Transcription
Let's sing that again. Now I can see, now I can see your love is better. There's nothing in all that, and I am, I am breathing deep.
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And goodness, your loving kindness to me. I will in the loving arms of the Beautiful.
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Lean back. I will loving my beautiful Father.
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And I am deep know.
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The Lord. Who is like you? Who is like you? Who is the Lord?
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Who is my? No one compares. No one comes close to you. Who is life at all? Who is like the? Who is like the Lord? Who is like the Lord? There's no like him.
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Who is like the Lord?
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Who is thy?
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Who is the Lord?
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Who is the Lord? Awesome and glorious.
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Come up here through the door that I've for you. I've torn the veil boldly to my throne of mercy. Just one glance, I'll be the one and everything changes. Come and behold him. Cast your crowns before his throne singing holy.
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Come and enthrone him. Give your hearts to him alone. Singing holy. We're singing holy.
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And partake of the love. I lish on you.
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Yeah.
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10.
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Heat. Heat. N.
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Heat. Heat. N.
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Good evening, church. Welcome to Church of the City. Will you stand if you are able? As we enter into this time of worship together, I want to call us to worship from 1 John 3:1. It says, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God." And that is what we are. Church, as we enter into worship tonight, as we enter into this time of offering God our praise, our worship, I just want to invite you into this childlike posture, knowing that we have a Father in heaven who has lavished his love on us. It says, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us." We know his love through the person of Jesus who gave his life for us on the cross. So tonight, we can enter in boldly. We can enter in with confidence. And as we enter into this time of worship, I want to invite you to really believe and listen to the spirit that that God actually has something to say to you tonight. So Jesus, we come into your presence right now, Lord, with our brothers and sisters. God, we enter in boldly. We enter in with confidence knowing that you are a Father who loves us. And we offer you our worship. We offer you our praise. God, you are so worthy of it. Let's sing this together.
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Father, we have come to bow down in worship. Lifting up our hearts, we bow down in praise. Sing Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The lover of our souls. Hallelu and hallelu.
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With all of heaven we are singing. Oh, we join the song of heaven tonight. We join with the saints and the angels tonight. Bright, bright and morning star. Your eyes blaze like fire, shining like the sun. You're our one desire. Sing Hallelujah and Hallelujah.
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You are the lover of our souls. We rejoice tonight. Hallelujah.
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With all of heaven we are singing. Sing Hallelujah and Hallelujah. All we have is this love on our souls. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. With all of heaven. With all of heaven we are singing. With all of heaven. With all of heaven we are singing. Church, tonight we plant our feet in the courts of heaven. We join the song of generations. Oh, we sing. All the angels and all the angels cry, "Holy is the Lord God." All the earth replies, "Holy are you." All the angels cry out, "Holy is the Lord God." All the earth replies, "Holy are you, angels." Holy angels cry out, "Holy is the Lord God." And all the earth, holy are all the angels cry out. Holy is the Lord God. All the earth, holy are you. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We worship him. We sing. Holy are you Jesus. Hallelu. Hallelu. Hallelu. Holy are you. All the angels cry out, "Holy is the Lord God." All the earth will reply, "Holy are you." And all the angels cry out, "Holy is the Lord God. All the earth, holy are you." All the angels cry out, "Holy is the Lord God. Holy," we reply, "Holy are you." All the angels cry. Holy is the Lord God. All the earth we respond, "Holy are you. Hallelu. Hallelu. Hallelu. Holy are you. Hallelujah. Hallelu. Hallelu. Hallelu. Holy are you. Halleluah. Hallelu.
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Hallelu. Hallelu. Oh. One more time. Sing. Hallelujah. Hallelu. Hallelu. Hallelu. Holy are you. Jesus, you are holy. We join in with the song that is being sung around the throne. We remind our hearts that Jesus is on the throne. He is our leader. He is a good leader. We lift our eyes to you, Jesus. Hebrews 4:14-16 says, "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are. Yet he did not sin." Thank you, Jesus. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. I just invite you in this moment as we're coming into worship tonight, know that you do not have to come perfect. You don't have to come with everything together because we have a great high priest. We have an advocate. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf. And we just get to enter in with boldness and receive his mercy, receive his righteousness, and receive his grace again tonight. Let's sing this together. Sing before the throne. Before the throne of God above, I have a strong and perfect plea, a great high priest whose name is love. Whoever lives and pleads for me. My name is on his hands. My name is written on his heart. I know that while in heaven he stands. No tongue can b me this deepart. No tongue can b me this deepart.
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When Satan temps me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see him there who made an end to all my sin. Because a sinless savior died. My sinful soul is counted free. For God the justice satisfied to look on him and pardon me. To look on him and pardon me. Oh, we look to you Jesus. Behold him there the risen lamb. My perfect spotless righteousness, the great unchangeable. I am the king of glory and of grace. One with himself. I cannot die. My soul is purchased by his blood. My life is hid with Christ on high. With Christ my savior and my God. With Christ my savior and my God. Oh my Christ. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Let me let me go. You're going to let You're never going to let me go. You're going to let me go.
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You're never going to let me go. You're never going to You're never going to let me go.
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You're never going to let You're never going to let me go. You're never going to let You're never going to let me go. You're never You're never going to let You're never going to let me go. And you're never going to let You're never going to let me go. And you're never going to let You're never going to let me go. And you're never going to let You're never going to let me go. You are good. You're good. Oh, you are good. You're good. Oh, you are good. You're good. Oh, you are good. You're good. Oh, you are good. You're good. Oh, you are good. You're good. Oh, you are good. You're good. Oh, you're never going to let me go. You're never going to let me go. Let me go. You're never going to let me go. No, you're never going to let me go. You're never going to let me go. No, you're never going to let me go. You're never going to let me go. You're never going to let me go. Never and evil. You are good. You are You are good. You're good. Oh, you are good. You're good. Oh, you are good. You're good. Yes, Lord. We just take a second to declare your goodness. We thank you that your goodness is permanent, that you are the Alpha and the Omega. You are the beginning and the end. You do not change like the shifting shadows, but you are the same yesterday, today, and forever. You were and you are, and you are to come. And so, we just thank you that we don't have to wonder whether you're going to be good. We don't have to wonder whether goodness is around the corner, but we say we will remain confident in this, that we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. We will see it because it's who you are. You're too good. You're too good. And so we just thank you, God, that your mercies are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. We thank you. We're just going to go back into that song. We're just going to sing, "You are good." And just let a testimony well up in your heart, a reminder of the time that He was good to you. And because He was good to you then, you can trust that He will be good to you tomorrow.
>> You are good. You're good. Oh,
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you are good. You're good. Oh, you are good. You're good. Oh, you are good. You're good. Oh, you are. You are good. You're good. Oh, you are good. You're good. Oh, you are good. You're good. to us.
