Overcoming Adversity Part 3 - The secret to getting prayer answered? | Mark 11:20-26

The secret to getting prayer answered_ Overcoming Adversity _ Church Livestream Matt: [00:00:00] Well, hello and welcome to Frontline City. It is great that you are here. Happy Sunday afternoon. I've got the music going on twice there. There we go. We only need it once. Uh, it's great that you are here. [00:01:00] We are an online church for those that don't see the point of church, uh, but wanna know more about how Jesus can help us live a more meaningful life if you have not been to a service before. My name is Matt Edmundson and I have the tremendous pleasure of pastoring or leading this amazing online church. Yes, online church. Love it. Uh, the whole thing that's come outta the pandemic, isn't it? And uh, why not? Why not? Let's do church online. 'cause it doesn't matter where we meet just matters that we meet and get together. Uh, so it's really great that you are here with us. Now. I know many of you watching this are new to Frontline City. So just to let you know, we are part of a bigger church called Frontline Church based here in Liverpool in the uk. Uh, but we know that people from all over the world join in. So that's the thing about the web. It's global. There are no borders. Uh, and it's, it's great to be like that, isn't it? So, uh, we just, you [00:02:00] know, frontline's whole mission is just to inspire you about Jesus and how amazing he is. So please do feel at home with us, and if you're watching this live, you can join in, of course, using the comments below the live stream on Facebook. Um, say hi. Let us know what you think, ask your questions, join in the debate. Just do it respectfully. Uh, and if you are watching the replay of the livestream, you can also, uh, comment. I know a few folks do comment, uh, during the week. Uh, we do monitor them. We do try and join in. Uh, and the other way you can get in touch with us is on. The WhatsApp number left shoulder member. Left shoulder, always left shoulder. Uh, you can WhatsApps uh, on the contact number on the screen below this number right here. Uh, and just let us know what you're up to, sending your Prayer requests. We would love to know if there's anything that you would like Prayer for. We would love to pray for you, but also you can send in your photos as well. Uh, and just [00:03:00] let us know how you are watching this. Be warned though, I may just show them on the stream like this one that has just been sent in from the beautiful Mr. Matt Crew here. He is cooking. Oh, let me move it to the side. There we go. Uh, he's cooking his fish fingers, uh, making fish finger butties, which why would you not? Right? Because fish finger butters are amazing and super tasty. So, uh, that's Matt. He's, that's what he's doing right now, eating his fish finger sandwich whilst watching church livestream. Make two, Matt. That's all I'm saying. So why not sending your photograph, how you are watching this and where things are going on. And as I said, do like, comment, share in the stream. 'cause it just helps us, you know, connect helps us see what's going on, uh, and helps us get, you know, connect with more people, which is fantastic, right? Uh, and if you're comfortable, just share it out. Just share it out in your stream. Just let everyone know you are watching, uh, and do that. That'll be great. So what have we got going on? [00:04:00] Uh, we've got Al Hey Al. Good to see you. Uh, good afternoon, my beautiful brother, uh, living the, uh, NHS Facebook profile there, and I'm guessing that's some kind of Lego going on. Um. Here's my bed. Thanks Matt. Appreciate that. Love you, bro. Uh, it's, uh, it's good that you are here as always, and Sharon is here as well. Uh, she says hi. Um, so yeah, good to see you. Just let us know how you're getting on in the comments. Always good to connect with you, right? Let me tell you what is coming up in today's live stream in just a few minutes. We are gonna jump into, uh, today's talk. Um, and we're gonna be talking, carrying on our series, our miniseries in how, uh, how we overcome adversity, right? That's what we are gonna get into. Then we're gonna have a brief time of worship, which we'll talk more about. In a little while after the talk, so [00:05:00] we'll bring more on that. And then at the end, we are going to have this week Catchup video, which again is very well done, I have to say. So, uh, just stick around to watch the catchup videos. Always great. And we're gonna finish probably in about f. I'm guessing about 45 minutes, somewhere around there. So, uh, and for those of you who like to stick around afterwards, we'll just hook it up on Zoom. Uh, and in fact, let me put the little zoom link in the comments now while I remember, so you know you've got it. Um. And there it is. Oh, and I've just noticed here Matt has put, uh, let me show you what Matt's put just in case you can't see the comments he's written here. I did have two fish finger buts. