you only have to look at us. Major life events. We all remember marriages, births, deaths. Some will remember baptisms, the point in time when you were saved. Major life things you remember because you experienced them and you went through them. But do you remember what you read yesterday? Because I haven't got a clue. I can't remember what I read. And I don't quite remember if anybody said anything to me. I can't remember what someone said five minutes ago. So you apply that logic and you start to see that what we actually do and how we act has far greater importance than what we say sometimes. But not forgetting what we say can have an absolute negative effect as well. You have to be very careful about how we portray the word of God. Now, God obviously speaks to us through the Bible. That's a given, so we build our faith. That's what it's built on, that's what we take it from. This is God's word, this is the breath of God speaking to us through the Bible. But what if that's where it stops? You can read the Bible all day long. You can read it as long as you like. You can even understand it if there's a clear message coming through. Brilliant. But unless you react to that, unless we apply that to our lives, unless we do something with that, we're just wasting our time. There's just no point. I wonder, do people read the Bible today? Do they read it with an attitude of acceptance, willingness to adopt what it's saying? Or is it read like any other book? It's a nice story, it's got a nice undertone to it, it's got a good message coming through, but it doesn't apply to me. Do people take five minutes because they're obligated to every morning to have a quick scan, quick read through a few verses, done my duty, crack on with the day. I'll come back to God if I need something. Or do we ask and trust that God will lead us, guide us, shape us, help us every minute of every second of every day? So in the passage we just read in James, James knew that people needed to see the church displaying what it was actually saying, evidence of what they believe, actions based on the faith they say they have, especially when it came down to how they treated each other. You see, Jesus, along with many others in the Bible, he let their actions speak for themselves. And what they did, what these people did showed who they really were, not necessarily what they said. James 2.14, we just read, it says, what does a prophet bear, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith and have not works? And then it says something really odd. I don't know how many times people have read these verses, but it says, can faith save him? That would seem weird. I mean, of course, faith can save you. That's the very basis of Christianity, faith, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He saves us, of course he does. But what if we say we have faith in God, but then we don't do or act or behave any different to the world out there? Well, that's not displaying a change of spirit, is it? That's not displaying an acceptance of what the Lord has done in our lives. It's just reading something, ignoring it, and carrying on as we always have done. You see, salvation should change who we are. It should change how we act. It should change what we do. Now I understand, please don't get me wrong, I completely understand. It takes a massive amount of courage to go out there and say, you know, I know God and I'm a Christian, all these things. And that is a fantastic first step. If you can do that, you're braver than me. A lot braver. But let's not forget, like the verse later on says, even the devil knows God. Even the devil knows God. If we don't act out our faith, and show people, that's the key thing, we don't show people by what we do, the love of Christ, how we act around them and what we do for them, then it's not really gonna help anyone. It's not gonna help us in our confidence because we're not seeing any result, not seeing anything change. And perhaps more importantly, it's not gonna help people around us. There's a really sad fact that the church today, in some areas, is doing a lot more damage than good. They're saying, this is what Christianity is all about. This is how you should live your life. But the things they do and the stuff they display, it's just completely against the word. It goes completely against everything. So what's that doing? It might be making them feel nice and fluffy, but it's people who are looking at them, people who are watching them, people who are understanding what they're saying. And you go, all right, okay. So I can live my life like this and I can still be a Christian and the God will love me and I can go to heaven, that's great. I'll crack on and do that. And that's hugely, hugely damaging. You see, what we do is imperative, it's built on the word. You have to stand on Christ's preachings and the word of God through what we act out. Because if you do anything else, people will accept that. People accept what you do as the truth. So, If we're going out somewhere, I don't know what it's like with you, but in my house, just before we leave, we sort of take a look in the mirror just to make sure we look all right, make sure we feel okay. Some spend longer in front of the mirror than others. But it means a lot to people. In general, it's a natural thing. We want to feel good about ourselves. We want to portray an image. We want