>> Yes, Lord. We just remember your goodness. We remember the times, the altars and the Ebenezers in our lives where we can remember your goodness. And we just come back. We're the leper who comes back and says, "Thank you. Thank you." Because we were blind and now we see. We were deaf and now we hear. We were lame and now we walk. We were dead and now we're alive again. Thank you, Jesus. We love you. Jesus name we pray. Amen. And amen. Y'all can take a seat. We're so glad you decided to join us on this evening at Church of the City. My name is Phil. Um, I'm the course director here and it's a pleasure to be with you on this Sunday evening. We exist at Church of the City because we long to see the fame and deeds of God renewed and known in our time. And what that means is it's the cry of the prophet Habakkuk. And we're just asking that the things that God promised in scripture, we were living in a gap between those promises and our lived experiences. And we want to be a living experiment to actually see that gap closed. We're actually seeing the things that God promised actually come to fruition. And we're going to call on the name of the Lord. And in the meantime, our mission here is what we want to see is we want to see lost New Yorkers who are far from God transformed into compelling missional disciples. And we think that that happens in a person's life. And you've probably experienced part of this transformation. I know I have. Where at one point we were gospel resistant, not wanting the things of God, and now transformed into seeking the tangible presence of God through patterns of prayer and worship. Second, there's this shift from a selfish orientation where all we're living for is like what we want, our own needs, our own desires, and actually transforming that into a counterculture and a counter formation. We're actually seeking to live in the ways of Jesus, not in the ways of our city. And lastly, it's taking worldly ambition and actually transforming that and purifying that into sacrificial mission where we actually laying down our own desires for self-advancement and actually living for the sake of others. And maybe you're somewhere in that journey and maybe you're just newer to our community and we just want to say welcome. We're so glad that you are here. There's a team of people that would love to meet you. We'd love to hear your story, hear a little bit about you and how we can connect you into the life of our church. They're the connection team. They're in the back. They would love to talk to you on your way out of service this evening. One amazing thing we got going on in our church community is happening this Saturday, which is actually an opportunity for us to step into something we started talking about this time last year in our last Living the Liturgy campaign, which is stepping into vocational mission. And we have plans, we've been working behind the scenes for a center for vocational mission and that is actually the first like kind of mini launch of that is happening this Saturday. We're aware that people move to the city often and stay in the city because of their jobs. And we don't want you to be walking into your workplace every day thinking that that is at odds with actually the mission of God that is happening in New York City. And so we want to set apart some time on this Saturday to actually be able to equip you, to train you, and actually to send you back into your workplaces, back into your vocations with some equipping of how your faith and your job, how do they actually intersect for the glory of the gospel. And so we just want to invite you into that. There are still a few seats remaining. Um, they probably will be done by the end of today. So make sure that you guys sign up either at church.nyc or you can go to the back of the connections table and they can help you get signed up. Speaking of Living the Liturgy, you know that every week we say a liturgy. And actually, we've been doing this for some years now. And a few years ago, we actually started saying, what if we actually didn't just say the liturgy every week, but actually lived it out. And so, we're taking a time this season to actually look back and to remember and to thank our congregation for the things that we've given to in the past that have we've actually seen so much fruit from. And one of those things in 2022 was we actually started to have an emphasis on seeing artists pro create redemptive art in our city and actually commissioning artists in order to bring light into dark places in our city. And so to tell you a little bit more about that, we have a video um with Josh Dunn.
>> It is our desire to see the church become a patron of the arts once again. And two years ago, you helped turn that desire into reality. We believe in the power of the arts and we want to cultivate a redemptive imagination in our city. New York City is a hub, a capital for the arts and people come here not just to consume, but to participate. Because of your generosity, each month 250 artists gather to share new work and lift their eyes to Jesus. 40 artists have been commissioned to create new work over the span of four galleries with over 3,000 people coming in to view the work on display. We've hosted two creative conferences with 600 creatives to help give a framework of what it is to live on mission and work out their calling as redemptive artists. It is our privilege to equip artists as they co-create with God to be agents of renewal and prophetic voices of hope through the work of their hands. Church of the City, I wanted to take a moment just to say thank you. Over the past 3 years, we have raised over $6 million for our Living the Liturgy initiatives. And your generosity has resulted in this beautiful fruit that has grown not just to bless our church but the city as a whole. We are a church for the arts.
>> How good is that? So good. 40 artists equipped and commissioned to make redemptive art in a city like ours. That is not a small and significant thing. We're so grateful for the way you've partnered with us in the past and we're so excited to continue to lean into that. We're going to go ahead and read our generosity liturgy together. Um, as we read it, we're just going to be saying this as a prayer um written from the pages of scripture just to ask the Lord to change our hearts and to form it into the ways of generosity and not the waves of greed and mammon that we live in in our city. So when we read this together, take 15 seconds on the back end just to ask the Lord if there's any ways that we need to step into generosity this week. Holy Father, there is nothing I have that you have not given me. All I have and am belong to you, bought with the blood of Jesus. To spend everything on myself and to give without sacrifice is the way of the world that you cannot abide. But generosity is the way of those who call Christ their Lord, who love him with free hearts and serve him with renewed minds, who withstand the delusion of riches that chokes the word, whose hearts are in your kingdom and not in the systems of the world. I am determined to increase in generosity until it can be said, there is no needy person among us. I am determined to be trustworthy with such a little thing as money that you may trust me with true riches. Above all, I am determined to be generous because you, Father, are generous. It is the delight of your daughters and sons to share your traits and to show what you are like to all. Amen. Amen. If you'd like to partner with us at Church of the City um this week, you can go ahead and go to church.nyc. You can give there or set up a recurring gift. You can also have there's a physical offering in the box and there's also a text to give option behind me. Um, we'll be right back with a teaching text, but before we do that, would love for you to stand up, meet someone who you do not know or did not come on the subway with, and we'll be right back together.
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All right, friends. We're going to go ahead and come back together. You guys can actually take a seat. All right, friends. We're going to come back together. You guys can go ahead and take a seat. It is my pleasure. It's my pleasure this evening to introduce our guest speaker for the evening, Pastor Guy Mason, um who is returning with us again this week. Uh, Guy Mason is the founding and senior pastor of City on a Hill, a church that began in 2007 with a small team and a big vision. Today, City on a Hill is a movement of many churches that gathers across multiple locations in Australia and is united around the central mission of knowing Jesus and making Jesus known. Guy graduated with a BA in Public Relations from RMIT University, has a Master of Divinity from Ridley College and is currently completing a Doctor of Ministry at Wheaton College. He is the husband to Vanessa and the father to four children. He is an ordained Anglican minister and serves as an Archdeacon in the Diocese of Melbourne. I'm going to go ahead and read our teaching text for the night and then we are going to give Pastor Guy Mason a warm Church of the City welcome. Our teaching text comes from Matthew 5:14-16. It says, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." This is the word of the Lord.
>> Welcome, Pastor Guy Mason.