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I said, ma, I met one for me. Just hashtag saying. Right. That's, that's okay. That's okay. I'm glad you enjoyed both. Okay. So we are gonna just jump straight into the talk spot, the continuity era that comes along with this. That's fine though. That's fine. We're learning as we go along. Um, [00:06:00] but yeah, we're get, we are in Mark's gospel. We are carrying on this miniseries, um, on overcoming adversity. We're gonna do the talk. It's me doing the talk and then I'll be back. We're gonna do some worship. Uh, so I will see you again. Well just in a matter of seconds actually. So we are in our miniseries on overcoming adversity. We are in week number three of a four part miniseries, and I'm just gonna give you a [00:07:00] quick recap of what we've looked at so far in week number one. We saw that the power of positive thinking, well, it wasn't actually that. Powerful. Uh, and we needed something more than just an optimistic kind of attitude, you know, optimistic thinking in life. We needed to move beyond that really. And we also looked at this idea that God will quite often deal with the root first, which is great. Because it's long lasting, but it, you don't always see the instant change that we crave as a result of that. Right. And then last week, uh, we talked about this idea of having faith in God and not just faith in ourselves or other people as good as that is, but moving beyond that and having faith in God. And we discovered that actually we only really need a mustard seed of faith to actually make a big difference. Which is, you know, tiny, really God kind of takes care of the rest. And we left off last week, uh, when looking at this idea of confronting the brutal facts or [00:08:00] acknowledging the mountain actually exists and not pretending that it doesn't exist or ignoring it, which, you know, we are prone to, especially as men. And so it was great and it was wonderful. Oh, fab stuff. And I am super keen to find out what else Jesus has got for us this week. So we are gonna carry on our study of Mark chapter 11, uh, verses 20 through 26, and it reads as follows. Now, in the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter remembering said to him, rabbi, look, the fig tree, which you have cursed, has withered away. And so Jesus answered and he said to them, have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mant him, be removed and be cast into the sea and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done. He will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you [00:09:00] ask, when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them. Wow. Just meaty piece of scripture right there. Right? And we've been talking about this the last few weeks, and we've been talking about overcoming adversity. And we have been using this analogy, analogy, analogy of the mountain, right? So once we have acknowledged the mountain, it needs to be cast into the sea. That's what you know. That's what Jesus is telling us. So what does that mean? I mean. Casting a mountain into the sea. Well, let's think about it. So let's talk about casting. I don't know if you have ever been fishing. I'm not a brilliant fisherman, and I appreciate, I'm on very dodgy ground right now, but I know enough that when you go fishing, you cast the line, right? Just whoosh. Now imagine trying to do that with a mountain. Ah, it's just no way, right? I mean, it is too big. Uh, maybe we can cast a small pebble from time to time, but that's about it. [00:10:00] Right? Well, the mountain to God is like the small pebble to me. Right. So we need God to do this. We need God to cast the mountain into the sea. This is not something that we do by ourselves. And we talked about this last week, right? The mountain is too big for us. It's too colossal to guide gigantic. It's beyond our strength and ability, but it is definitely not beyond the strength and ability of God, right? 'cause he's God. Now, if we rely on our own strengths. Uh, it's like we're moving small rocks, right? We're making some progress, but never really making any significant dent, uh, into the thing. And just we, that's despite how hard we try, right? We kind of feel like we're running on a treadmill, but never really getting anywhere. And that's why we need God to cast the mountain into the sea. Which is the next point. Why the sea? Right? Jesus is talking about casting it into the sea. Well, what I don't want to do, uh, is form a theology on this. I'll read too much [00:11:00] into it, but I find it fascinating because when I think it through, you know what? Seas always cover the mountains. The sea is deeper than the tallest mountain, right? And also the sea is not, unless you're in the navy, a place where you normally live, you normally live on the ground, right? And so, uh, this is kind of eradicating the mountain to a place where you cannot see it, where you don't live, and where it won't impact you, right? And this is some super powerful imagery from Jesus. And as a result, he kind of immediately uses it to talk about Prayer, right? And the same principles. Well, they apply to Prayer too. And so he said in Mark 1124, therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask, when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them. I mean, wow, this is an incredible promise, isn't it? And Jesus is telling us that our prayers will be answered, that whatever we ask for will be given to us. But is [00:12:00] Jesus really saying that God is kind of on your beck and call? You know, is he, is he really saying that? You know what, you just say it. You just pray for it and you are gonna have it because it's actually more than possible to read that here when you just read this on the surface level. So with all things like this in the Bible, we have got to look at context. Um, you know, the time, the per everything. We've gotta sort of study it out and figure out what's going on. Uh. And to do that, one of the best things that you can do. It is to look