Good afternoon. 12:01. It is such a joy to be with you here at the am 2 service at Knox, the best service over our weekend, my favorite service. I haven’t been seeing it everywhere I’ve been this weekend. You can play the tape. In all seriousness it’s such a joy to be here at home. Being away is a joy but there’s no place like home.
And if you call CityLife church home, I’m here to remind you that you’re part of the greatest church on planet Earth because it’s our church. And if you are visiting here today, thank you so much for taking the time to come hang out with us. My name is Dan Lian. And on my business card, it says gospel ninja. I get the chance to wander around and talk about Jesus for a living. But this is my home church. I love this church. It’s changed my life. I hope and pray that you find a church home that will suit you as well.
We’re in the midst of a series at the moment, as the neon sign behind me will suggest, called home. We’re just talking about church; us as a church. Our distinctiveness. What we feel we’ve been called to do, what we are, what we’re meant to look like and feel like and smell like. And it’s important for us, dare I say, imperative for us, as a faith community, to consistently, continually, come back to this point where we ask this question. Because Jesus makes it clear that any house divided amongst itself will fall. But when we understand what we are all about and we can jump on the same page and move together in harmony, with a synergy, the Bible says that God commands a blessing in the space of unity.
Raywood family, how are you doing? Indie, congratulations. Your boy is beautiful. Marie, good job man, love your hair. We are an experience, a commanded blessing, and the favor of God and the fire of God will not only transform our lives but we get to transform the world. Come on. It’s important that we all get on the same page.
So in the last couple of weeks, we’ve talking about home. Josiah Connor shared an amazing message about home being a place of welcome. I understand he shared a story about one time when I tried to get him arrested. A little bit embellished; a little bit exaggerated. But home was meant to be a place, and CityLife church was meant to be a place where anybody from any background cold find a space of acceptance where they could be loved and encouraged and inspired to grow in the theme of love. And we also talked about how home is the place of community. We not only want you to feel accepted; we want you to grow within the context of friendships and relationships and more specifically within a small group environment.
And this week I want to talk to you really quickly and really simply about this idea of our home, CityLife church being a space where God does beautiful things. Home. CityLife church. A place where God does beautiful things. Let me pray and then we’ll jump into things.
Lord Jesus, we love you, we thank you so much for the life that you give us, the breath in our lungs and the fact that you are on our side. And I pray that Lord God you will have your way here in this meeting. You would have your way in our lives. I pray Lord God that you open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our hands to receive what you have for us this afternoon. In Jesus name. And everybody said, Amen.
Home. A space where God does beautiful things. Genesis chapter one and verse one, the very first words of the Bible, has God painting a picture of himself. Beginning to reveal himself to creation; beginning to reveal his nature to humanity. In the beginning, God lets us know He was there. And the Earth was empty and it was formless. There was nothing there and the Holy Spirit hovered over this darkness. In the beginning, there was God, and God was in the midst of empty space. And into the empty space, God spoke. Let there be light. And there was light.
Do you see the picture? In the beginning, there was space. God spoke and beauty was created. Light burst forth. Life was created. In the beginning, there was space; God spoke and He filled that space with beautiful things. He did it in the beginning and he’s been doing it ever since. Smile. That’s really good news because this reminds us that this is not just another church service. This is so much more than the 11:15 meeting at CityLife church that we kind of you know do semi-regularly and we come along and listen to some fast songs and some slow songs and listen to a pep-talk basically and do a Calcutta like traffic to get out. There’s so much more than there is a religious obligation that you need to tick off your Christian to-do list every week. No this is so much more. What this is, is space that we are creating. Space that we’re creating for ourselves; space that we’re creating for our families. Space we’re creating for our friends.
Space we’re creating for people who are soon to become our friends. We are creating space in the middle of our crazy lives. Come on, we are creating space in the middle of our chaotic weeks, for God to speak. For God to move; for God to do beautiful things. Remember, in the beginning, there was space and God spoke and He filled that space with beauty. He did it in the start, He’s being that ever since. And He wants to do that this afternoon. And get excited about it. I know many of you are excited about it as well. You have excitement in your heart, excitement in your soul. Please, I beg you, let the passion bubble to your face and tell your face you’re happy about it as well. It’s going to help me get through this a lot sooner and you’re going to get to lunch a lot sooner. Come on. This was meant to be a space.