to help people think this is how we look, this is who we are. We want to give a right impression or a certain response. But when you move away from the mirror, when we're out doing whatever it is we're doing, whatever it might be, how long is it before you forget about how you look? How long is it before you forget about, actually, what am I trying to portray here? What image am I trying to let give off? And it's the same when we come to church, isn't it? We can come to church, we can read our Bibles, we can sit through a service, and we can be absolutely on fire for the Lord, and it's really good, and everything's going really well, What happens when we walk out the door? How long do we keep that flame burning? How long do we keep that light shining as soon as we leave the building? Is it diminished by what we think the minute we walk out the door? Is it put out by what we do the minute we walk out the door? Does it change through the week? The Mondays, the Tuesdays, the Wednesdays of the week? Have we forgotten what we spoke about on the Sunday? Is the light still shining or has it gone out completely? because we've forgotten about it, because it's not on our agenda for the week. When you go to the doctor's surgery, the first thing I always look at is the certificates on the wall, or in the frames on the desk, wherever it might be, because that's living proof that the person you're about to put all your faith in to make you better, or heal you, or whatever it is you're going to see them for, knows what they're talking about. They've got all the qualifications, they know their stuff. For someone to say they are Christian and love the Lord Jesus, this is our qualification. This is our certificate that says, you know what, actually, I know what I'm talking about. I'm not just saying stuff. I'm not just doing stuff. It's built on Christ's word. We can share by living out our faith in the way we're asked to by God. It's really, really hard, and it's really, really difficult, and it's not comfortable, and it's not easy. but we shouldn't stand silent. We should be out there telling people what we think we are. Don't just act out on a Sunday. Tell the world who we think we are, what our faith is based on. If someone dug out and say, ah, yeah, I'm a Christian, I love the Lord Jesus Christ, it's just like saying, yeah, I'm a brain surgeon, but I don't have any qualifications to prove it. I'm waiting to show you. Money certificates. Base everything you do on the word of God and you can't go far wrong. What if we tell people the opposite? What if we say I'm a Christian and then do something completely different in their sight that would make them start wondering? Well, at best, they're gonna start thinking you're false. They're gonna start thinking that you say something but you don't really mean it. You wanna be their friend, but probably not. You know, you give me a promise, I'm not trusting you can keep that promise, because what you said to me goes completely against what you've just done. See, if we live the right way, if we share our faith by what we do, and not just by what we say, we can be ambassadors for the Lord. Now, that's a massive, massive thing. Imagine that, being called an ambassador for the Lord on the earth. Because that's what we're called to do. We're called to stand for Him. We're called to shine for Him. We're called to do what He's asked us to do in the Bible. Be an ambassador for the Lord on the earth. Show people why it's better to live with Him and not against Him. Open people's eyes to the way the world is going, what the world's doing, and the path is heading down. Show them the alternative. Further on in the passage you read, 15 and 16, it says, if a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? So what about those in need of direction? What about those in need of help and in need of guidance and support? Where I grew up, it was, When I look back now, when I was in the situation, it seemed normal because I didn't know any better, but when I look back now, it was horrific. It was absolutely horrific. You had people dying because they were overdosing and all sorts of different nasty things. And you just think, why? Why were they all on their own? Why did they have no one to turn to? You see, today, fortunately, this is a much more prominent thing. So much it's in the media, it's in the news, you know, okay not to be okay, and all that sort of stuff. And there's loads and loads of charities, support groups, networks, all sorts of organizations that are out there helping people with their immediate needs. And they do a fantastic work. They're an incredible bunch of people. And it's not something I could do. You know, they help people with their problems, their life choices, they get them back on track, but and here's the rub, but that's not gonna bring them salvation. It's not gonna bring them the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not gonna help them get off the path of going down, wherever that path ends up. The only way that's gonna happen is if someone shows them the word of God, if someone shows them how to be saved, if someone shows them what it means to have God in their life. What about if someone came up to you then and said, I've got this huge issue going on, it's massive, I really need your help with it. What if you turned down and said, it's okay, I'm a Christian, trust in the