at the rest of scripture, right? So we can get a whole picture, a whole point on what the Bible actually says about Prayer and answered Prayer. And there's this really incredible story in the gospels that highlights a key point about Prayer that I just wanna draw out here. And it's this in Matthew chapter 26, verses 36 to 39 is talking about Jesus. Uh, and he go, it says that Jesus went with them, the disciples to the [00:13:00] garden called Gethsemane, and he told his disciples, stay here while I go over there and pray. Taken along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into agonizing sorrow. Then he said, this sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me. Going a little ahead. He fell on his face praying. My father, if there is any way, get me outta this, but please not what I want you. What do you want? Now this is a part of the story where Jesus is about to be arrested and tried and executed, and it is an awful time, and we can see that, right? The language is clear. It says that Jesus was plunged into agonizing sorrow. I mean, that's never actually happened to me. He was in great despair and. He was in sorrow that was crushing him. And I cannot empathize. I mean, if I've been through some tough times, but I've not been [00:14:00] through that. And you know what? In the midst of that pain, in the midst of that despair and torment, he pray, he prays a Prayer. That. I think we would all pray in that situation. God, if there is any way, get me out. Right? I want outta this and I think that's pretty reasonable. I'm not gonna lie, I think that's a pretty reasonable request given the situation that Jesus is facing. I would be praying the same thing, and it would be remiss of me if I didn't tell you that Jesus did all this and went through that sorrow. For you and for me. Hebrews 12, uh, two verse three says this, uh, fix, let's fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and [00:15:00] lose heart. See, we are the joy that was set before him. He went through all of that, and it's amazing to realize that he did that for you and for me. So here he is in agonizing sorrow and pain, and it is crushing him and he's doing that for you, and he's doing it for me. And in that pain and in that sorrow, he asked God to make a way out, right, to make a way of escape, but then he adds. What is the most extraordinary line to a Prayer and it's, it's not an easy thing to add to any Prayer, okay? Especially when you are in such sorrow. Jesus said, my father, if there is any way, get me out of this, but please not what I want. You, what do you want? I mean, wow. Just wow. Right? Jesus, in the midst of his sorrow, knew that Prayer was not about what he wanted, but [00:16:00] God, what do you want? And we can make all kinds of assumptions about what God wants, can't we? So for me. The key to answered Prayer lies in this idea of taking the time to understand what God wants. What is God after? Now let's take me out of the equation. Let's take my pain and my sorrow out of the equation. Let's take my needs, my wants, my desires out of the equation. God, what is it you want? And this is where I think we can easily miss it. You see, we can read verses about Jesus answering Prayer and start praying for a new car, a new house, you know, more money, a better job. The perfect partner, a clearer mind freedom from depression, anxiety, and so on. I mean, the list is endless. And you know what? Some of those are just, and righteous prayers and some, well, let's just say they're a bit self-centered and greedy, right? But we miss one of the key principles of faith here. God, what is it? [00:17:00] You want. So this is not about, uh, you getting what you want, whenever you want it, right? We have to put aside what we want and understand what God wants. And actually the joy is when those two things collide, when we want what God wants, who that is an amazing thing. But I guess the question then is, well, how do I know what God wants? How do I, how do I know what his plan is? How do I know what God wants me to do or what God wants me to have? Well, quite often we don't really, and uh, well, at least we can't always be a hundred percent sure. And you know what? That's okay. I'm okay with that because that's why we call it faith. Right? But it starts with the Prayer of Jesus. God, what do you want? And quite often for me, I think I have a good sense about it. It's the best way I know how to describe it, right? How do I know? I have a good sense about it, [00:18:00] and it's more than just a good idea. Because, you know, we're surrounded by lots of good ideas. You know, for example, I know that God cares deeply about the widow and the orphan. I read that in scripture and it's a, it's brilliant. It's lovely, it's beautiful. It's a good idea. I, you know, God is there looking after the widows and the orphans. Um, but I don't dunno what the exact outworking of that is in my life. Right. Yet you take someone like Phil Watson, friend of mine, his beautiful family, amazing people, um, they have such a clear sense about this and what it means for them that he has become one of the best and most compelling champions for adoption that I've ever seen. Right? And so there are many of these good ideas. So you've got adoption, the widows, the orphans, championing the poor, helping the sick, all good things that I could get into. But should I, and I think. I think that's a very interesting question. Now, I don't know if you tuned in last week, [00:19:00] uh, if you didn't. I