During the course of a week where God did beautiful things. And I’m excited about it. This reminds us what we were meant to be as a church. CityLife church. We have been for many years. And by His grace and for His glory, we are meant to be a place where God did beautiful things. Where the lost were found and the hurting were held and the broken were mended, where the wounded find a space and a place of safety. This was meant to be a place where people could come and search for hope and when they were too exhausted to search anymore, they would find that hope comes looking for them. And his name is Jesus. This was meant to be a place where families would flourish, where our relationships would be mended; this was meant to be a place where people within our lives could begin a journey to find Jesus, only to find that Jesus has been journeying in their direction for the longest of times. This is what this space has always been. And by His grace, this is the space where we still are. And for His glory, we will search forward and make sure we remain the type of space where beautiful things happen.
This church wasn’t named CityLife because it was a nice generic name that we could use for promotional purposes. This church was named CityLife because we believe we believe we were destined to be a space where life happened in this city. Where not only our lives were transformed but literally thousands and thousands of people in this great city of Melbourne, in this great state of Victoria, and even around the world, would be touched and impacted by our lives. CityLife not only by name; we were meant to bring life to the city by nature. In the beginning, there was space, God spoke and He filled that space with beauty. He did it in the start; He’s been doing it ever since.
What we do here every week in our services, what we do here in our ministries, what we do here at CityLife church is but simply create space for God to do beautiful things. Smile, that’s really good news.
But I’ve been wondering lately, especially over the last couple of weeks as I’ve been preparing for this message, I’ve been wondering, are there different kinds of spaces? Are there some kinds of spaces that are conducive to a move of God? Are there some kinds of spaces that are marked by qualities and characteristics that kind of cause the environment to become a hotbed of God activity, where the miraculous isn’t seen, where the marvelous isn’t seen but its common. Where the mighty hand of God holds that space. And people’s lives are changed because of that holding. Are there some kinds of environments that actually promote the work of God, and are there other kinds of environments that quell the work of God?
Are there environments which sing the same songs and hear the same talks and worship the same God but for some reason, because of different characteristics within that environment there’s a resistance to a work of God. Where God wants to move in a mind and a power, in a strange way has his hands tied and the work of God is not only quieted but it’s quelled. Are there different kinds of spaces? Because in my travels and in my observations, I’ve come to the conclusion that I think there are different kinds of spaces.
From church to church and even meeting to meeting. Sometimes you’ll step into a church or step into a service and right away you can sense a holy spirit. There’s electricity. There’s the taste of anticipation that laces that environment and you just know something is going to happen. You know what I’m saying? Did you feel it earlier in this meeting? Where people are praising and worshipping and posturing themselves, getting ready for a God move. You sense that someone is getting saved. Someone is getting set free. Someone is getting an answer to a question that’s been plaguing them for some time. Someone’s going to get some clarity in the mist of confusion. Something good is going to happen. There are spaces where you walk into them and you just know right away something of God is going to go down. I don’t know what it is but people are going to leave happy today. Know what I’m saying? People walk into those kind of spaces transversely.
There are also times when you walk into environments where you start administering meetings where you just get a sense there’s a heaviness in the room. Not a heaviness like the presence of God but heaviness of apathy, a heaviness of familiarity, and even though we’re singing the same songs and hearing the same talk and we all theoretically prescribe to the same points, it just feels like the lights are on but no one’s really home. We can yell, we can go forward, we can preach and spit, and even though we hear the message, nothing actually reverberates in our being and we leave the same way we came in. and even though God wants to bring freedom because it’s his desire to bring freedom, not and fake freedom or temporary freedom but freedom indeed. People are just wound up and bound up and being ground up and there is no freedom for any one of them.
I’ve observed these different kinds of environments. Have you? Have you sensed, have you felt it? I think the teachings of Jesus would suggest there are different types of environments. In Mark Chapter 4, one of Jesus’’ most famous servants, he’s using the farmer as an analogy. He’s teaching about different kinds of environments. In Mark Chapter 4 he says hey there’s a farmer and he was scattering seed and that seed symbolizes the kingdom of God, the work of God, the heart of God, the will of God. He’s scattering seed and this seed falls on different kinds of environments. In one environment it’s hard and it’s rocky and it never gets to take root. Nothing actually happens. It’s like the word that goes over everybody’s head.
