Episode Transcript
[00:00:08] Speaker A: Welcome to the creative team talks podcast for Hillsong Creative.
This week we have something extra special for you. We're bringing you a recent team night message from one of our team. We hope that it blesses you.
[00:00:31] Speaker B: How are you, Hillsong creative?
It is so good to see everybody being a part of this team for like a very long time for me is something that I'm so aware of that these nights, they are fun and it is good having forced fellowship. Whether you like it or not, you have to do it.
But I truly believe and know that the reason we put on a knot like this isn't just because you guys are bored and have nothing else to do.
I believe and I'm hoping more than anything that God would speak to us tonight and that I have actually so much hope and so much faith in who God is and his word. And I'm believing he has put something on my heart for our team as we head into whatever this next season might be. And so I just want to encourage each and every one of you, like Annie kind of prayed. I love what she shared at the end of worship, that we all might be in a different stage of our lives right now and seasons, but the reality is that God can speak to each and every one of us. And so I just want us to close our eyes because I don't want to just gather for the sake of it.
Father, I just thank you for who you are, God. I thank you for your holy spirit that is here, that is presence with us as you promise, Lord God, that as we gather in your name, Lord, that you are in our midst and above anything else tonight, God, I pray that you would speak to us, God, maybe where there's tired and weary hearts, God, that you would just refresh and refill and with only the energy that can come from you and your word, Lord. And I just thank you just for who you are. Thank you for all you've done, Lord God, for each and every one of us, God, thank you for all you've done in our church, God. But I just thank you for what you have ahead for us as your people and your church. We give you praise and glory in Jesus name. If you believe, would you say amen? Amen. You can take your seat.
I'm going to sit down as well. Is that okay?
And I don't know exactly who is linked. I think we're on live television right now to the whole world. So hello to everybody.
So in the last, it's almost been two months, have been given the most incredible honor. Something that I'm so humbled and excited to be able to lead our creative team. And I found myself about a week and a half ago, I was in the United States of America, and I went to this conference called the belonging co conference, and I was with Shekinah. Where's Shekinah? She better be in the room for this. Okay, everyone tell her that I mentioned her name and mentioned that I was at this conference with her just before she just got back from Europe. And I was talking to her in the office, and I knew I had to go to have a meeting in Nashville, and I was trying to figure out when to do it. And she was telling me at the end of her Europe trip, she was going to go to the belonging co conference. And Henry and Alex Sealy, who are fellow Aussies that I've known for decades, they moved over about twelve years ago and started this church. And it's incredible to see what God's doing. And Shek was telling me about it, and so I really wanted to go and just be a part of it. And I kind of realized it's probably the first conference in decades that I've ever gone to and not done anything. So I was so selfish. I just worshipped and enjoyed the word of God. But it was funny. I was talking to a bunch of people, and when some friends were introducing us, they were saying that I now get to lead Hillsong creative. And I remember this one lady, she said to me, oh, wow, how is Hillsong?
And what's next? What are you guys going to do? And I've definitely been praying and seeking God about what my answer would be. So I didn't have to think. I already knew. And I just looked at her and I said, I don't know.
And the truth is, I don't know what is in our future. And I kind of think about for those of us that are at conference, where Martin Smith, I feel like the Hillsong conference this year was incredible, but it was really significant, I think, for us as a church, even though there are other visitors. And like Martin was sharing about that incredible song, if you haven't already listened to it, I listened to it on the way here tonight. I love it. My eyes are on you. And it comes from two chronicles 20, verse twelve, where it says, o our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great hoard that is coming against us. We don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you. And I love that. When the people of Israel were absolutely backs against the war had so many enemies, so much opposition that they were like, we don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you. And I kind of feel like that's a really safe and comfortable place to be in because it's saying that our eyes and our reliance is on God. And I guess what I can say to you is that even though I don't know what we're doing, I don't know where we're going, there are some things that I do know, and that's what I wanted to share tonight. And really, for me, from the very start of being able to be blessed to lead this team, I just thought, you know what? All I want to do is be obedient to where God is leading me personally and us as a church and listen to what God is doing and obey that and then give it my all. And I'm like, well, I can't fail. Might fail in your eyes, might fail in someone else's aisles, but I believe that if we can actually be the kind of people who just go, God, what do you want for my life? What are you asking of me? And then the hard bit is obeying that and we can give it our all. I believe we can't fail. And I think about the fact that I've been a part of this church most of my life, and actually I've been in this creative team. I was in the kids choir when I was in kids, and I did have, like, a two year break from singing. That's because Lucy Fisher, my singing teacher, realized my voice was breaking. And I went from speaking in a higher pitched voice to my mum than the deepest voice. But besides that, I was thinking about being a part of this team and also wanted to take a moment to just show my gratitude for the leaders that have gone before us. I think about Darlene Check, who was like a second mum to me. And I'm so grateful for her and the foundations that she was a part of building. And then Phil Dooley, I don't know whether you realize this, for a really short stint, was our creative pastor after Darlene. Imagine going after Darlene.