talked about a sauna company that I worked for and I started working for them just after I came out of uni. And it was the start of my working career. And basically in a nutshell, um, the guy who I was working for, Simon, beautiful guy, really good friend of mine still to this day, um, he owned the company and he decided he wanted to sell it and move on, which was fair enough. And when he told me this, um, I kind of felt, I kind of got this sense that God was saying to me, Matt, I'm gonna give you the company, which I appreciate. Sounds a bit odd. And you know what? My wife felt the same thing independently. I've not talked her about it. My wife thought the same thing. You know what, Phil? Like God. Gonna give us this business. And so eventually we talked about it and thought, okay, we're not tightly mad here. I wonder if God, what God's doing right now. What I didn't do was I didn't walk into Simon's office and say, Hey Simon, guess what? God's told me that you are to give me this company because that would be just all kinds of wrong, right? And I [00:20:00] actually didn't know if that was, was God's plan. God's plan was to gimme the company. He never told me how it was gonna happen, right? So five years later. If I fast forward five years, not only did I at this point not have the company it had been, um, bought by somebody else, and I, I didn't even work there. That owner and I, well, let's just say we parted ways, right? And so, um, I was the complete opposite of what I thought God was saying was my reality. That was a brutal fact. But five years later. Lo and behold, God gives me the company as he said he would. Right? But just because God gave me that company, does that mean he's gonna give you a company? It is an interesting question, isn't it? And so I'm gonna go back to the Prayer of Jesus. God, not what I want, but you. What do you want? Does God want you to have a company? Does God want you involved in business? I don't know if he does be prepared to see some amazing miracle stuff happen in business. Maybe God wants you in medicine. Maybe he wants you in [00:21:00] teaching. I don't know. Maybe God just wants you right where you are at. Um. And it's in that, it's in knowing what God wants, that we can see some answered Prayer. And of course, when God answers Prayer, there are different answers that he gives to Prayer. Sometimes it's yes, sometimes it's no, and sometimes it's kind of like, well, maybe, or let's just put a little pin in that and come back to that. In a few years, Matt, like it was with a company. So it all depends on what God has for you, what he wants for you. So in the complexity of all of this, what are we to think, right? Um, if I speak to the mountain, how do I know that God is gonna back me? What does he want for me? What's his strategy here? What are the tactics? How do I know God? What you want. Well, there are so many ways to answer this question, and we could literally talk about this for months. So in the next few minutes, I'm gonna give you three very straightforward [00:22:00] principles that we are gonna go through, which is gonna help us just double check what we're doing. Or if it's our first step into faith and trying to understand what God's going on for us, then uh, this is a great place to start. Right. So principle number one, study the Bible. Now may sound obvious. It's, it's true, right? I get messages, um, from folks every week, right? Uh, from Christians and from non-Christians alike, and they all have heartbreaking stories in those messages. In the last few days, um, I've had messages from people telling me that they have struggled with a relationship breakup from people telling me they're trying to understand why the world is so awful. Um, how do they cope with life and living because their partner's passed away? Uh, I've got child behavioral issues. I mean, the list. Goes on. And these are real stories from real people with real struggles and real hurts. They are real mountains that they are facing, and they are looking for a [00:23:00] way out. God, get me out of this. Right? But here's the thing. And if you write to me, you know what? You are more than welcome to write to me and you can text me on the WhatsApp message. We would love to connect for you. We would love to pray. Is anything we can pray for, let us know. We would love to pray, right? But let me let you into a little secret here. I don't actually know the answers. I don't think that I have them to all of these questions. Um, I'm not sure anyone actually does, if I'm honest with you, and that may sound surprising, but it's just kind of where my headset, so what do I do? And I think the best thing that I can do is always point people to what the Bible says about something. Why? Because this is a book filled with promises. Promises from God that he wants for you and humanity, right? It's his plan. When Jesus said, God, you what do you want? It's in the Bible. There's so much in the Bible about what God wants. [00:24:00] And when we get in that and understand that, well that gives us the mustard seed of faith that we need that spark to start something so magnificent, right? So for example, if I was gonna reply, um. To, oh, well, let's just take an example here, right? So, uh, somebody wrote to me and said, I'm at a point in my life where I need true direction and purpose. I need financial freedom somehow. I'm sick of the nine to five. There's a lot of evil in the world and problems and stress and anxiety, and I'm feeling it now. Now, I don't know if this person is a Christian or not a Christian, but it is definitely their mountain. And I imagine that a lot of us are feeling something pretty similar with COVID going on, right? And that reality. So what's, what do we do? Well, let's, what does the Bible say about it? Right? What does God want for this person? Um, what are the promises of God in the Bible that I can find that will speak into this situation [00:25:00] and help? Help ignite that Spock, help find that mustard seed of faith that we're looking for. Well, there are many, many places to start, so I'm just gonna pick one, right? 