There’s another environment that kind of falls to the ground and starts to grow but the root system is really shallow and it kind of dies as fast as it springs up. There’s another kind of environment where it grows as well but there are other factors and forces in the environment that kind of choke out the work really quickly. But there’s a fourth kind of environment; the kind of environment where the seed falls and the root begins to grow, and grow and grow. And before you know it, it becomes a miraculous move. Because there’s a 30-60-100 fold harvest and return.
I think Jesus would suggest there are different kinds of spaces. I think the ministry in the life of Jessus would suggest there are different kinds of spaces. Some that promote his work and others that will prevent it. Some that would be clear like a phone ringing in a quiet room. Everyone senses what the Holy Spirit is doing. Other times it seems convoluted and God can ring and ring and ring and no one is going to pick up the phone. There are some environments that are conducive to his work and others that quell it.
I remember a couple of weeks ago I was just doing my daily Bible reading. I was reading Mark Chapter 5 and Mark Chapter 6 and I had this question, just kind of bouncing around my head and my heart, about different kinds of spaces. And I read Mark Chapter 5 and Mark Chapter 6 and it jumps off the pages. Slaps me in the most glorious way as I see Mark Chapter 5 and Mark Chapter 6 are basically stories about 2 different kinds of spaces.
Let me start with Mark Chapter 6. Mark Chapter 6 is basically Jesus rolling into his hometown called Nazareth. Now, Jesus was on a roll. Jesus had engaged in a ministry, had engaged his disciples, and they started wandering around the countryside, shining life where there was death, shining light where there was darkness, showing love when only love could heal it. Jesus was on a roll. The blind were having their eyes opened and the deaf were having their ears open and the mute were having their tongues loosened and they were bringing forth praise. There was an amazing work happening. Jesus was on a roll and he wanted that roll to continue in his hometown of Nazareth. And as the Bible says he rolls into Nazareth, he waits a few days until the Sabbath and then he goes to the Synagogue and he begins to preach and teach. He says I was to set people free, free indeed, and the initial reaction was wow, who is this Jesus guy? What teaching? What preaching? What insight? What wisdom? What authority? But then something happened.
People recognized him. They started whispering to each other. And then someone kind of goes, I kind of recognize him. I’ve seen him before. And then someone else says, you know who that is? That’s Jesus. He got brought up here; he grew up down the street. What’s his dad’s name again? Joey the Carpenter. That’s right. He’s the son of Joey the Carpenter. He did his apprentice with his dad. This dude built the pergola in my backyard; he ain’t no radical rabbi. He ain’t no miraculous teacher. He’s just Joe’s son. The Carpenter kid. The trade. What’s he doing here standing in the pulpit of our synagogue teaching us things? Aren’t his brothers and his sisters with us today? Isn’t his mom sitting in the corner of the room watching? Who does this Jesus guy think he is? And then Jesus pauses. And then one of the strangest verses in all of holy writ was penned.
The Bible says in Mark Chapter 6, Jesus in this environment in his hometown couldn’t do any miracles there. And he was amazed at their unbelief. Get your mind around that. Jesus couldn’t do any miracles there. This is Jesus. These hands flung stars into space. This is Jesus. Colossians Chapter 1 reminds us that he is the first-born over all creation by whom everything was made and for whom everything was made, in whom everything was made. He’s got the whole world in his hands. Yet even his hands were tied. In this environment. Was he impotent? No. Did he for some reason lose his ability to move? No.
It’s that since the beginning of time, when God created us in His image, He has given us the opportunity to partner with Him. To have a relationship with Him and partner in his glory. But if humanity decides to be resistant in that, God will not break into a space where he is not invited. He will let us live out our life and do his own thing. And because of this environment, because of the apathy, because of the familiarity, because of the pride, because of the unbelief, the Bible actually says that the God of this universe had his hands tied. And that city, that town, was left unchanged. No one got saved; no one got healed. The poor men that morning went to bed still tormented. There was no freedom; freedom indeed? Which was so different to a couple of days before. And a couple of miles down the road, when Jesus rode into a place called the Garascenes as you read about in the start of Mark Chapter 5.