Lord, everything will be fine, and then walk away? That's not really gonna help them, is it? Yes, you've done exactly what the Bible says you should do, you've told them, but unless you actually do something about it, unless you back that up with actions and works, it's not gonna do a fat lot. How do you think it's gonna make them feel? If we just said, actually, you know what? I'm just trusting the orderly, fine. And then walk off. This is gonna make them think Christians are not helpful at all. Christians don't do what they say they do. Christians don't do what this book tells them they should do. What if we see a beggar or a busker on the street? What's your normal sort of reaction? I know if you're anything like me, it's usually a big smile as you walk past. Try and not make eye contact. What if he dropped a tract in their box? Or what if he just simply said, as you were passing, you're never gonna see these people again, so chances are, what if he just said, I'm praying for you as you walk past? May have no effect, but it might have a very profound effect. So that's the point, once you've done the action, that's the point you just hand it over to the Lord. The Lord doesn't say, Give them a smile, don't say anything, because they have no idea. They have no idea who you are, they don't know where you come from. The Lord doesn't say, give them a wave, drop a few pennies in the box. The Lord says, tell them about me. Do something about it. Show them there's an alternative. You see, I get it, I get it, I get it. True faith in God is not just turning up on a Sunday. It's more than that. True faith means getting out there, feeling uncomfortable, moving out to the happy zone, meeting people, showing them just how much Christ is worth through our actions and not just our words. Now don't get me wrong, I completely get that is a very scary, very difficult, really, really, really hard thing to do and for me, I hide a little bit behind the blast on a Friday night because the group I've got, the youngsters, they're really, really lovely, they're open to hearing what you've got to tell them, they'll respond, and it's really easy. It's really, really easy in that respect. For someone to say, right, you've got to go out into the world, you've got to, you know, go onto the streets, whatever it might be, and we're all called to different things, that's incredibly difficult, and I totally get that. But often when we're told, right, I'm gonna go out, I'm gonna spread the word, I'm gonna do something for the Lord. What do we do? We think, right, how am I gonna do this? What am I gonna say? Where am I gonna go to? Who am I gonna meet? It's not about us. We are the mouthpiece, the conduit, whatever phrase you wanna, loop you wanna put around it. We are God's people, but God will speak through us. God will speak for us. God will do all, put all the arrangements in place, bring people into our path. He'll put everything we need. to make it happen. But we've got to trust Him, and we've got to ask Him. We can be absolutely on fire for the Lord. We can be out through the doors, and then suddenly, it's right, what am I going to do? How am I going to do it? Or it should be, well, how are we going to do it? How's the Lord? How do you want me to do it? How should I be doing it? Pray to the Lord, ask for guidance, ask for direction, ask for a focus. See, God wants us simply to trust Him more. Get past that scary bit. But we wonder what people are gonna say, how they might react. And just do something. You don't have to do incredible things. You don't have to change the world tomorrow. That's not what it's about. You don't have to make massive changes in who we are. We just need to show people that we've got Christ in our lives. It's as simple as that. Now, I get not everyone is called to deliver messages from the pulpit, it's not what they do. Not everyone is called to work with children or young people, that's not their thing. Not everyone is called to run huge outreach events, they may not have that personality, and that's great, that's fine. Not everyone is called to play an instrument, and I'm sure most of you can attest, and perhaps even Steve was here, not everyone is called to be in a choir. But here's the thing, the Bible clearly states Everyone is called to do the same thing. Every single one of us is called to spread the gospel. It's a simple, simple message, to spread the gospel. Now don't take my word for it. It's all the way through the Bible. It's a thread that runs all the way through. Mark 16, 15. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Matthew 28, 19, sorry, Matthew 28, 19, 20. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Acts 10, 42. And he commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify that it is he which is ordained of God to be the judge of the quick and the dead. 1 Peter 3, 15, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you for a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. 