I remember when Phil was asked that, like, how are you going to stand in her shoes? And I just remember him going, well, we've got. My foot's a different size. Her shoes don't fit me. And I kind of love that idea. And then I think there's the next season, it was Ruben and Joel, and they are incredible. And then obviously more recently, Cass and rich and all those people I love so dearly, and I'm so grateful for their leadership and their contribution. But yet here we stand on the dawn, or we're already in the next era and the season that God has for us. And the reason I said all that, because there's a scripture that comes to mind for me that is just so foundational to who we are as a team and so kind of foundational and obvious that I've, like, we all know it, but I kind of felt I just wanted to read it again. And it's not even what I want to talk about tonight, but it's just something that has never changed.
And it's been so important to us. And I'm sure you all know it, but I read it constantly because I think it's a really healthy reminder. And it's Exodus 33 in verse twelve, Moses said to God, look, you tell me, lead these people, but you don't let me know whom you're going to send with me. You tell me. I know you well, and you are special to me. If I'm so special to you, let me in on your plans. That way I will continue being special to you. Don't forget, this is your people and your responsibility. Don't you love the way that Moses is speaking to God here? He's like, it's kind of. And God said, my presence will go with you.
I'll see the journey to the end. Moses says, if your presence doesn't take the lead here, then call this trip off. How else will anyone know that you're with me in this, with me and your people? Are you traveling with us or not? How else will we know that we're special, I and your people, among all the other people on the planet of earth? And God said to Moses, all right, just as you say this, I will also do for you. I know you well, and you are special to me. I know you by name. And for us, it's the reason why before we ever do any service, we pray side of stage or wherever we might meet, is because before we do anything, we want to commit that God's presence and his spirit will go before us. Because that is the thing that is going to mark us, that is going to bring change. I love that, and that is my heart for us as a team, as hillsong, creative, and as individuals.
But there's a few thoughts I wanted to share that I believe God's speaking to me, and I hope it's for us as a team. I believe it is. And it's around a few words. Seasons, soil, seed and fruit, seasons, soil, seed, and fruit. And I've been praying a lot. I hope you have been, too. And remember China? I was asking God, I'm like, what season are we in?
What are we heading into? And I'm not 100% sure if it's God. You know, when someone goes, God said, then you can't argue. I'm going to let you argue this one with me, because it's what I felt in my spirit is that I was going, God, what season is it? And I felt like him, ask me, what season is it? And I'm like, well, you mean like on the calendar? And he's like, yeah. And he's like, it's spring. And I just felt, you know what? For us as a team, it's spring. It's time for new growth, and I believe we can already see it, and I'm excited about it. And we're going to see God actually bring something incredible that I believe we've never seen before.
I think about fruit and. Hang on. Sorry I said that. Who loves fruit?
The older I get, the more I like fruit. What's your favorite fruit? Yell it out.
Watermelon.
My favorite fruit is grapefruit.
I love grapefruit. That's my favorite. Anyone else love grapefruit? Nah. Shelby? Just laughing. You love it, too. It is sour, but I like it.
You know how I said, how good was Jad's leading worship? I take it.