'cause of time. Uh, and Jesus talked about, um, about this in Matthew six, verse 26. He said, look at the birds of the air. For they neither so nor reap nor gather into bonds. Yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they are. So this theme of God being our provider is, is like a common theme through scripture, and it speaks of the nature and the love of God that he has for his people and the nurture and the protection and that father. Figure right now. It doesn't say, as we have talked about, that God is gonna give you everything that you want. God is not a slot machine. Let's just be clear. You don't pray. God give me a new BMW and in the morning, Izzy Weezy, let's get Biddy. There's a new BMW. He's not [00:26:00] at our beck and call, and God is not after spoiled children, but he's rather after children that transform the landscape of the world, right? So here I am. I've got my mustard seed. That God is my provider. So that's, that's my sort of base point, right? My second principle is this. It's called the Secret Prayer Room. Now, I appreciate, this is just a metaphor. You don't have to have a secret Prayer room, although a secret room behind a hidden bookshelf would be cool. Appreciate it. I'm just going off on one now, but that would be cool. And that could be my secret Prayer room, but for now, for me it's the local park, right? And I just go for walks, uh, around the local park. Basically it's a space, uh, where you get still before God, where you study the Bible and you become aware of the Holy Spirit who lives in you, and you start to sense things. And know things, and understand things and see things. Now, this may sound a little bit flaky, but I genuinely don't think this is flaky [00:27:00] at all, and the reason is I think humans have always had the ability to connect with God. We may have changed the name of it. Some people call it a conscience. Some people call it intuition. Some people call it their gut feeling. You know, there are all times when we know things, sense things, understand things and see things. And for me they're deliberate times, right? That come in this secret Prayer room. And that's what I had when it came to the Sauna company. I just sensed it and I knew it. If you were to ask me why, I dunno, I would've just said, I think that's God speaking to me right now for me. As I said, I just love to get out in the park and just listen for that still small voice and start to see these things and start to understand these things, and then these things become my strategy, right? So God is my provider. That's my mustard seed. That's where my faith is at. God is gonna provide for me. Right. And then I start to sense that I need to [00:28:00] do things. Maybe I need to set a budget. Maybe I need to control how, um, I'm spending more money. Maybe I kind of sense or feel like God is. Leading me down this path to give money, and I start to see the power of giving money, which is so counterintuitive when I actually need it right, and I start to get ideas on how to create income. This is what happens to me all the time around that park. My best business ideas come from this. Secret Prayer room, right? Or maybe God deals with my attitude towards work or people in the office, you know, at different points in time. God reveals his strategy, things that I should do, steps that I need to take. And so the how now starts to become clear. But how do I know what I'm seeing, sensing, understanding. Is is right? Is that really you, God, or is it just something that I'm conjuring up in my own imagination? Is it just something that I'm so desperate for that I'm [00:29:00] trying to convince myself that this is what you want? God, right now, I find it so easy to dream about winning the lottery right now. I know enough not to play the lottery. I don't think that I should. I don't think that's that. That's a good. Way to use a resource that God has given me. But let me tell you, I can dream about it. I can, what I would do, where I would spend it, and all that sort of stuff, right? And it would be easy to convince myself that this is something that God is saying, especially when I don't have any money, right? I could take what little money I have and buy the lottery ticket, but I don't think that's from God. I don't think that's his plan. But how would I know that? How do I, how do I safeguard myself against? These kind of things. Right? Uh, how, what, what's the tips here? Well, again, there are many answers to this fantastic question. So I'm just gonna stick with one, and I call this accountability. The Bible has a slightly [00:30:00] different name for it. The Bible calls it discipleship, and this is principle number three. Okay, so let's call it accountability. Accountability is all about finding your greatness. When you have people you voluntarily hold yourself accountable to, you really do change the landscape of your life. And