>> Church of the City. Great to be with you tonight. Uh, I've had the joy of being with you today. Uh, I love and good friend with Pastor John. Love New York and love what God is doing in this church. A joy to come back. And every time I come back, I see a church that's not only growing in number and impact, but passion and hunger for God. And that really matters. It really does. Uh, some years ago, I was in Brisbane, Australia, and I hopped into an Uber, and the guy, you know, driving the Uber is a young dude. He's got like a hipster beard. Uh, he's got a sleeve full of uh tats. His name's Ricky. And I said, "Hey, Ricky, how long have you been Ubering?" And he says, "12 months." And I'm like, "Picked up any crazy people in your time and just kind of, you know, waste a bit of time together." Shares about these wild stories as an Uber driver. Uh, and then he turns to me and he says, "Uh, so Guy, what do you do?" And I say, "Guess." And I like people to guess because I'm just interested to know how, you know, how do they perceive me? What do I project? So he looks at me, he says, "Hm, are you a stripper?" Not a stripper, Ricky. Uh, sex worker? No, de like no, I'm a church pastor. He's like, "Oh, really?" The confused look comes on his face. He's like, "So does that mean that you just like hang out in a church building all day?" I'm like, "Well, no, not exactly. I'm a Christian and Christian, we believe that the church is the people of God and I lead this church called City on a Hill and we meet in lots of lots of different places and all this kind of stuff." And then he looks at me, he's like, "So why did you end up being a church? Like, how did you become a church pastor?" So, I casually just lock the doors so I can share my testimony with him. And I share with Ricky that I, I didn't grow up going to church. No one in my household believed in God. We didn't own a Bible or anything like that. But when I received the Bible for the first time, I was like 15 years of age. Encountered Jesus, radically transformed my life. He's like, "Wow." I'm like, "Have you ever been to church, Ricky?" And he's like, "No, never. Never in my whole life. I've never been to church." I'm like, "Really?" Really. He's like, "Yeah, I guess like I just my belief is I'm just all about living life to the full. That's my belief system. Living life to the full." I'm like, "Really? Living life to the full? Yeah. Living life?" Like, it's funny you say that. I know someone else who says something really similar to that. Do you mind if I share a Bible verse with you? He had no choice at this point. I'm like, "There's this passage in the Gospel of John where Jesus is teaching a crowd of people and there's a mixed crowd. There's like, you know, there's, I don't know, maybe a sex worker here and maybe an Uber driver there. And and what does Jesus say? He says, 'I have come that you'd have life and have it to the full, right?'" Jesus says this, "I've come that you'd have life." And Ricky's like, "Wow, I never would imagine Jesus saying anything like that." I'm like, "Yeah, man. Funny thing is Jesus always, you know, helping us discover the essence and the truth and the beauty of life. Now, I'd like to tell you that at this point the heavens pardoned and he gave his life to Jesus and we got baptized on the side. That didn't happen. But sitting in that Uber having this conversation, it did remind me that we are living in this time where the vast majority of people that we rub shoulders with don't yet know the life of Jesus, the the glory of Jesus, the the truth of Jesus, the love of Jesus. See, they're walking in darkness and they don't even know it. And here we are. Here you are as a disciple of Jesus. And what does Jesus say to you? He says, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill that cannot be hidden. Nor to people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Uh, here at Church of the City, we're in the kind of closing chapters of a series looking at the different images that Jesus gives his disciples to help us make sense of our identity and our purpose in the world. And tonight we're considering this image, this vision of a city on a hill. And this image for me is deeply personal. Uh, as Phil shared in my introduction, I uh had the joy of uh joining a small group Bible study in 2007 with a vision to plant a church. A church that's now called City on a Hill. And we were just a small group in a city apartment. I'd never led a church before, never planted a church before. Uh, there was a lot of headwind. We're living in a post-Christian progressive city. Uh, there's a lot of reasons it wouldn't work. In fact, my Bible uh lecturer at college sat me down and just said, "Guy, I don't think you should plant this church. It's likely to fail and that would wreck your ministry career, right?" And he wasn't being mean. He actually was just trying to help me be realistic, right? That skepticism in our culture is high and engagement in the church is is low. And yet here we were, very ordinary people stepping out in faith with a passion and a prayer to know Jesus and make Jesus known. And it's just been wonderful as you guys know and experience here, just to see how the Lord moved. You know, throughout our journey, we've seen new ministries started, uh, new new churches planted, uh, we've entered the waters of baptism uh with hundreds and hundreds of people. What was a small group Bible study, now a movement of 12, almost 13 churches in Australia, all about knowing Jesus and making Jesus known. And for us, this this vision of a city on a hill is not not just the name of our church, it's a vision we want to embrace and embody, something that we express when we come together as God's people, but importantly, it's a vision that you and I take with with us when we go out into the week, when we go out into our jobs and the universities and into the homes and into the cities and streets. We're called here, a city on a hill. And so you might be like, "Well, what does that actually mean?" Like, what does this what does this tell us about our identity and our purpose in the world? Well, the first thing I hear when Jesus says, "You're a city on a hill," is a call from him to uh pursue a life of undivided worship and Christ-centered holiness. Christ-centered holiness. You're made to be set apart. Right? So if you uh if you are reading through the Gospels of Jesus, one of the things that's quite clear is that Jesus was very much in the world, right? He's active in the world. He's serving in the world, but also he is not of the world, right? He wasn't seduced by the hedonism of the Roman Empire. He didn't bow down to the idols of his surrounding culture, nor did he play the kind of the the political or the uh, you know, the religious power games that were going on in his world. He was he was standing in the world, but he was not shaped or consumed by the world. So I want you to appreciate that when you follow Jesus, that must also ring true for your life and for this church. You are called to be in this world, but you don't belong to this world. Who do you belong to? You belong to Jesus. Right? When you're a city within the city, right? You're visible in this city. You're active in this city. You live, you work in this city, but there's a distinction there, a beautiful distinction. You are set apart, a radically countercultural, Christ-centered holiness. Yes. Um, think for a moment. Think of it a bit like this. Imagine yourself sitting on the window seat of an airplane, right? I actually took a flight to New York this week from Oklahoma. And uh, if you get the, you know, sitting on the window seat and you're looking out as the plane arrives at a new city or the view, particularly at night, the view, it's it's spectacular. Why? Because out from the darkness below, the closer you get to the city, all of a sudden these little lights begin to appear. Maybe it's a little farmhouse, a car driving along the freeway, a lamppost. Right? The closer you get, the more those lights begin to appear and the brighter they become until the whole landscape is shining as a city on a hill. Jesus is saying the more people draw near to his presence, the more they get closer to his people, the more they are going to see and experience light. And you say, "Well, what is light?" Right? It's not a trick question. Light is is free from all darkness, right? It it's pure. This is why, by the way, if you're reading the Bible and they're trying and the writers are trying to capture the righteousness of God, the purity of God, the holiness of God, they will often talk about God is what? Light. So if we bring up that text from 1 John, the writer says, "God is light. In him there is no darkness at all." Isn't that extraordinary? I mean, just take it. In God, there's no shadows. There's no selfishness. There's no secret sin. He is truthful in all he says, perfect in all he does. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God. He is light. And for you and me as his disciples, we are called not just to admire the light, but to embrace, embody, and walk in the light. This is why John goes on to say, "If we claim to have fellowship with God and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his son purifies us from all sin." Don't miss this. You know, when we hear the words, "You are the light of the world," you know, it's tempting just to to receive that as a really nice compliment. You're the light of the world, right? It's beautiful. You're the light. It's not just a nice compliment. It's a divine calling. You are called to flee darkness, to rid your life of the dark, to invite God to rid you of the darkness, and to what? Walk in light. And this is why, you know, if you read the Sermon on the Mount, which is where these words are found, you're going to hear Jesus teach and and call you out from the darkness. And it's very pertinent. It calls you out from the darkness of deceit, calls you out from the darkness of a a life of bitterness and revenge, calls you out from kind of worshiping false idols and to center your life on God. The whole Sermon on the Mount is is essentially a vision of Christ-centered holiness and the light you are called to live in. And so here, here's what I want you to feel and to consider right now. A disciple of Jesus, a city on a hill, is someone who who yearns for that light, for more of that light in their life. We trust God. We know that God is good. Yes. And so we say as David prayed, "Search my heart. See if there is any offense within and lead me in the way of everlasting life." Right? We're a humble people, a people who come to you. You could say, "Lord, would you search my heart and and bring light to the shadows? Those rooms in my life that are locked away, right? Because there are parts of our life we're like, 'Yeah, you can you can dwell here, Lord, but look, I'm keeping this for me.'" No, a Christian says, "Lord, here I am. I want to be filled. I don't want any darkness in me. I want to be filled with your light. I want to be walking in your light in my public life, my professional life, my personal life, my private life. Lord, I want to be a city on a hill." Is that your heart's desire? And let me just say that that can often bring to mind the obvious sins, the overt sins, and that's good. You want to like bring that to the Lord tonight. But I've also come to realize that sometimes the greater danger comes in the subtle temptations, the smaller hidden idols that like to kind of be tucked away in the shadows of our life. I remember some years ago I um preached at an Easter conference and uh I gave five talks on the Beatitudes of Jesus, which is from Matthew 5. Five talks on the Beatitudes of Jesus. And uh at the end of the conference, a woman comes forward and in her hands she she passes me a commentary, uh, you know, Bible commentary on the Beatitudes by the great John Stott. And and she gives it to me and I'm thinking it's like a subtle rebuke like, "Hey, your preaching sucks. You should read this." Uh, it it wasn't that. She says to me, "Oh, God, I'd love it if you could, you could sign this commentary for me. Could you could you sign it?" And and I'm like, "Oh, I don't like, I don't know if you know this, but I'm not John Stott. John Stott is a famous British theologian. He also died about 10 years ago. So, it's not." She's like, "Yeah, yeah, I know that, but seeing that you preached on the Beatitudes of Jesus, I thought you could sign this." And I got to tell you, I don't know if this is an Aussie thing, but that is like for me like super awkward. Like signing a book by, you know, and like I get why an 11-year-old might, you know, want a famous basketball, you know, signing their jersey or whatever it is, but I'm like a no-name pastor and like this, you know, stand being seen signing. It just feels super cringe. So, and there's people watching. I'm like, "Oh, I wonder if someone saw this." And but then she's in front of me and she's being nice and I'm like, "All right, so what do I do?" I just sign my name really quickly and really small. It's like she'll be done with a go. But then she looks and she's like, "Really? That's it?" I'm like, "What do you mean that's it?" She's like, "Well, I thought you'd write a message or something." And I'm like, "Oh, okay. Now I got to think of something profound to say." I'm like, "What would John Stott say?" And I start writing this message. You know, the more that I wrote this, the more comfortable I started to feel. Start writing these great words and I'm there and people looking and I'm up the front. I'm enjoying signing this book that I never wrote. I start thinking maybe I could sign other books that I've never written. Anyone bring the Narnia series with them tonight? Beautiful resistance, John Ty. Bring them to me, I'll gladly sign them. Now, why do I share this? I share this because deep in the shadows of my heart, there's that temptation to enjoy and delight in and put my satisfaction in the success of ministry and all the kind of praise, praise, and worldly affirmation that brings. I've been serving as a pastor now nearly two decades and, you know, we've seen God do immeasurably more than I could ever think or imagine. But, you know, how tempting it is for me to take those good things, godly things, and make them my ultimate thing, the thing I run to for my identity, my value, my When you come before the Lord, what is what does he reveal about where your heart is at? What's the ordering of your loves? Is it centered around Jesus and his name and his glory or something or someone else? I got a spiritual mentor back home, former Anglican vicar, uh, Peter Adam, super wise guy. And, uh, we catch up for, you know, coffee. And he always likes to start the conversation with something light, like, "So, Guy, what sin are you putting to death today?" Right? How's that for an icebreaker? Try it with your friends. um, like what sins are you putting to death? How are you coming to Jesus saying, "Lord, I love you and I want you to occupy every room in my life, my professional life, my public life, my personal, my private life. Lord, would you open the blinds and bring in the the goodness of your light?" And it is good, right? Like it's not easy to do that. This is going to require a certain humility from you because sometimes we hold on to things and it becomes part of the furniture and we're like, it's there and it's always there and we think that's always how it's going to be. Let me tell you, when you're following Jesus and the the the curtains are open and the light, man, it's good. God is building something beautiful. He's what? He's building a city on a hill that shines. I'm sure you've heard this before, but I love this quote by C.S. Lewis. If we could bring that up. He says, "Imagine yourself." Look at this. Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps you can understand what he's doing. He's getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on. You knew those jobs needed doing, and so you are not surprised. But presently, he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is he up to? The explanation is that he's building quite a different house from the one you thought of. Throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage, but he is building a palace. He intends to come in and live it himself." That good news, >> right? This is what God is doing in your life. Now, this leads to a second insight. So, when Jesus says you're a city on a hill, he's talking about a call for like uh Christlike holiness. He's also reminding you and me that we are being built together in love. So he's on this mountain and he says, "You are the light of the world." You need to appreciate that when he says, "You are the light of the world," he's not just talking to a random collection of individuals who just happen to be sitting on the same hill. "You" is plural, right? If he was a New Yorker, he'd say, "You guys." Right? That's not a New York accent. I'm not going to attempt that. Right? If it was an Aussie, be like, "You lot." Right? What's the point? My point here, we're we're not just a random collection of individuals who share the same postcode and attend the same service. Fundamental to your identity in Christ is that we are a people set apart and built up in love. Right? We're we're a community. We stand as as one, right? One people, one baptism, one faith, one Lord. Amen. And just take a moment, like literally look around and what do you see? You see a very diverse group of people, right? You can stop that now. It's very diverse. It's It's like my church back home, right? So, I'm in a city center. It's it's a very diverse community. We've got young people, got older people, we've got men and women, we've got people who are married, we've got people who are single, we've got people who grew up going to church, people who are very new to the church. Uh, we have people who politically lean left and we have people who politically lean right. Uh, we have people who are attracted to the same sex and people who are attracted to the opposite sex. We have people who live wild and adventurous lives and we have accountants, right? And in the gospel, we are one. We are one, right? You you lot are a city on a hill built together. Now, I know it's an obvious point. That is so lost in this cultural age, right? I know you know this, but the air of expressive individualism and consumerism is so thick that some Christians, not you guys, but some Christians can fall into this temptation to treat church like a marketplace of goods, like a spiritual ATM. Right? Like yesterday I went to um a gym uh in town and I go and I got like a free pass for the day. Really generous guy up the front gives me a free pass. I go in, I do a little workout and and and as I'm walking out he goes, "Hey." I'm like, "Hey." And