2 Timothy 4, 2, preach the word, be instant, in season and out of season, approve, rebuke, exhort with awe, longsuffering and doctrine. It goes on and on and on and on and on. There's so much in here that's given us a very simple command. Okay, the word it might be a bit alien to us. Are we to go out and preach the word? What does that mean? You know, are we to have an answer to every question that's asked of us? What's that actually mean? I think Mark summed it up probably in the best way, and I'll paraphrase. Go everywhere, everywhere you go, take the gospel with you, and let anybody who doesn't know, know about it. It's as simple as that. It's as simple as that. So how you do this, and when you do it, is entirely up to you. All God is asking you to do is to take the message out there. Take the message out there, tell everybody you meet, in whatever form, whatever way, whatever natural thing that comes to you, however that might be. You see, we may not all be called in the same way, but we are called, all of us, every single one of us, as a saved child of Christ, to do the same work. So to Sam, It seems like an impossible task, doesn't it? Often when we talk to go out, whatever phrase you want to use, we talk to go out and evangelize, we talk to go out and spread the word, we talk to go out and reach out to people. The immediate thing that pops into my head is little me versus this whole big world. And I'm all on my own and it's really hard and scary and it's a monster. And of course that's not what it is at all. That's totally not what it is. I just read one of the verses I just read. The end of Matthew, the end of Matthew 28, 19, 20, it's very, very profound. Go away therefore and teach all the nations, and it goes on and it says, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. See, the Lord's not gonna send us out on our own. The Lord doesn't want us to go out on our own. If we go out on our own, we start to do things on our own strength, and then it all falls apart. The Lord is telling us, yes, I want you to go and do work, wherever that might be, but I'm coming with you. I'm standing beside you, I'll give you the words you need, I'll give you the people you need, I'll give you the space you need, I'll give you the tools you need. You don't need to do anything except speak, do, act, whatever that might be. You like it or not, we're asked to be busy about the Lord's work, and it is an ask. We're all being given the opportunity to say no, but this is the Lord God himself through the word of the Bible asking us to do something, anything, just to let people know who he is and what Christ has done in our own lives. The other thing God's really promised us as well is He's going to be with us, he's going to walk beside us, but he will never, ever, ever lead us into any situations that we can't handle. When I was younger, a lot of sort of high, what people would term, I think today the term would be adventure sports or adrenaline sports or something like that, things like rock climbing. The whole ethos of what I did was built on risk, how I manage risk, how I manage, you know, control sort of my environment, that sort of thing. And it was super scary when that risk was out of my control. It was super scary if, you know, I do rock climbing or something, I put a pin in the wall and I was climbing up and then suddenly it would pop out. You know, wow, that certainly focuses the mind. But God said, you know what, that pin's never gonna pop out. Put another one in because that next one's never gonna pop out either, because I've got control of this. This is with me, I'm taking up here. I've got the rope, I've got the metal in the wall. All you need to do is walk up. Just keep going, because I am with you, even until the end of the world. Now, of course, all of this means nothing unless we have faith in God and faith that He will deliver on the promises He gives us. How do you know what He says is what He'll do? How do we grow stronger in our faith and just become that much more dependent on Him that we can go out with the full and certain knowledge of what He says is what He'll do? There's no point in doing anything unless you do it with God. Now, it's been said time and time again, it's a really, really, really simple answer. You see, pastors said over and over again that faith comes from reading the word. It's not complicated, it's not rocket science. Faith comes from reading the word. Hearing the word of God. But of course, once we hear it, Once we hear what he's saying, we need to act on it. We need to do something with that. You can read the Bible all day long, but unless you actually take it to heart and do something with it, it kind of makes no difference. It kind of makes no change. Do we read a few verses, ignore them, carry on doing the things we do as normal? If we're not willing for God to help us, how can we ever expect to make any sort of difference in anything we do? You see, every single element of anything we do in church, out of church, through church, should be for God. It should be with God. God should be walking beside us and not as an afterthought or a consideration or something we think about later on. You see, if we act differently, if we do things differently to what the world expects, if we allow what we read to change the way you behave around people, then just that, that by itself, nothing else, will show people who Christ is, will show people what he can do in the world today. That is enough. You've done the job, you've done the work. Just do what the Bible asks us to do. Stand on what we read, listen to what God is saying to us. James 2, 19. where we just read, it said, thou hast believed as there is one God, thou dost well. The devils also believe and tremble. You can come to church, you can say, you know, I