this idea of accountability or discipleship. As old as it is still works in the modern world. I've seen it work brilliantly in the workplace. I've seen it in my family. I've seen it in my own journey with Christ. I have even seen it in my personal health getting better, right? I have groups of people who are mature Christians who know God, and they know the Bible people who I. Utterly respect and adore who I share with. Uh, you know, what I'm thinking, seeing, sensing, and knowing, and I'm comfortable to do that with them. And I, I just, I, I love those times right now. [00:31:00] There are times when I do that, when I'm vulnerable and I share stuff with 'em and they just turn around to me and go, Mac, you are way till too self-centered. Dude. You are focused on yourself. You are not focused on God. Or they may tell me that I'm missing the mark. Right? They, they, these, you need people that can speak the truth. But speak the truth in love, right? Because they also tell me that they are praying for me and they begin to hold me accountable to what I feel God is saying. And so this idea of accountability is my safeguard, but is it is also a motivator, right? Because other people know about it, they're gonna be asking me about it, and I know these folks have got my back, which is important because as we have discussed, change, well, it isn't always instant, is it? And it definitely isn't easy and I think it's easy to, uh, run out of steam on something that you start. It's easy to give up the fight and get used to the mountain to get used to it being your life and consist consistently [00:32:00] live in the shadow of it. But when we do that, I think that robs something from our soul that should never be taken. And what things does God have in store for you? You take the time to know them, sense them, understand them, and you become accountable. You find Christians that will stand with you, fight with you, pray with you. Find folks who are committed to the long game because they need to encourage you just to keep going. To keep going. To keep going, right? And never ever give up on the idea that in the end, ultimately you will prevail. You deal with the brutal facts each and every day, but in the end, you will ultimately prevail knowing that your prayers will be answered and that you will see God's plan and his purposes come to pass. And at the end, sure, you may be a little battle weary, but your soul is better for it. So there you go. What do you think? What do you think to [00:33:00] that? If we're gonna overcome adversity, if we're gonna take on these mountains, this simple idea of Prayer and finding out what God says and what God wants in this whole scenario, what it makes total sense to me. When I, when I just sort of sit back and think about it logically, God, I can't move the mountain. You can. So tell me what the plan here is and let's go with that. Right. That works for me. And that's, that's, but I think that's what we're trying to get across in all of this, you know? Uh, God's plan, God's ways, God's thinking, God's ability. God's desire is. Well, it's for you. And he's, he's, he's, he's wanting to help you move these mountains. But to do it, we've gotta get in line with his thinking. We've gotta get in line with the way that he is doing things, which I appreciate. May sound slightly odds if, um, you're not used to that idea or if you're not used to that Christian concept, that actually God does want to talk with you, [00:34:00] that he does want to communicate with you. Um, and so it. But it's, it is. It's just taking that time to learn how to hear him, to understand him, and to know him through scripture, through walking through the park and all that sort of stuff. That totally works for me. But what did you, what did you get out of this? Uh, other than Matt Crew telling me I needed a haircut? What did you get outta this? Uh, write that in the comments below. Now, next week, we are going to finish this miniseries on overcoming adversity. My beautiful and adorable wife is gonna close the series by looking at this idea of forgiveness, because if there is one thing that can undo. Everything we've spent the last few weeks looking at it is unforgiveness, right? And one of the guys that should know this is a chap called Paul the Apostle Paul. He or St. Paul, as some people call him. He was a guy who was radically changed by Jesus. He was [00:35:00] had a radical encounter. The Damascus road experience, some of you have may have heard of it. And on that road, he was changed in an instant. Right? And he goes on to change the landscape of this world radically. I mean, radically. Um, but he had to deal with a whole bunch of stuff, let me tell you. And it's, his journey is documented in the Bible. And I mean, the stuff he faces, uh, the mountains he faces, well, let's just say that they are huge. Uh, definitely bigger than stuff that I've had to deal with now. In the Bible, he wrote in one Corinthians chapter 13, two, if I understand right, all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge. Right? Remember we talk about, um, seeing and sensing and knowing and understanding the things of God and getting, getting into grips with those. And Paul says, if I know that even God's secret plans and if I possess. All knowledge. And if I have faith to move mountains, guess what we've [00:36:00] been talking about? Mountain moving faith, right? And Paul goes on to say, if I have faith to move mountains, but I don't have love, I'm nothing. And this is an