He rode into this region called the Garascenes and he’s kind of checking out the lay of the land and out of the bush comes this guy wild and crazy. It looked like he had 6,000 demons in side of him and the reason he looked like he had 6,000 demons inside of him was he had 6,000 demons inside of him. He was wild and crazy. And because Jesus doesn’t want our lives to be marked by wild and torment or turmoil but he lives to be marked by peace and joy and the Holy Spirit, he sets this demoniac free. 6,000 demons plead with Jesus. Hey we’ll go because we know who you are. Even the foulest demon of hell knows for whom he has to bow. So they bow before Jesus and say just let us bow before those dirty pigs grazing on the hill. Jesus grants them their wish. These demons run into these pigs; these pigs run into the ocean. They all drown. They destroy the bacon industry in the Garascenes for a couple o years. The Garascenes people get upset because they love bacon. They start chasing Jesus. Jesus hightails it out of town, jumps in a boat and sails it to the other side of the lake. Steps off of the boat and already as he steps into a region called Pernail there was a crowd lining the seashore, 20, 30, 40 deep, all scrambling just trying to get a look at Jesus. There was anticipation in the air; there was excitement in the environment. They didn’t roll in 15 minutes late after the first song; they were there, ready to go.
And then the Bible says in Mark Chapter 5 there was a guy name Jairus who was a synagogue ruler. That means that he ruled in the synagogue; that’s why he was called a synagogue ruler. He thought to himself, I need to see Jesus myself. You see, at this point the synagogue had already begun to plot Jesus’ downfall. Who is this rebel at the very least? Who is this subversive character who wants to bring down our order? The synagogue was already anti-Jesus, but the problem was Jairus had an issue. He had a daughter who was incredibly sick. And he had tried everything within his strength to make his daughter well but he continued to come up short and he thought to himself, I’ve heard stories about this guy. I’ve heard about the blind seeing, I’ve heard about the deaf hearing. I even heard that he crashed a boy’s funeral and raised a boy from the dead. If he can do that, maybe just maybe he can do something for my daughter. So Jairus filled with desperation leaves his mahogany office and runs toward the shoreline. And he finds Jesus and he falls at his feet.
I could have imagined Jairus apologizing; I’m so sorry Jesus. Me and my friends, we synagogue people have been giving you a really hard time but I’m real desperate. I’ve tried everything. I’m at the end of my rope. You are my last chance. And for some reason I just know that there is good in you. And for some reason I just know that the impossible reacts differently when it’s around you. Because I just know that if you come to my house and lay hands on my daughter she would be made well.
Jesus doesn’t judge. Jesus doesn’t condemn. Jesus doesn’t fire a parting shot toward a person who has already given him and his boys a hard time. No, because Jesus loves the broken rebel and the burdened religious person the same. And he says, you’re wound up and bound up but I’m going to help you because you’ve come to me; let’s go see what we can do.
They begin to walk to the other side of town. In the meantime, in Mark Chapter 5 it says there was a woman with an issue of blood that marked her as ceremonially unclean. This disease had riddled her body for more than 10 years – 12 years, in fact. Goes on to detail that she had spent every cent that she had but instead of getting better, she only grew worse. Have you ever felt that way before? Having an issue and trying to get out of it, and the harder and harder you try, the deeper you sink? Well this story is going to remind you that just one interaction with Jesus, just one word from Jesus, one move of Jesus and everything can turn around. And so she’s thinking to herself, I’m here in this house. I’m not allowed go out because having the issue of blood makes me unceremoniously unclean. So if I go out and don’t have any interaction with anyone else that will make them ceremoniously unclean as well. And for me to do that on purpose could have me stoned to death. But I’m dead already. So I need to roll the dice and take chance; I’m so desperate because this Jesus guy is here for one night only. And I refuse to allow him to leave town without seeing if something can happen in my body.
So she opens the door, she sees the crowd already rushing around all ready, running toward the seaside, the whispers are rising to a crescendo, he’s on his way. So she starts following the crowd, trying to find Jesus. Fueled by desperation, led by the hope, she’s sees this peculiar cadre of people and she sees Jesus in the middle. She pushes her way through the crowd. People would have begun to recognize her. She was well-known around town. She had this issue for so many years. Isn’t that the wretched woman? Isn’t that the cursed lady? What is she doing out here in public, let alone brushing up here against us? But she didn’t allow the conversation of the crowd to hold her back from seeing Jesus.