he's like, "You didn't tell me you're a pastor." And I'm like, "How did you know? Was it my poor weightlifting skills that you could just tell?" He's like, "No, I Googled you." I'm like, "Okay. Anyway, so we get I'm like, "Yeah, you know, I'm blah blah blah this, this." I'm like, "So, do you go to church?" He's like, "Oh, I actually go to like three different churches." I'm like, "Oh, that's interesting. Three different churches." I'm like, "Tell me like, why is that?" He goes, "Well, I go to this one for cultural reasons. I go to this one for uh information reasons, and I go to this one for spiritual reasons." Interesting. Now, I don't want to cast shade on any New Yorker because he's just mirrors what I hear all the time in my home city. Christians who are like, "Oh, I go to this church because the worship's on fire and I really like the drummer, and I go to this church because the preaching's really good, and I go to that church. I just like the vibe. I just like the vibe." Look, it's it's great that people are going to church. Don't get me wrong. But listen, the church is not a product that you consume. The church is a people you belong to, >> right? You are made for each other, right? You you need each other. Your gifts, your prayers, your time, your talents is gonna, if you can lean in, oh, if you can lean in and build that, it's it's beautiful, right? You need that. You're going to need godly men and women in your life to encourage you, and they're going to need you, right? You need godly men and women in your life to encourage you, to spur you on, to keep the fire, the light of the gospel alive, right? You can't do this race by yourself. You need other people. Charles Spurgeon tells this story once about um this guy who stopped going to their Sunday gatherings and, you know, gave the usual spiel, which was like, "Oh, I still, you know, I'm a Christian. I still worship Jesus. I just think, you know, the church gathering and it's all kind of optional." And so Spurgeon apparently went to his house and sat with the guy, listened to the guy as he's kind of trying to explain away his reasons and all this kind of stuff. And apparently just Spurgeon didn't say a word. He just got up, walked over to the man's fireplace, uh, grabbed the tongs, took one of the hot coals out from the fire, and just laid it on the side. And they both watched as this red hot coal became cold. Apparently the guy looked at it and said, "I see your point. I'll be back there next Sunday." We're made for people. We need each other. And and let me say, this is not just about this. It is about this, but it's about something more. It's about the witness we have and can provide for the world around us. You remember Jesus' uh high priestly prayer, uh John 17, I think it is. If we can bring that up. Check this out. Love this. I mean, you know when Jesus is praying about something, you know this is serious. This is really important. And what does he say? He says, "The glory that you have given me I have given to them." How beautiful is that, right? "The glory that you have given me I have given to them that they may be what? One. Even as we are one." Why, Jesus? Why is he praying this? "So that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me." Don't let the familiarity of these words blind you to the significance. Right? We have a mission and I'll talk in a moment about, you know, like getting out there and things we can do and things we can say. But don't underestimate the beauty of what this is and the light this shines for a world that is desperate, hungry, thirsty for belonging, thirsty for community. How many of you are familiar with the writings of uh Johann Hari? Any no hands? One hand. I see that hand. Um, if we bring up that, Yeah. So he gave a talk, a TED talk in 2015. I was going to say it went viral. Apparently not. Um, back in Australia, it did.
And, uh, it's really worth checking out, uh, his talk. His research thesis is all about, you know, why people end up addicted to drugs. And he starts his, you know, his his research with an assumption that, that, that it's actually the drugs themselves. It's the chemical hooks in drugs, you know, the dopamine hit, the, you know, the thrill of ecstasy, the substance. That's what draws us. That's what makes us addicted.
And he cites there was, you know, this study apparently where, um, you know, they got a a rat and they put the rat in a cage and they put two bottles of water. Uh, one of those bottles had, you know, pure, clean water. The other was laced with heroin. And they kind of study the rat and the rat tries the water and eventually he's just stuck on the heroin water and destroys itself and and dies.
And then comes along another professor, a guy named, uh, Bruce Alexander, who, who kind of looked at this research and this assumption, says, "But what if we, what if we changed the environment, right? Because this is just a a rat in like a, you know, this cage and it's got, you know, like, what if we changed the experiment a little bit?" And and he builds this, I don't know, like a rat park, colorful balls, uh, ramps and little playhouse and a brighter cage and and even better than all of that, rat friends, other rats are in this, you know, they're having a time of their life in there. And then they watch it and they're like, put the same two bottles of water, the the clean and pure water and the one laced with heroin and heroin. And and the rats, they tried both of them, but they shun the drugged one. They ignore it.
And interestingly, the the professor kind of points out other studies, uh, war veterans and, you know, people who go into hospital for, you know, serious things and then come out of that. And and and and what's the point? The point is, we're made for community. Check out this quote that he gives. Says, "Human beings have a deep need to bond and form connections. It's how we get our satisfaction, but if we can't connect with each other, we will connect with anything we can find. The turn of a roulette wheel, pornography, or the prick of a syringe." You see it? The opposite of addiction isn't sobriety. It's community. Deep connection. You see why this right here is so very important. You see why it is important for this church to recognize its identity and to be built up together.
I know this is not true of this church, but there have been many churches that have distance them distanced themselves from the world or worse, pointed fingers at the world and condemned them for their addictions and their self-destruction and, oh, look at all the ducks. What if we spent less time, you know, like condemning the world and more time building up a community that they long to be part of, that they're hungry for? So, really practical. Now, if you are new to this church, or maybe you've been coming for a long time and you're just hanging on the the edges, let me encourage you to take a step of faith and move in. Lean in. Find a people to belong to right now. That requires vulnerability. That requires courage in you. That requires prayer. But what God has estab, encourage you, pray for you, walk with you through those high top moments, those valley moments. They'll be there for you. What a joy.
And for those of you here who are in Christ and you've been part of the fabric of this church for many years, please don't overlook the significance of what God is doing. And even this week, even right now, just ask, Lord, is there someone I could reach out to? Is there someone that I could love? Is there someone that I could care for? Is there someone?
Couple weeks ago, I caught up with, um, a woman in our church. She's newish and she's serving on our host team. Her name is Helen, and she's like, covered in tats and an awesome but profound story. And she shares with me how, you know, she grew up in a nominally religious home. And and by that, I mean, she'd go to church a couple times a year with her family, but no one in her family really believed in God or took Christianity seriously. In fact, she opens up and shares that it was a very, uh, toxic, uh, family and a, um, dysfunctional family. And so at age 15, uh, she runs from home. We'll get to that quote in a bit. Um, age 15, she she runs from home and, uh, she she just, what does a young woman like that do? She just throws herself into destructive relationships, alcohol, and and drug addiction. And when she realizes that that's not satisfying, uh, her heart, uh, what does she do? She throws herself into Eastern religion. She goes deep into like Buddhism. In fact, today she's got a big Buddha tattoo across here. But then she begins to realize that that's not satisfying her either.
And then, not that long ago, she tells me she's sitting on the couch at home and, uh, up on her phone pops like this little ad for a church, City on a Hill. She's like, "I had no idea how it got there. I don't know how it got there." But she's like, "Well, you know, she's like, kind of spiritual. She's like, 'Well, maybe I should check this out.'" And so, she goes along to church and she's nervous. She's unsure how people are going to respond. What are they going to say? And I love what she said. Let's bring up that quote. She says, "When I walked into this church, I experienced love like I'd never experienced before. Not in the world, not in my family, not even in my spirituality. But I found that love in Jesus and in his church." Isn't that beautiful? Right.