No, I love fruit, but I think about the fruit of us as a team. I just wanted to share a bit of my heart. Is that all right? And I think about the fruit that our church and our team has produced. And I think the greatest fruit would be that of salvation, of people discovering who Jesus is. I think about the fruit of people growing in their journey, their discipleship journey, their spiritual formation of knowing and drawing closer to Jesus. I think about the community that is formed within our church, the relationships, the miraculous things that we've seen God do as a church, and then specifically for us as a team, I think about even just the teams within our team, all the different parts of Hillsong creative that make up Hillsong creative. The fruit of that. Our Sunday services is a big thing that we do. We've done conferences, creative moments. There's been tours and mission trips, Christmas spectaculars. There's been some incredible albums and songs. So much fruit. And that's just a few of the fruit that we've bought together as a team. And I do love the fruit that we have produced, but I am hopeful and expectant that there is great fruit in our future.
And the truth is, I don't want to obsess over the fruit, because the most important part of producing fruit is actually the soil.
And so for us, I want us to focus on the soil. I do just want to say two random, but I think important things. Number one is, as far as I'm aware, our church is called Hillsong.
Right? It still is, yeah. Good. And I just want to encourage and remind us that we're a singing church, that we are a worshiping church, and we're a church that I believe has a mandate to bring new songs to shape sounds of corporate encounters with Jesus. And we have never done this because our name is Hillsong.
It's always been about what God has done authentically inside the people that call this church home. It's been honest and it's been authentic. It's always been about an encounter over entertainment, and it's always been about his presence over performance. So I believe that mandate is still on our house and on us as individuals. The second thing I want to just remind us of is that this team, our name is creative.
And I believe we're called to be creators and to be creative, not copiers.
And I don't want to be a part of a team that preserves the past or imitates ourself, but pioneer and look at what we can do as a gathering of people to bring glory to God. And so I just want to stir and remind us. I think we know that, but it's kind of just wanted to say that. But like I said, I do believe there is great fruit in our future. But again, I'm not really focused on obsessing over producing fruit. I want to obsess over the soil.
And for me, this isn't just a one off, one time message. I believe it's what God has been speaking to me about and what I care about. And to be honest, even what Phil has been talking about since he has been in leadership, it's about the health of us as individuals.
And so I want to focus on the soil of our team.
I don't know if you realize this, but I am an undercover landscaper.
That's right. I love landscaping. Not doing the work, just admiring it and looking at other people and what they've done. And Lauren and I, well, almost just over twelve months ago, we moved into a brand new home that we got to build, but we didn't have any landscaping in our front yard. And I think anybody who builds a house, by the time it comes to landscaping, you're out of money. Every time we got a landscaper come, I'd be like, hey, we've gone over budget. So he's like, yeah, that's what everybody tells me anyway. In our front yard, it was pretty much just like a small rolling hill with lots of soil, lots of dirt. And so I was thinking, all right, we could probably the easiest thing to be is just to kind of level it out and just roll some turf over it. Over. This just had so much soil, so much dirt. And every single landscaper that came and quoted and helped to give us ideas, before I'd even say anything, they'd come and they'd look at our front yard, the soil, the dirt. And they'd be like, that soil is.
I can't say the word because we're in church.
But it wasn't a polite, they didn't encourage our soil.
They said that nothing's going to grow on this dirt. They're like, your builders just got it from, has dug something out and just dumped it there. Nothing's going to grow on this soil. And I was like, I thought soil was. Soil isn't like dirt, dirt. And I quickly realized that depending on the quality of the soil, depends on whether anything's going to grow in it. And Jesus actually talks about the importance of soil. And just for a few minutes before we wrap up, I wanted to just look at a parable that Jesus teaches about. It's found in Matthew 13, it's also in mark four. And it's the parable of the farmer who sows seed. And you'll probably be familiar with it. I'll recap it quickly. And then, because it's cool, jesus then explains what he says. But he's talking about, there's four types of soil. That seed that the farmer sows seed. And the first soil is a road, and the seed falls on the road and the birds come and take it because it doesn't even get into the soil. And the second type of soil is like gravely rocky soil that's really shallow. And so the seed bursts forth, it shoots, but because of the heat of the sun, and it's in shallow soil, it doesn't have deep roots. It withers straight away. And then there's seed that goes among the thorns, and that seed grows up and the thorns choke and strangle it. But then there's seed that falls into good soil, and that seed produces 30, 6100 fold crop. And when Mark retells it in mark 413. So Mark is retelling Jesus's parable. And just before Jesus shares what the explanation is, jesus says in Mark 413, he said, and I said to them, do you not understand this parable?