The Bible says in Mark Chapter 5 she finally gets to the front. Jesus is walking by; she reaches out and brushes his cloak. The Bible says immediately she feels healing fill her body. She was made whole. The Bible says that Jesus felt power leave him. So he stops; he goes, whoa, whoa, whoa. Power just left my body. Someone just got healed. Uh Jesus, there’s people everywhere everyone is pressing up against you, how can you tell that someone touched you? But because our healing and our restoration isn’t just a random, happenstance kind of act but it’s a personal God dealing with our personal issues, He knows every single one of us, He knows our dram, He knows our wounds, He knows our pains, He knows our hurts. When He heals, He knows He’s done something. So, woa, woa, woa. Nah, somebody got a healing. Step forward. They all start saying, wasn’t me, wasn’t me, wasn’t me.
This brave woman, knowing she could’ve gotten into incredible trouble, she steps out from the crowd, steps up to his feet and says, Jesus I’m really sorry. I know that I’ve broken a whole suite of laws. But I heard that you’re in town and I’ve heard crazy stories about you and I’ve lived a crazy life. I don’t have any friends, I don’t have a husband, I’m not allowed out in public and this ailment is ruining me. I didn’t think I could go another day, I thought I was dead already so I thought what the heck. I thought I’ll come after you and see what happens. And I touched you and I’m really, really sorry, but I’ve got to let you know I felt healing in my body.
Jesus is full of compassion, full of grace, because for Jesus love wasn’t an act of his will but an extension of his character. He couldn’t help but look at her and say, sweetheart your faith has made you well. Joy fills her heart as joy emanates in Jesus’ face because this is Jesus doing exactly what he came to do.
While this conversation is going on, Mark Chapter 5 talks about how Jairus’ servant had made his way to this interaction and broken into the middle of that conversation. Jairus’ servant whispers in Jairus’ ear and Jairus would turn toward Jesus and, hey Jesus, I’m really sorry to have bothered you. But it’s too late; my little girl has just passed away. Thanks for trying.
Jesus, not being intimidated by sin or death, and not being intimidated by what the words ‘too late’ means because he’s the alpha, he’s the omega, he’s the beginning, he’s the end, it ain’t too late until Jesus says it’s too late and he doesn’t say it’s too late. And Jesus goes, nah, nah, nah, nah. Don’t worry; she ain’t dead. Just believe. So they keep on going down towards the house. They finally get to the house. There’s already a mourning ceremony going on. There are a group of people crying and wailing, men and women, clamoring around, all crying together. I think there are more women than men because women are more sympathetic. Like when one woman wants to go to the bathroom, all of the women want to go to the bathroom. And when one woman’s like crying – and so there’s some crying going on. And Jesus pushes his way through the commotion, brings Jairus, his wife and a couple of the boys. Come with me. They enter into a room, into a corner of the room.
They see a little girl lying there, seemingly dead. Now, it is against any Mosaic law to have any interaction, let alone touch, a dead body. But it was also against Mosaic laws to have interactions with a demoniac. Definitely against Mosaic Law to have interaction with a woman with issues of blood. Jesus has been breaking laws all day long, so why stop now? He moves over to a corner of the room and speaks to the little girl, Taletha cumi, which means ‘little girl.’ The most dead things in your life, your moments of greatest despair, the darkest of nights, even have to respond to the voice of Jesus. Get up. There is a relationship between the dead, a situation so dire that it does not have to respond when the king of this universe Jesus Christ speaks to it and says get up.
And this little girl springs to life and looks around and like a classic teenager says I’m hungry. Jesus who cares not only about our spiritual wellbeing but about our physical wellbeing meets that need because he doesn’t only want to heal us he wants to make us whole. He says, quick, get this girl something to eat. I picture the servants clamoring off and running around the kitchen trying to find something, Pop Tarts, I don’t know what they found. But they brought something back to the girl and she’s literally eating in the corner of the room. That which was dead is now alive. That which was lost was now back home. And the Bible says, in that room Jairus, his wife and a bunch of the disciples were all filled with amazement. What a difference a couple of days and a couple of miles make.