Literally a few months after she comes, she got to got a picture here. Got to get baptized and give her life to Jesus. Isn't the Lord good? It's what God is building. You're a city on a hill. That speaks of Christ-centered holiness. That speaks of us being built together.
Lastly, lastly, I want you to see that when Jesus says, "You're a city on a hill." Look, he's pointing us to the mission. He's pointing us to the mission. He's saying, "Guys, we're going to work together in the power of the Holy Spirit to push back darkness with light." Right? You have a calling. You have a commission. And that is to go out into the world and push back darkness with light. Right? Think again of this image of a city on a hill and the light, you know, streaming out. This is an encouragement to God's people to not hide away, to not stick in their holy huddles, but to get out into the world and shine the light of Christ. This has always been God's plan. By the way, if you look all the way back to the promise of Abraham, the story of God, right? My people, right? My possession, my promise. But why? Why were they brought together? That they would be a light to the nations.
And so when Jesus says, "You are a city on a hill." He's giving us a commission, a command to go out and shine his light. And we don't want to just leave this in conceptual ideas. Jesus makes it very practical for us as well. Look at this text if we can bring it up. Says, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp, put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your what? Good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." They may see your good works.
Now, the New Testament is written in Greek and there are different words in the original language to describe good. Agathos, which speaks of like the quality. What's the word that Jesus, it's it's kallos, which means beautiful. Beautiful. Kallos is actually the the root kind of word for which we now get calligraphy. And I love that connection. This calligraphy, it's beautiful, right? Think about it. Whenever you want to write an invitation to something important, a wedding invitation, a 21st, what do you use? Comic Sans, right? Did someone say, "Preach, preach, it's good!" Right? You don't write in Comic Sans if it's important. It's calligraphy. Right? I think we got a little image of it. It's calligraphy. Calligraphy takes everyday words and what does it do? It it makes them sing. It's creative. It's beautiful.
And I think this is a helpful way of understanding our mission in the world. Uh, the gospel is at its heart word ministry, right? We preach the word, but we're not just smashing people over the head with our best arguments. We're not just, you know, blunt Comic Sans type ministry. We're called to something more. We're called to a calligraphy type of life, a beautiful life. Right? And and if you're like, "Oh, what does he, what do you mean beautiful?" Just think of Jesus. Look at how Jesus engaged people and related to people and spoke with people. Did Jesus speak with authority and conviction? Absolutely. You should speak with Christlike conviction, but that must go hand in hand with Christlike compassion. He's praying for people who are sick. That's beautiful. When people are weeping and hurting, he's comforting people. When people are despairing, he's declaring words of of hope. It's beautiful. He is the light, right? We obviously, it's not like our light. It's his light that we're shining here. And the call is that we would go out into the world this week and shine wherever we are placed and whoever we are with.
And I know in church history, there's been really like profound moments and extraordinary heroic, you know, light breaking through, and that's great, and we want to celebrate that. I also find so much joy in the the little candles, if you like, the little lights that often we just take. Like, I think back of our own church back home and, you know, I think about this small group of men and women in our church who go out into like nursing homes to meet up with elderly people who are doing life isolated and alone, and they're there meeting them. There's no, you know, it's not live-streamed. There's no Instagram. It's just there helping them see that they're valued and there's dignity and talking about Jesus and praying. It's beautiful.
Uh, when I think about a city on a hill, I think about a team who just got back from the Philippines. Uh, we're doing work with Compassion, uh, out there on the field, trying to work with them and those churches to, uh, to release young kids from poverty. It's a city on a hill. I think about men and women who, uh, in Melbourne, there's so much homelessness and and they're out there and and they're not just handing out, you know, free food. They're they're building relationships. They're giving opportunity for for conversation. I know you guys run Alpha, we run Alpha. The team who do this street ministry, they run Alpha under the stars. So every day, you know, people living rough can can hear about Jesus.
I think about, uh, prayer ministry. Uh, we've got a team gearing up, uh, in towards Christmas who, uh, are just going to be stationed at, you know, different spots around the city and just offering up prayer. Right now, most people in our city don't know who Jesus is, but we know that God has placed eternity on their hearts and they're trying to work out their life. They're struggling with this, and we're just there to offer prayer, and it's free, right? They're just, it's amazing. We think about people who we've been able to send out to be part of church plants, going to different places, going to hard places, going to new places, shining the light of the gospel.
I caught up with, uh, Sam Gibson on Friday for, um, breakfast. Pastor Sam Gibson, who's just a, um, a pillar of prayer and encouragement. And we're walking, uh, through the streets of, uh, New York, and I'm like, "Hey, I'm preaching on this text, um, and, you know, shining a light for Jesus, and and I'm like, 'How are you seeing the light of the gospel go out here in New York?'" And the moment I, it's like I asked him his favorite question, 'cause he's just like beaming. He's got to talk about all the Lord is doing through you. He shared about the, in his words, the explosion of evangelism, right? People coming to know Jesus in in in really like interesting places and interesting ways. He he talked about the prayer ministry. Right? I got to go to one of the prayer sessions. I loved it. And the the heart for prayer, the the church planting. He talked about unity. Unity across this church, but also the other churches, different pastors getting together. That's beautiful. That's beautiful.
And why are we about this church of the city? Why are we out there to try and push back darkness with light? It's not about us. It's not about our name or this church's name. It's about Jesus' name. Look, he he said, look, look, this last little verse here. He says, "Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds." What? And praise your Father in heaven. Right? So, so mission is not the end goal. Worship is. Right? We're made to worship God. And we want a people who see the beauty in our life, the beauty in our words, the beauty in our care, and are just so moved by that light, they can't help but lift their eyes to see the glory of God, to praise him, to worship him.
And I just want to know, as we kind of bring this to an end, that this world needs light more than there are people. Look, I didn't grow up a Christian. I know what it's like to live in darkness. And it grieves me to know there are millions of people right now who don't yet know Jesus. People in your workplace, people in your neighborhood, maybe even in your home, who don't yet know the light of Christ, and they're trying to work out life in their own strength. And they're stumbling in darkness. And we are here, a city on a hill, to shine the light of Christ, to help free people from their shame, to help free people from their guilt, to help free people from their addictions, to help people know that they were made to worship God, to experience his goodness and grace.
Some years ago, uh, my wife and I went to a used car yard to which we, our family was growing. Um, and, uh, we're looking for like a secondhand, people move a car, big van type of thing, uh, to lug our kids around. And we go to this dealership and there's lots of like car yards all kind of mashed together. And, um, this guy comes up to us, his name's Freddy. He's got a, you know, beating his cold day, beanie on his head, big thick jacket, and, uh, you know, he's trying to sell us a used car and he's asking us about our family and the kind of size of car we need. He's like, "How many kids have you got?" And I say, "We've got four kids." And he goes, "Jeez, don't you guys have a TV?" And at this point, he he then shifts. You realize he doesn't have a car big enough, um, to sell us. And he shifts from selling us a car to basically warning us about all the used car salesmen in this car yard. Like, I kid you not, he's like looking around like this. He's like, "Oh, he's a crook, and he's a crook, and they're all crooks. And if they try and sell you a car, they'll try and scam you on like the car inspection cost, and that's a scam. And the the dealer's warranty, that's a scam as well." This whole thing, like, "If I was you, I wouldn't buy a used car from here at all." He says, "You know, guys, sometimes I leave this place and I say to my wife, 'I'm going to hell. I'm going to hell.'" He's like, "I I've got to put food on the table and, you know, you know, pay for the rent. But every time I sell one of these dodgy cars, I say to my wife, 'I'm going to hell.'"