How then will you understand all the parables? So this is the first parable that Jesus teaches, and this shows the significance of this parable. He's basically saying, if you don't understand this parable, you're not going to understand any of the parables. So let's jump back into Matthew 13, verse 18. So this is when he's explaining the meaning of this, and Jesus says, hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.
This is what is sown along the path.
As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, but it endures for a while. And when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word. But the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. And as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case 100, in another 60, and another 30 fold. So obviously, the farmer here is God, and the seed is his word, his calling, his plan, his purpose for each and every single one of us?
And the fruit is what is produced when this seed finds good soil. The soil is our hearts, it's our lives.
And so I just wanted to quickly look at these four types of soil, believing that for us, more than anything, as individuals, because as individuals, we make up this incredible creative team and go, how can we make sure the soil of our heart is right and ripe to be able to receive God's word, his seed, his promise for each and every single one of us so that we can actually bear fruit, fruit that is incredible. And that brings blessing to it blesses the heart of God. It blesses those around us. And I believe it can even bless us individually. And so, hardness of heart is the first, is the soil. It's that path where the seeds get stuck there and the birds, just the enemy, steals the seed because the path is too hard, the rocky ground, like I said, it's shallow. Soil does sprout quickly, but when challenge comes, it withers, thorns and weeds. It's the cares of the world. Deceitfulness of riches that strangle and choke the seed, the word of God. I believe his call, his purpose that sustains and leads us. Then there's the good soil that produces a harvest. So I wanted to out of those because one of them is good. Does anyone know which one we're going for?
Just checking if you're awake. I know this is riveting stuff. I came to talk about dirt. That's right. You're all dirt. I want to be dirt. Sit down if you want to be dirt. Yeah, we all want to be dirt.
Sorry. You've missed me, haven't you?
So I have three elements that I believe that we can be good soil. To be able to, again, be who God's calling us to be. And the first one is a soft heart.
A soft heart to take in God's word, to be just, to even be able to hear and understand it so many times throughout the prophets, they prophesy that you don't hear and you don't see. And that is because the surface, the soil, is too hard. Our hearts can be too hard. And I brought props, guys. Can you tell?
I don't know if I've ever used props in a message. So let's see how this goes. It works in my head.
Here we have. Does anyone know what this represents? Sorry, guys. So seed that the farmer sows. Oh, is that hitting some hard soil? It's actually not. Here's where I'm going to ask you to be creative. Are we creative?
I feel like I've accurately represented the other three types of soil, but this first one is super dodgy. But I just did my best because what I've got here, this is cardboard.
It represents the hard soil, the path. What's interesting about the path is I'm going to actually hold on to it for a second, see how much dramatic effect I can have with cardboard scraping the bottom of the barrel.
So pretend this is where I needed you to be creative. This is what represents the hard soil, that the path back where they would be sowing seeds. Let me go a little bit agricultural back in the time of Jesus, is that the paths around where the farmers would have been sowing was actually dirt, was actually soil, but because it had been traveled on and trotted on so many times or so many people had walked and had become so hard that the seed would land on it and nothing could go into it. And I think for us, we need to identify, do we have a hard heart, because we're never going to be able to take in what God is wanting to say to us. And I think, how do we identify a hard heart? I even think about this analogy of the path that was soil that has been trodden on so much now that it has become a path that nothing can get in and nothing can be received through this soil. Is that maybe your heart has been trodden on.
Maybe you have traveled a path over and over for a long, long time. And maybe it can cause our hearts to go hard. I think about what is the sign of a hardened heart? I feel like it's unforgiveness when we can't be gracious and forgiving to people or be loving to people when we are ungrateful, when Jad asks us to worship and to lift our voice and to pray that maybe nothing comes out of our mouth.
And I think about what softens that. What is the sign of a soft heart? It is the only way, I believe, that we can have our hearts softened. If we might find ourselves in a place where we might feel like we've been trodden on or might feel that it's hard to forgive or might feel like it's hard to love or even hard to praise, is maybe we have forgotten that we are forgiven.