Mark Chapter 6 signifying a spiritual ghost town. Jesus wants to move. But people aren’t going to have a bar of it so Jesus says fine I’ll leave you as you are, thank you for your time. And Mark Chapter 5 signifying a space where God does beautiful things. The tormented are free; the troubled are given peace. The dead are made alive. Those with an issue for the longest time have that issue sorted out in an instant because of an interaction with the master. Come on. Mark Chapter 5, everyone was filled with amazement.
I love the fact that for so many years I’ve been a part of this faith-based community. I’ve seen seasons where we have been filled with amazement. People finding Jesus. People finding hope. People finding oxygen to continue to breathe and go forward. People finding their second chance, their third chance, their fourth chance and beyond. People finding answers in the middle of confusion. Come on. Light in the middle of their dark place. For so many seasons I have seen so many people filled with amazement. And by His grace and for His glory could we be the kind of church where afresh and anew we are filled with amazement. Because I believe we were meant to be a place that God filled with beautiful things.
I want to be a part of a church that isn’t just a religious society squashed into the corner of a community but to be what we were called to be, come on, a light in a dark place. Salt bringing flavoring to a bland society. We were meant to be a city on top of a hill who lived life a little bit differently. And we don’t experience life because we live life differently. No, we live life differently because life has come to find us. And that life’s name is Jesus Christ. Come on. We were meant to be. Amen that Mark 5 kind of space.
So, my last few minutes with you. I literally only have a few minutes left. At 12:43 on the dot there are some trap doors that open up here; I’m going to disappear. It’s not a rapture thing; it’s just a timing thing, people.
I just want to observe or look at this Mark Chapter 5 a little bit and ask this very simple question. What characteristics and qualities are seen in Mark Chapter 5 that if we would foster them and furnish our house with them, come on, we would become that Mark Chapter 5 kind of place. And let’s have a quick look at Mark Chapter 6, and bravely recognize some of the characteristics and factors that robbed that environment of a God move, and how about we protect our hearts from them? Or, to use Mark’s analogy of digging the wells, if we had allowed them to settle in our well, come on, to re-dig them and to dispose of them, come on, what would happen to this kind of space?
You’ll see really clearly in Mark Chapter 5 there was desperation. There was a desperation for Jesus. Come on, there was a desperation for his presence. There was no ho-hum lacs daisy apathetic spirit that you see in Mark Chapter 6. In Mark Chapter 6 they were all wowed by Jesus. It is not hard to get wowed by Jesus but sometimes this wowing becomes a wait a second we’ve seen this and we’ve heard this all before. And that apathy that was evident in Mark Chapter 6 robbed that environment of their potential freedom and God move. But that wasn’t there in Mark Chapter 6; come on, there was a desperation. There was a throbbing crowd; there were people clamoring for a spot just to see him and to maybe touch him. He sensed the desperation.
There was a desperation in this woman. She could have been stoned to death; in the very least she would have been severely punished. But there was a desperation. And it sent them running toward Jesus. I don’t need to speak to you, I speak to myself. I don’t dare you, I dare myself. In the midst of this incredibly well-serviced church that we’re a part of, we always maintain a pioneer’s spirit that never takes anything for granted. But it’s always desperate for its presence, desperate for power, desperate for a move of God.
I just came back from Casey. I was talking with Brenda really quickly and Brenda was talking about prophetically feeling that the pioneer’s spirit brings about the marvelous, the miraculous, and as soon as we begin to settle, come on, and rest and hit cruise control, it’s amazing how some of the incredible things that brought us to this place all of a sudden disappear. I’m not saying I don’t want to be a part of a comfortable church. I love the fact that we’ve got kids programs. I love that fact that we’ve got a well-crafted youth ministry. I love the fact that even when we’ve got a car park that’s bad here, we’ll build you another one across the road. I love the fact that we do our best to make this a comfortable space. But never allow that comfort, never allow that complacency, come on, to become a cancer in your soul, because nothing will rob you of a God move more than a spirit of complacency. We must always protect our pioneer’s spirit.
We have seen so much already. But you haven’t seen nothing yet. We have touched and impacted thousands already but there are still so many thousands who live life without the power of God guiding them and helping them. There is still so much to do. Shake off, come on, dig out, come on; banish this spirit of complacency and comfort. I know you’re all pumped on the inside. You’re all going to get wild and crazy and start pointing, I know you want to do it, but you’re afraid of everyone around. You don’t need to do it; that’s fine, you don’t have to do it in this meeting. But I challenge you, this time, next week, when you’re walking through the car park to pray and say hey Jesus I want a spirit of desperation, hey Jesus I don’t want to just go through the whole emotions, hey Jesus not just two fast songs not just two slow songs. I want to see you move, I have to see you move. A spirit of desperation.