incredible statement, isn't it? It we have talked about. Um, you know, we've talked about this overcoming adversity. We've talked about how God is for as he is on our side, uh, aligning ourselves with his thinking and his ways and just, you know, seeing these mountains cast into the sea. But the key to this whole thing, to your soul, to your life, to overcoming adversity, to your joy, to what, you know, sense, understand, or see. It's not about the size of your faith. It's not about the title you give yourself. But the key, the fundamental thing that makes all of this work is love, because without it, we're nothing. So Jesus is gonna end this teaching with a reminder about forgiveness. And [00:37:00] trust me, you are not gonna wanna miss this. So do come and join us next week as Sharon is gonna lead us in that it is gonna be epic. Trust me, I know my wife is great at this topic. She's uh. Oh yeah. So, um, good, good buildup for you there, babe. Hope you enjoyed that. Right. Now, whilst you are thinking about this, whilst you're thinking about today's talk and, uh, this idea of getting ourselves in line with not, not what I want, God, but what do you want, maybe what's God challenging you about? What's been your biggest takeaway? What, what's the thing going on in your head? So we like to give a bit of space to process that and to do that, we're gonna go through a time of worship. And uh, I'm just gonna bring Sharon onto the screen who's gonna explain a little bit about the song that we're gonna play. Uh, don't feel like you have to sing along with it and all that sort of stuff, uh, but just we're gonna use it as a time to think about God, what are you saying to me? And. Even if you're not a Christian, [00:38:00] even if you've never really spent the time to do this, just take a few minutes and go. God, if you are there, what are you trying to say to me? Okay, here's Sharon. Sharon: Thanks for that, Matt. Now we've reached the part of the live stream where we play a song and sometimes the songs we use are to help us to talk to God and to worship him. Sometimes the songs we use are ones that, um, help us to speak truth over ourselves, and today's song is one of those, it's called Overcome. And the words of the song, they remind us of how God broke into history and came to earth as a man and died on a cross to pay for all this, the wrong stuff that we've done to remove that barrier between us and God, and how he then rose again so that we can have new life. But it also speaks about that, how that same God is with us in our present situations and how he's gonna come again in the future and put all things right. So if you are a [00:39:00] Christ follower, uh, you can take this, uh, opportunity to sing along with the song, or you can just sit quietly and think about the words. If you're not a Christ follower, but you really want to know God, are you there? And if so, who are you? Then use this opportunity just to say to him, look, God, if you are there, show me and, um, show me if you are the person that Matt's been speaking about and who this song is speaking about. So let's listen to this song now. Video: Now the darkness fades into new beginnings as we lift our eyes to hope or creation weight within Expect. [00:40:00] To declare the rain of the Lord God. We'll not be when the earth gives way, father, and for everything. There's an. Now the silence prays in the name of Jesus as the heavens cry. Let the earth respond. Well. Creation shalls with the voice of trium to declare God when gives.[00:41:00] Is overcome and for everything there's an Mt. Gray for the is overcome. He shall rain strong. Can. Jesus is Lord and he has He shall Lord.[00:42:00] He has, we'll not be new when the earth gives way for the and for, there's an mc. We will not be Lou. When the earth gives way for the, is a mark is overcome and for every fear there's an empty gray. For the is a mark is the one.[00:43:00] Matt: What a beautiful song. Love that song he indeed has overcome. And so I hope you, um, I hope you hear God and I hope you sense him and knowing I'm not just talking about hearing, voicing your head, I'm not talking about, you know, reasons to get yourself committed to a local hospital. I'm just like, I'm just talking, you know, like. What is, what do you sense the Holy Spirit is saying to you? Uh, and quite often there's this, there. Like I say, there is this tension between what I want and what God wants, but it's when they come together, when I want what God wants. When those two things are the same thing. Man, that is amazing stuff right there, and that's what we're aiming for. So taking the time to understand that I think is super, super critical, especially about your situation. And Matt wrote here, um, I'll bring it up onto the [00:44:00] screen, actually, no Mountain is too big for Christ to move. And I think, you know what? That is absolutely bang on Matt. No mountain is too big for Christ to move. Uh, he can change anything. Nothing stumps him. Nothing scares him. I don't think like you take COVID, I don't think Jesus is kind of sitting there going. Oh, you know what? I, I didn't think about this. Didn't plan on this. Uh, I, I dunno what to do here. Holy Spirit. Do you know what to do? Uh, and the Holy Spirit, you know, another part of the Godhead kind of goes Well, no, no. I, I, I generally, I'm stumped. I'm, I'm really flabbergasted here. I No, no, you just don't, you don't have a picture God saying that, do you? You don't have a picture that conversation happening