How much we are loved. Like there's no condition to God's love. It still blows my mind. Romans 838. That there's nothing that can separate us from the love of God again, the mercy that we've received, which to me leads to a grateful heart that only wants to worship God. But I believe we're never going to receive and be able to have this kind of healthy soil where God can do what only he can do. And what he wants to do in our lives and in us as a team, is we need to maybe soften our hearts again. And I love in Ezekiel 36, by the way, side note, just go read the whole chapter of Ezekiel 36. It's unbelievable when Ezekiel prophesies to the mountains, but this little verse in Ezekiel 36, verse 26, he says it's a chapter and it's a prophecy of hope.
Says, I will give you a new heart and a new spirit, and I'll put within you and I'll remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
So I want to encourage us. And what I believe Jesus is teaching in this parable is that first and foremost we need to make sure our heart is soft enough to actually receive the word of God. I believe that God wants to. And all through scripture, we see that he can heal the broken hearted, no matter how calloused your heart or my heart might be, for reasons that we can even justify. But we need to let the Holy Spirit and let God actually, he can give us a new heart. And I want to pray that tonight, for us, that maybe you do feel like you've been trodden on or trampled on, or maybe you've been going on this journey for a while. But, hey, let's break that ground and make it soft again so that the seed, the promise, the word of God can get in our lives. That is the cardboard soil. The second soil, the second thing that Jesus teaches about is rocky soil.
I'm doing this because, spoiler alert, I'm trying to get to just good soil. All right, so here we have rocky soil. And if you're a prophet, you can see what's coming next, or if you just can see, what does this rocky soil represent? Well, Jesus talks about that. This is people who hear the word of God, so they receive the seed. It gets there, gets planted, but it sprouts up really quickly. They get excited. There's emotion there that. This feels awesome. I can feel you, God. I've got. This is amazing experience. I've heard your word. This is great. I'm all about it. I love it. I can take on the world. I'm going to change the world. But then what happens under the heat of the sun, this seed that has sprouted, it withers and it dies. That even though there was enthusiasm and excitement to it and the message actually talks about that, it's because of a lack of character. It's shallow soil. At the end of the day, there were no roots that actually went down deep enough to be able to sustain when challenges come, because we all know, and it's good to be reminded, so we don't get as shocked that when we decide to follow Jesus, he doesn't promise that our problems go away or that it's going to be easy. Again, there's a narrow road. It's hard. It's windy, but it leads to wide open spaces. But yet there's this wide open space road, but it leads to death and destruction. So I think about what this represents for us. And again, honestly, more than anything, I'm speaking to myself, because the greatest thing I want to do as a leader is to lead by example and make sure the soil of my heart is good so I can let God do whatever he wants to do with me. And I'm just hoping we'll all be a part of it. But it's this picture of, do we have a deep enough soil for roots to grow in our life?
And it's something that actually, I feel like as long as. And I can see a lot of faces who have been around even longer than me in part of our team, which encourages me more than you'll ever realize. But one of the foundational things that we've always talked about as a team is the importance of the unseen. Because I think about roots. They're under the surface. They are unseen.
And for us, our lives, what we do on the platform, what we do in public, is only ever such a small percentage of who we actually are. And I think, yes, we need to make sure our hearts are softened, but there needs to be depth beneath the surface, the roots that grow. So when, again, these storms come, when disappointments happen, when we don't understand that we actually have a trust in God, that we are anchored, and that it's not just about knowing the right thing or saying the right thing, but it's actually about doing it and building our lives. It's part of I love as a church. We've been talking about the sermon on the mount. We've been talking about building our lives on the solid rock. And for us, the soil of our life. Is it deep enough to have roots that are going to hold us when the storms in life come? Because I believe it's all about what's under the surface. Strong roots are unseen, but we need the seed to take root. We need depth beneath the surface, the unseen matters. Two really quick ways. We see this in Jesus, through Jesus in Matthew six, verse five, he's talking about praying. He says, when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in synagogues and street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father, who is in secret, and your father, who sees you in secret, will reward you.