Married with a spirit of humility, Jairus finds Jesus and falls at his feet. The woman with issue of blood finds Jesus; when she’s called out of the crowd, she falls at his feet. Our posture will proceed a move of God’s power because James Chapter 4 tells us very clearly in the sixth verse that God will oppose the proud but give grace to the humble. In other words, if you want to do life alone, I will let you do it. If you don’t want God involved in your world, if you want to try and sort out your puzzle by yourself, He’ll let you do it because He made you in such a way to have dominion and if you don’t want His input you don’t have to have it. Life will feel like you’re pushing a heavy wheelbarrow up a really steep hill, but he’ll let you do it. But when we step aside, come on, and we let God – when we humble ourselves and we say we can’t but you can, when we declare to Him, hey you are God and we believe in Christ the Sun and we believe in the Holy Spirit and we believe a God is 3-in-1 and you are God and we are not.
When we humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand like it says in Peter Chapter 5 verse 6, he lifts us up in due time. Humility is not about thinking less of yourself. Humility is about thinking more of God and remembering how only He can do what we’ve been called to do. Amen. In your business, in your family, in your finances, in your health, in this church, in your ministry, humility plows the ground for the miraculous.
Thirdly and lastly, expectations. I’m standing on the edge here because I don’t want this door to open. Can you hear the expectations? Expectations in the house. Jairus thought if you just come to my house my daughter’s going to get well. The woman goes hey I’m going to touch you and I’m going to get healed. There was great expectations; there was grand faith. I dare you; I double dog dare you. Dream again. Have great expectations.
In Mark Chapter 6 their expectations were formulated or informed by hey we know you’re Jesus, we know your game, we’ve seen this before, we don’t expect anything new. In Mark Chapter 5 their expectation were framed we’ve heard about you Jesus and we know that you can do something. If you’ve done it before, you can do it again. I dare you to allow your expectations, your great expectations, to be framed by the might and the magnificence of God. Let me remind you this is our God, who is strong enough to create the heavens and the earth in 6 days and still take a day off to watch the football club play football.
This is our God who can bring forth the nation of Israel from a pensioner and his baron wife. This is our God who can humble Pharaoh and all of Egypt’s army with a stick and a gust of wind. Come on. This is our God. He can bring down the walls of Jericho with nothing but a song and shout, come on. This is our God that can bring down the giant Goliath with nothing but a sling and a stone. This is our God who closed the mouth of the lion and opened the eyes of the blind, healed the sick, raised the dead, burnt the church, saved your crazy life. This is our God. And he’s just as strong as he has ever been.
And if you’re here this morning or this afternoon and you are lacking faith because you’ve been beat up by life that’s cool. There are people in this church with more than enough faith to go around. Just come on back next week. We’ll keep on coming down this track and who knows what 2015’s going to look like.
He’s our God, and He’s just as big and as strong as He’s ever been. How dare we not have great expectations? Ephesians Chapter 3 verse 20 says that our God can do immeasurably more than we can dare, ask or imagine. Sometimes imagine nothing, dream for nothing, nothing happens. God still keeps his promise. But if we were to dream big, God can do it and God can top it. He loves showing off. Dream big. I expect this church to grow in number. I expect 10,000 stories to be a stepping stone to another 10,000 stories. I believe our children’s ministry will grow. I believe our young adult’s ministry will grow. And everyone’s going to find a wife and a husband. I believe our youth ministry’s going to explode. I believe our finances are going to come back on track and explode. I believe, I expect. Why? Because He’s just as strong as He has ever been. How dare we not have great expectations?
Lord Jesus we love you, and we thank you that you are a God worth getting excited about. And I apologize to you so often I allow a spirit of lethargy to govern my life. I want to have my eyes lifted to seeing you, God the Father, God the Sun, the Holy Spirit, 3 in 1, here amongst us. Up to something good. And we thank you Jesus that our best days lie ahead of us. We thank you for what you’ve done but we thank you even more in advance for the things that you are doing. In Jesus name, and everybody say it with great expectation, Amen.