in heaven, uh, because there is no mountain that is too big for him to move. There is no cause so hopeless that he cannot restore it. Or bring it back just isn't. And so, uh, so yeah, so hope you, I hope you got something outta this. I hope you connected with it. Uh, thank you [00:45:00] for joining with us and praying with us. Now what I am gonna do, I'm looking for the button on my little pad here. I think it's time for catch. So let's roll vt. Josh: Hello and welcome to this week's Sunday Catch up. For those of you who dunno me, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Josh Edmundson. I am a second year, technically first year in reality, student at the University of St. Andrews studying theoretical physics. Whenever I say that I'm studying theoretical physics, I get looks of just pure horror from people. It's not as bad as it sounds. Depending on whether you like maths or not, I suppose. Okay. It might be as bad as it sounds for those of you who've never watched the stream before. This is that part of the stream where we watch videos sent in from members of the community just so that we get a feel for what everyone's been getting up to. Obviously with all the restrictions in place, catching up with people is getting increasingly more difficult, and so [00:46:00] this is kind of our way of trying to combat that. Problem. This week I wrapped up the thermal physics component of my course, which is just that it's like the study of all things heat and temperature. I have a fun little fact actually that I've learned. Did you know that microwaves do not technically heat food? They work on food according to the technical, physical definitions of heat and work. So fun little fact fee there. I can explain why, but I'm, I'm sure that none of you are interested, so we'll move swiftly, onward. Zoe: Okay. Oh, so we've cut the GIST treats out, and then we've signed it down and we filled it with black resin. So just waiting for it to Hoen, which will take two days. So[00:47:00] Sharon: it gets to this time of year and really what I wanna do is go and hibernate. I've decided that's probably not gonna happen. So instead I've come out for a walk and I thought I'd take some pictures of some, um, things that I like or think look good. Josh: Mum, totally understand what you mean. I was out walking the other day and I was like, why am I even doing this? Why am I not still in bed? Surely the only sensible thing to do at this time of year is wrap up nice and snug in something warm and just watch Netflix for the next three months. Unfortunately, that's kind of what I've been doing the past three months with lockdown and everything. I'm not quite sure I'm ready to go back, but I do understand the sentiment [00:48:00] also. Those wraps look fantastic again. I wish I was there to give them a good try, Zoe. The signs are looking great, quite like your little, little. At the end of the video there, always love watching what kind of bizarre and wacky faces you end up pulling. Thank you very much for sending all those in. If you would like to have your videos featured on Catchup and we would love to feature them on Catchup, please send them in to the WhatsApp number that you will have seen on the bottom of the screen throughout this service. I'm sure my dad will point it out as well. We love watching your videos. I particularly love seeing everything that everyone sends in and editing it together, so you know. Please, please, please do send in those videos. It doesn't have to be of you doing anything particularly exciting. That's all from me. Thank you very much for watching Back to the Mainstream. Matt: Thanks Josh. Always great to see what people are up to on the catchup. And, uh, yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops out over the next few months and as we get more and more stuff in there. Uh, and yeah, [00:49:00] Zoe's face at the end, i, I, I wish I could get that on a still. Uh, but, you know, uh, maybe for next week, I don't know. We'll see what we can do. Now. I have put in the comments, uh, the zoom link for those of you who dunno, we just. Jump on Zoom. A few of us will just jump on Zoom after this live stream as ended just to catch up, uh, and maybe pray for one another. So if you'd like to come along, you're more than welcome. Uh, if you, if that's not your back, no problem. Uh, as I said before, you can text us on the WhatsApp number in the corner of the screen. Uh, you can get in touch. You can get in touch via the website. We would love to hear from you. And as I said, if there's anything that you would like Prayer for, please do send in your Prayer request. 'cause we would really love to pray for you and just see God break through and do some amazing stuff in your life and just hear the stories. You know, it's always for ab to hear stories of how God has answered people's prayers. One of my favorite. So thanks for joining in. Thanks for watching this week's live stream. [00:50:00] Uh, pray again for you that God, uh, connects with you, that you know what his plan is for your life and that you understand what he wants in for you. Do. Come back, stay connected with us. We will be back again next Sunday. Uh, as I said, Sharon is gonna be talking about forgiveness. You do not wanna miss it. So looking forward to seeing you there. Until, uh, that happens until, until next Sunday happens. Have a safe week, uh, and uh, be safe. Alright, bye for now, guys. Bless you. Bye. Oh, press the wrong button again. We'll try that again. Bye for now.