In a couple of verses later, he says he's talking about prayer and fasting. He says, when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces, that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others, but by your father, who is in secret, and again, your father, who sees in secret, will reward you. I think the significance of the depth of the soil that we can let the seed, the word of God, take place in our life and as a team, comes from beneath the surface, and it comes from having deep roots. And so the question I have for you and for me is, how deep are the roots? How is the unseen portion of our life? Because it's so much easier to have it all together in front of everybody else. But God knows us and he loves us, and we get to come before him honestly as we are. And can I encourage us to be more committed to building the parts of our lives that aren't seen than those that are seen? The third and final thing is this. And maybe jad and the team can come if you want to, if you still love me. I still love you. I forgive you.
He's never done anything wrong, so it's pretty fun.
So we've talked about the hard soil softening our hearts, going deeper, and then the third soil, the third area where the seed is not going to grow, is among the weeds and the thorns. So here I have proper weeds. On my way to church, I saw them on the side of the road.
I was like, I'm going to get some weeds. Because I had this idea of putting pictures of all these different soils together. And then I thought, maybe I'll get some dirt. And then I'm like, no, I'm going to try and do what I'm doing right now. But I was like, I need to get some weeds. So I found some weeds on the side of the road.
The Bible said, bless you in Jesus name these weeds. It's actually interesting that there's a few things about weeds that surprised me, and I have been learning now having my own garden, too. Well, is that weeds don't need to be fed to grow.
Weeds come out of nowhere.
We had a neighbor about three weeks ago, lay brand new grass, like, brand new grass. And I walked past it the other day with my beautiful wife, Lauren, and there were so many weeds in it, like it was already. I'm like, how does that happen? I recently was in a car park. It was just full concrete. And in the middle of the car park, concrete, there was a weed that had grown through the concrete. It's like nothing can these weeds. And they, like, sometimes even I drove past these tonight, and they actually look like. They look green. They could be flowers. But you get up close and there's like, some little thorns there. And it's also interesting that when Jesus is talking about these weeds, he's saying that they will choke the word of God. They will kill the word of God, which is what feeds our faith. It's the promise that he has. It's who he's calling us to be. And if there's weeds in the soil, it's saying that it literally chokes. Look, there's still even some rocks.
But what's interesting is this. All right, by the way, I'm almost done.
I've never used props, so I'm getting used to it.
I thought, I'm the creative leader. I should try and get a little bit creative. I feel like God spoke to me and I've never felt more convicted about, this is what is important for us as a team to just obsess over the soil, not the fruit. But then I was like, I also don't want you to get bored. So I thought, let's get a pot of dirt and some weeds and some rocks and cardboard.
But really quickly as we close, Jesus gets really specific about two weeds. He talks about the cares of the world, our worries, the anxiety, the things that this culture is saying that is important that we can spend our whole life chasing. And he says the deceit, the deceitfulness of wealth, those are the only two weeds that he mentioned. And I think it's pretty important, and I think most other weeds can stem from that.
Bible talks about money is the root of all love, for money is the root of all evil. Money isn't but the love of money. And so Jesus is going, these two weeds, these thorns, will absolutely withhold and stop God's word from bearing fruit in our lives. It's the love of money. And can I remind us, as I remind myself, that money can never be our motivation in anything that we do? Money can't be the motivation. I know the season and what we've had to navigate over the last two years. And I just pray that money is never our motivation.
The truth is, when the word of God, when the seed comes in healthy soil, it will produce 160, 30 fold. So there's going to be incredible blessing that comes and that is the promise of God. But the motive must never be money.
And then what's the other weed? It's the cares of this world.
It's worry.
It's something that if we just listen and look at how the world does things and every avenue, it's just only going to leave us feeling short because we're just comparing ourselves and competing and that can so happen easily inside a church. We know that inside a team. But worry is going to kill God's word, wanting to bear fruit in our lives and as a team. And I want to finish with two scriptures that are really well known. But I just love these because one, personally, I believe that these words helped me more than I'll ever be able to express in seasons that I found myself worrying like crazy.
And Philippians four, verse six and seven, it says, don't fret or worry.
Instead of worrying, pray.
Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
I'm just going to tell you, this absolutely works.
Instead of worrying, pray says, even like praise, let prayer and praises, petitions of praises, shape your worries into prayers, and then you will sense God settling. It's not a one time thing, by the way. Maybe for you, God might love you a little bit more than me. It was just day after day, night after night, and it just works.
So important what we think on what we dwell. And a couple of literally the following verse says, summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do your best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious. The best, not the worst.
If we just took that.