believe, Lord, I believe. Great, super. So does Satan. See, the devil knows God, doesn't he? He knows him clearly as a bell. He probably knows him better than we do. But he's obviously going against everything he's ever stood for. He's fighting against him all the time. He's pulling against him all the time. There's no relationship there with the Lord. He's working against everything God is standing for. So, if faith is meant to be alive and active, and shown to the world through works, then faith without works is dead. Not my words, it's come straight from the Bible. If someone claims they believe, without any evidence to support it, that's not good. That's not good. You wouldn't go into a hospital and say, I know you can make me better. I'm going to lie on this desk and they chop me open. You wouldn't do that. So why would you go out to people and say, you should believe on this? Because I know I don't really, but you should, because it says you should. You're at risk there of really damaging what people see as a Christian in the world today, joining those other organizations and churches and people out there saying the wrong things, doing the wrong things, and showing people how to walk down a completely different path. See, while what we do, now don't get me wrong, what we do can't save us, I get that, and that's absolutely accurate. What we do is not gonna save us in any way, shape, or form. Faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ will save us. However, it does show that we are saved. We're telling proof we are moving in the right direction. We're telling proof, we're showing people, actively showing them, we're doing what God intended us to do. And look at the changes making, look at the differences making. This is what being a Christian is all about. What we do demonstrates the faith we say we have. It's as simple as that. It's a demonstration of an inward faith. how, here's the rub, how we live out our faith matters, really, really matters. Because people are looking at us all the time. People are watching what we're doing all the time. And not just those who know us. There'll be people in the street as we walk out the door later on that are looking at us and saying, they're church people. Why are they different? Why are they rocking up on a Sunday all the time? What's the point in what they're doing? So if we go out there and we start living in the world and doing the things the world expect, what are they gonna think? Bit daft, we're going in on a Sunday and you stay in bed. You're doing the same stuff as us. You're making any difference. So what we do defines how people see us. Sometimes you don't feel like we can do anything. Sometimes you're thinking, like I say right at the beginning, there's so much wrong in the world at the moment. This is a disastrous time to be in in some respects. What possible difference can I make on my own? It's not about us, is it? It's not about us on our own. It's about us with the Lord. What possible difference can God make if we allow him to work through us? In some respects, I'm living proof of that standing before you right now. You told me months ago, I'd be doing this. I would've laughed you away. Don't be so ridiculous. How can I get to that? But it's not of me. I'm not here because I wanna be here. I'm not a deacon of the church because I want to be a deacon of the church. It's because the Lord has moved situations. He's changed environments. He's made differences and put things in my path that I just can't deny. I could stand there and say, no, we're not doing it. Fair enough. What's the point in coming to church at all then? If you're just going to kick back against everything I give you, why even bother? And it does take a lot of strength, a lot of soul searching, a lot of thinking, a lot of character, and you gotta sit there and say, actually, you know what? If what I did, I said, if this is right, if this is what I'm gonna do, if this is what I'm gonna follow, then I can start pushing back against it. I gotta just accept what it is and move forward. And in the space of a few months, everything changed, and here I am. It's living proof that once you accept what Christ is saying, and once you actually start applying stuff, That's when the Lord can make those changes. That's when you really start to see how things are changing and how things can adapt. Look first to God for wisdom. You sit down, and I got to a point where I don't wanna write a report, I wanna write a message. I don't wanna write a paragraph. I want God to just direct whatever words I'm typing. So the first thing I do before I even turn on computers and keyboards and all that stuff, before I turn anything on, the very first thing is come to the Lord. What am I supposed to be speaking on? What is the thing for today? What action should I take? What way should I follow? Seek the wisdom of the Lord in all things. Sometimes we don't feel like we're doing anything. Perhaps we're sitting there, you might be happy sitting there cruising around, that's great. Sometimes we feel like I should be doing something, but I don't know what, and we're sitting there week in, week out, thinking I should be doing something, but I don't know what, I should be doing something, but I don't know what. We never ask God. Why not ask the Lord what it is you should be doing? Why not ask the Lord to put things in your path? Why not