And he turns to me and says, "So, guy, what do you do for a living?" Like, "Well, I'm a church pastor." Immediately, he starts apologizing for all the f-bombs he's been using in the conversation. And he says, "You know, God, I actually grew up going to a religious school in a religious household and I tried to be a good person. I tried to be religious. I tried to tick the box, but I just couldn't. I kept making mistakes, kept doing the wrong thing." And and I love that about Freddy, that humility and acknowledgement that we all actually fall short. And he says, "But one thing I remember about Jesus is that Jesus always hung out with sinners." And I'm like, "That's right, Freddy. Jesus didn't hide from this world. He didn't just hang out with the, you know, the religious people." No, no. He was out there eating and drinking and talking with those who felt far off. Those who knew they'd made mistakes in their life. Those who are carrying regrets in their life. I said, "Freddy, Jesus came for sinners like me, like you. He came to forgive. He came to forgive." He's like, "Really? You think God would forgive me?" I'm like, "Yes." He's like, "How many times will he forgive me?" I don't know. I'm like, "70 times 7?" He starts adding that up. I'm like, "No, no, you're missing the point. The Bible says Romans 8:1, 'Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.' The question is not, 'Are you good enough? Are you religious enough?' The big question is, are you in Jesus? Are you trusting him? Have you yielded your life to him?"
Right now, I'd love to say Freddy gave his life to the Lord right then and there. That didn't happen. I did come back and give him a Bible and a note. Why? Because I want him to know that what he's looking for, searching for, it's all in Jesus. The Jesus who didn't run from this world, but is light in this world. The Jesus who didn't just eat with sinners and tax collectors, he died for them. He who knew no sin, perfect, the beautiful life, took on all our sin, all our shame. The Bible says that darkness covered the land. This Jesus dealt with whatever junk is going on in your life right now. Whatever addictions you're caught up with, whatever idols, listen, he paid the price and he paid it in full.
The Bible tells us on the third day after his sacrifice for your and my sins, in accordance with the scriptures, Jesus rose to new life. He rose historically, physically, eternally, victoriously, light conquering darkness. And is this Jesus who loves you and calls you to himself? So, we have a time to respond now to respond to Christ's word and this vision. And I know that in a room of this size, there'll be some of you who know that you've not yet put your faith in Jesus. You're curious. There's a reason you're here. You've not yet said yes to Jesus. It's not about you having your life all together. It's about Jesus and what he has done for you and the life he's calling you to. So if that's you today, if you want to receive his grace, his forgiveness, his light and life, don't leave without responding and putting your faith in Jesus. There's going to be people available down the front. And so when we're singing, come forward and share what God is doing in your heart.
And for those who are in Christ, let us also respond to what we've heard. Maybe you're aware, you know, as you've heard God's word today, that there are areas in your life that you've kept hidden from God. There are shadows in your life. And you're in this moment knowing that the light of Christ is coming in and transforming and making all things new. Come forward. Confess your sin. Bring that to the Lord. It's also possible there are some people here today who have been holding on to a gifting or a God-centered vision or a dream, and for so long you've just been holding on to that and hiding that away. And tonight, God is calling you to step out in faith and to surrender your life, to surrender your calling, to surrender your gifts to Jesus. To say, "Jesus, I want to shine for you in my workplace, in my industry, in my home, in my neighborhood, in this city and streets. I want to shine for."
Could you just imagine if everyone, like all these lights were going off and we were moving in the city and the light of Christ? It was beautiful. That's your identity. So, would you stand as I pray? Father, thank you for this time that we have together. Fill us now with your spirit. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for his life. Thank you for his death. Thank you for his resurrection. And I pray that by your spirit, we would respond now in obedience, trust, and worship. Be at work now, we pray for our good, your glory. It's in the precious name of Jesus that we pray. And all of God's people said, "Amen." Amen.
We're just going to move into a time of response. And so I'm going to invite the prayer team forward. Um, everyone's here just to be able to help you make a step from darkness into light. It can be to intercede for somebody else. It could be because something that Pastor Guy said or the something from the word or the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, or maybe just an opportunity for you to get right with God today. The invitation is there. We'd love for you to come forward. But for the rest of us, we're just going to respond through our worship. We're going to respond that mission isn't the end goal. Worship is. And we have an opportunity to do that now. And so we're going to create space to be able to respond in that way.
[Music]
I just want to speak the name of Jesus over heart and mind. I know there is peace within your presence. I speak Jesus.
[Music]
And I just want to speak the name of Jesus till every stronghold starts to break. Declaring there is hope and there is freedom. I speak Jesus. Sing your name, 'cause your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life. Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. Burn light.
[Music]
I just want, I just want to speak the name of Jesus over fear and all anxiety.
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Till every soul comes Jesus. Sing your name. Your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life. Oh, break every, break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows for life. Oh, say your name. Your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is.
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Going to break. Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. Burn like a fire. Oh, come and burn like a fire in us. Jesus. Let's sing this together. Shout Jesus. Shout Jesus from the mountains. Jesus in the streets. Jesus in the darkness over every Jesus for my family. I speak your holy name. Jesus.
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Jesus from the mountains. Jesus in the streets. Jesus in the darkness over every enemy. Jesus for my family. I speak the holy name. Jesus. Shout Jesus. Shout Jesus from the mountain. Jesus in the streets. Jesus in the darkness over every enemy. Jesus for my family. I speak the holy name. Jesus.
[Applause]
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[Applause]
Your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name.
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Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. Oh, your name is power. Your name is your name. The light to fall. Every stronghold, shine through the shame.
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Your name is. Your name is. Come and break every stronghold. Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows.
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We're just going to continue on in this space. This is just a time of extended response. If you do need to go, this is the official close of our service and we dismiss you to go. You can just tap someone if you need to head out. But we do feel like the Lord has a little bit more he wants to do in the room tonight. Specifically, we feel like there may be an attack on the identity that we've heard throughout the night tonight. You've heard several things. We opened the service saying that we have been called sons and daughters of God, for that is what we are. And maybe you're having a doubt with that. Maybe you're having a doubt by actually believing that you are the light of the world. That it's not just Jesus's job to be the light of the world, but it's actually something he's inviting us into. It's one of the enemy's oldest tactics. Jesus getting baptized, heavens open, hears the voice of the Father says, "This is my son whom I love and in whom I am well pleased." What is the devil's first tactic? The next chapter, as he's in the desert, he says, "If you are the son of God." Our identity is under attack. And maybe you're feeling that today. I don't believe the things that are being spoken about me. The opportunity to have truth spoken into you. Put the belt of truth around your waist. And sometimes we need someone to do that with us. So, we just want to invite you if you need a reassurance of your identity in Jesus today. And also specifically, if the enemy is trying to use a tactic of some level of addiction in your life to point to you saying, "This is why you aren't what God says you are." We want to offer to be able to ask for freedom from that addiction tonight. Jesus, when he was testifying, when he was going into and starting his ministry, he said, "I have come to set free the captives." And so today, if your captivity is not physical, but it is something going on in your life, we just want to invite you forward to receive healing and hope from from addiction and from all type of imprisonment. And so we invite you to come forward. We're going to continue to press in and see what the Lord has for us today.