ask the Lord to change your approach? Why not just look to the Lord and say, right, where should I go next? What if, in this big mad world we're living in, where everything seems to be going against us as Christians, what if every single person in the building, every single person listening online, made one tiny little change this week that showed the tiniest little chink of Christ's light in our lives? What would that do? Collectively, that would be a massive outpouring of God's love into the world. If you did just the tiniest little thing, made the tiniest little change that made somebody somewhere think and crop and say, oh yeah, you're a Christian. If every one of us did that this week, that would be a huge collective outpouring of God's love in the world. And what difference could that make? And what changes could come about because of that, I wonder. So let's not just tell people about the Lord, Let's not just tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's show them what it means to have him as our, in our lives. What the difference is making, what change is it doing to us? It doesn't matter what you do. It doesn't matter where you do it, how you do it, who you do it with. There's a plan and there's an opportunity for every man, woman, and child on this earth. It doesn't matter if you're a nursery school child, young person, adult, all the way through to retired, whoever you are, wherever you're from, there's a plan for you, there's a purpose for you. We all have a work to do. All of us, every single one of us is called to do the same thing. Like I say, it might not be in the same way, it might not be doing the same as everybody else, but then that's the whole point. What if we were all called to sing? Then there'd be nobody to preach the word. What if we were all called to stand in the pulpit? Then there'd be nobody to do outreach events. What if we were all called to preach to a certain group of people? Well then, all the children would never get the word. So we're all called to do something different, but we are all called. So let's be busy about the work of the Lord. And when we do, let's do it in the strength of the Lord. Let's come to him in prayer. Let's do it in the will of the Lord and be sure we're resting on his word. But ultimately, let's do it for the glory of the Lord. And then perhaps, then maybe we'll see what change can happen, how the world can actually react. Then we might actually see the real glory of God. Let's pray. Thank you, Lord. You're a living God, a living God in our lives, a living God in our souls, Lord, that you direct our paths day by day. Even, Lord, when we sit there and we ignore you, we don't know you, sometimes they're just waiting to direct our paths. Help us, Lord, to remember that whatever we do and wherever we do it, people are watching, people are looking, people are asking, who are you and why are you different? Give us a desire that we might, Just show the world who you are, Lord, and why you came into the world in the first place, why you went through what you went through. May you touch hearts and bless souls this week that lost souls may be reached and people might be touched. Encourage us, strengthen us, and in some cases, Lord, if it's needed, Lord, just give us the courage to take that next step. Go before us this week, I pray, and help us to be mindful of the things of you, who you are, and what you do for us. In Jesus' name we ask, with glory we pray. Amen. Let's sing our final song. This is a name I love to hear. Okay. Not what you were expecting, is it? Almost. Do you want to do a different one? Okay. Shall we stand? Or shall we sing? The name I love to hear, I love to sing is the music in my ear, the sweetest name on earth. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus, the sweetest name on earth. It tells me of our Savior's love, who died to set me free. It tells me of His precious blood, the same as birth and glee. O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, the sweetest name on earth. It is my trembling soul rejoiced, and rising, rising cheer, it tells me in a still, small voice, to trust and never fear. O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, the sweetest name on earth. Jesus, the name I love so well, the name I love to hear, no saint on earth its worth can tell, no heart can see my fear. Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, the sweetest name on earth. His name shall share this braver still, along this lonely road, shall sweetly smooth the rugged hill that leads me out to God. O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, the sweetest name on earth. With old and glad forth from, from sin and sorrow free, I'll sing the new eternal song of Jesus' birth to me. O power of Jesus, O power of Jesus, O power of Jesus, the sweetest name on earth. I ask John to close in prayer if you would please. It's about considering what they stand for in the eyes of God. So Lord, I do pray that you would come with us again in this temple, that we would do thy will, that we would go to the poor, that we could see God's love for each other, all because you loved us. You loved us before the foundation of the earth, and your son died for us all, because you loved us so much. So you go separate ways, but we pray that you would bless us all, that you would be with us, and bring us back again at the appointed time. Amen.