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For you. You silenced the voice of sin and the heavens are roaring. The praise of your glory for you are raised to life again. And you have no rival. You have no equal. Now and forever, God, you reign. And yours is the kingdom. Yours is the glory.
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Yours is the name above all names. And death could not hold you. The veil tore before you. You silenced the voice of sin and reign. The heavens are roaring. The praise of your glory for you are raised to life again. And you have no rival. And you have no equal. Now and forever, God, you reign. As yours is the kingdom and yours is the glory. Yours is the name above all names. What a powerful name it is. What a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus Christ, my king. What a powerful name it is. Nothing can stand against. What a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus. What a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus. What a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus.
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There is power in your name. There is power in your name.
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We speak Jesus. We speak Jesus.
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We speak Jesus. Oh Lord, hear the desperate hearts. We speak Jesus. We're hungry.
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Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus, you silence fear. Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus, you silence fear. Oh Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble. Oh Jesus, Jesus, you silence fear right now. Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus, you silence fear. Oh, in Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus.
Your name is a light that the shadows can't deny. Your name cannot be overcome. Your name is alive forever lifted high. Your name cannot be overcome.
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Your name is a light that the shadows can't deny. Your name cannot be overcome.
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Your name is life forever lifted high. Your name cannot be overcome. Your name, your name is a light that the shadows can't deny. Your name cannot be overcome. Your name is alive forever lifted high. Your name cannot be overcome. Jesus and Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus, you silence fear. Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus, you silence fear. Oh Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus, you silence fear. Oh, in Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus. Silent fear, your name is a light that the shadows can't deny. Your name cannot be overcome. Your name is alive forever lifted high. Your name cannot be overcome. Your name, your name is a light that the shadows can't deny. Your name cannot be overcome. There's no one like Jesus. There's no one like Jesus. Oh, there's no one like Jesus. Oh, there's no one like you, Lord.
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No one like Jesus. No other name that can save. No other name that delivers. There's no one like you, Lord. No one like you, Lord.
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Jesus.
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Jesus in this place. Showers of mercy are falling on everything. There is freedom. Jesus and Jesus reigns in this place. Showers of mercy and grace. They are falling on everyone. Sing Jesus, Jesus in this shower of mercy and grace. They are falling on.
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There. There is the heart.
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Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see.
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I want to see. Open our eyes tonight, Lord. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see. We want to see. I want to see. To see you high, to see you. I am lifted up, shining in the light of your glory. Oh Lord, would you pour out your power and love as we sing, holy, holy. I see you. I lift it up, oh Lord, shining in the light of your glory. Would you tonight pour out your power in love as we sing, holy, holy, holy. Just sing, holy, holy, holy, holy. Oh, he loves to hear you say, "Holy, holy, holy." Oh, it's who he is. Is holy, holy, holy. We want to see you. Oh, sing holy, holy, and holy, holy, holy, oh so holy. Holy, holy, holy. We want to see you.
So, open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Come, open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you. I want to see. Open the eyes, oh Lord, and open the eyes of my heart. Lord, come. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you. I want to see. Open the eyes of my heart. Come. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see. I want to see you. Open the eyes of my heart. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you. I want to see you. To see you high lifted up, shining in the light of your glory. Would you pour out your power in love as we sing? Holy, holy, holy. To see you high lifted up, shining in the light of your glory. Pour out your power in love as we sing, holy, holy, holy. Sing holy and holy, holy, oh so so holy. You are holy, holy, holy. Oh, set apart. You are holy, holy. Holy, holy, we want to sing. Oh, say holy, holy.
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Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy. Set apart. Holy, holy, holy, we want to see you.
Before we go from this place, just feel like there's one more invitation for the room today. And it specifically comes from the story that Pastor Guy was saying about the used car salesman that says, "I was raised in a Christian home. I went to a Christian school. I could never quite do it right." And you're hearing about this call to be the light of the world and a city set on a hill, and you're saying, "Just another thing that I can't do. Just another way that I can't live up to the person that I'm supposed to be." And we're interpreting this and actually in a spirit of striving rather than a spirit of actually being with Jesus. The only person outside of Jesus that we know where his face physically changed of light was when Moses was meeting with God in the tent of meeting. And it says that he had spoke to Jesus. He spoke to God like face to face like someone speaks to a friend. And when he leaves the tent of meeting, he had to put a veil over his face because the people were afraid because his light was radiant. And then we see Psalm 34 says, "Those who look to him are radiant. Their faces are never covered with shame." And so today, if there's a spirit of shame, a spirit of striving that's welling up in you, saying, "I actually need to like get it all right in order for like me to actually be the city on the hill." I just want an invitation that the invitation today is actually to we want to see Jesus, that we actually want to look at him. He's he he doesn't invite you in to be a slave. He invites you in to be a son and a daughter. That that's the invitation that he has for you today. And so if you just want to get that right with her, we're just going to sing this one more time. We're just going to sing, "Open the eyes of my heart." The prayer team is going to stay up here. If you would like to receive prayer to break the spirit of striving off your back, of always doing it right. That's not the spirit of God. The spirit of God is a spirit of grace. It's a spirit of invitation whose yoke is easy and his burden is light. That's the call of God. So if you want to receive that call today, we want to ask you to come forward and pray. But we're just going to sing and we're just going to ask the Lord. We want to see you.
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you. I want to see. Open the eyes of my heart. Lord,
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Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see. I want to see. Open the eyes of my heart. Come. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see. I want to see you. Open the eyes of my heart. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you. I want to see you.
We just want to see you, Jesus. That we can look to you knowing that our faces will be radiant and never covered with shame. We just thank you for the truth of those words. We thank you that we can look to you like the serpent that was lifted up in the desert and we can be healed. We just acknowledge you. We lift your name high, Jesus. Lord, I just pray for a blessing over those that are in this room that this week that they would fix their eyes on Jesus, the author and the perfector of their faith. And that they would consider him who was willing to be scorned so much hardship at the hand of sinners that they, the people in this room, would not grow weary and lose heart. We love you. We pray. Amen. Amen. Thanks for joining us today. Bless you. Go in peace. We'll see you in the prayer room and in community groups this week.
My Father's heart. There's a place for me and you.
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There are many rooms in my Father's heart. There's a place to get to you. There's no climb. All who thirst can taste the new wine and drink from the fountain of light.
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There's no levels inside. There's no ladders to climb. All taste the new wine and drink from the fountain of life. In my Father's house, there are many rooms. In my Father's heart, there's a place for me and you. In my Father's house, there are many rooms. In my Father's