What if we just thought about the best and not the worst in people, in each other, in ourselves, in the church?
The best and not the worst, the beautiful, not the ugly things to praise, not to curse. Put into practice what you've learned from me, what you've heard and saw and realized, do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work in you into his most excellent harmonies.
And I don't say I read a scripture like this, and I was actually sharing it with my sister in law tonight because I was asking her whether the dirt thing is going to work.
And I'm like, I read a verse like that, it's like, just think positive thoughts.
I kind of go, yeah, that's lame. Does that work? But at the same time, I I'm not saying any of this. Being naive to the challenges that we all face.
I'm not unaware of the last two years of us as a church. I'm not ashamed of one day of it. I know for me, personally encountering God in a way that I've never encountered before and finding what my real foundation is in God and his word. It's been grateful to be married to the best woman on the planet, be blessed with three incredible kids that I just want to be a good dad and a good husband and serve the Lord and just be good dirt.
I want to keep it simple.
I don't think I use the seed enough in soil. It's not hard.
We soften our hearts, we go a bit deeper under the surface.
We remove those weeds of motivated by money or things or possessions or waiting till we've got this, till we can do that for God or for others. But we don't let worry choke out what God is telling us to do. No, we do. What the word of God says to us is that we meditate on his word day and night. We pray and we watch God actually take away our worry. So it's simple gospel stuff. But I read this quote this week from Martin Luther who said we need to hear the gospel every day because we forget the gospel every day.
So I've went way too long. I'm so sorry.
Who gets me in trouble these days? I'm just joking. I'm being an idiot.
Could we all stand?
So I didn't want to just bring a message for team night tonight. God has been speaking to me about this from the second I found out I was going to have this privilege of leading our team. And I've been meditating on these passages.
It's not really a one time message. I hope. I hope it's something that honestly, for me, if I was allowed to wish for anything for us as a team, is that every single individual would be committed to being good soil. To not obsessing over the fruit and miss the process. That the soil has to be good. And if the soil is good, then through the Holy Spirit and God's word and his presence, he will water that thing. And we don't get to pick the time. We don't know how long it takes or how it will work, but we do know that we will produce a harvest 30, 6100 times. And so if I'm allowed to be selfish, if I could ask for one thing, is that we would be a team where our soil, our hearts would be soft enough to actually take in and listen to what God is saying to us. That we would care way more about who we are when nobody's watching than when we're on the stage under the lights. And that we would get rid of all the weeds that are trying to choke and discourage and sidetrain us and sideline us.
And that we would just be on fire for Jesus.
So I just want to pray for you. And Chad can do whatever he wants, or any. And we don't have to take much longer, but can we all close our eyes and can you maybe put your arms out in front of you, kind of like. Just like an open surrender type posture?
Maybe you identify elements of all three of those types of soil that, you know, God's speaking to you about, which is so fine. I think maybe if we're all honest, we all have a little bit of all of that in us. But I just want to pray that God right now, in this moment, through your holy spirit, that where there are parts of our heart that have become hard, maybe that we can justify the reason. Lord God, I just pray that you'd give us a new heart, Lord. Not so we could just fall in line with what we're being told to do. God. But so we can actually receive the seed of your word and your promise of who you're calling us to be. God, I pray, even right now and in the days to come, that there would just be such a sweet and softness about the soil of our hearts individually, Lord God, that we would always come to the table from a place of understanding that you've forgiven us. You actually know us better than anyone else, and yet you love us, God. That you give us your mercy every single day. God, help us to be the kind of people that love everybody the way that you love them. God. That we would be able to find the strength to forgive others the way that you've forgiven us. That we would show mercy, Lord. That we would be gracious, that we would be grateful, that we would be people of praise. Lord God, I pray where those new heart is needed, that you would do that heart transplant right now, in this moment and God again, that we can get so distracted by who we think we need to be or living up to the expectation of others or trying to please other people. God. But I pray that we would be the kind of people, our heart, that our lives would be deep, that we would care more about when nobody's watching than when everyone's watching. God, the truth is there are weeds that are never going to go away.
But, God, I pray that you would help us, Lord God, to not let these weeds choke or withhold the growth and the fruit that your word wants to bring. Lord God, I know it's more than halfway through the year, but I just believe we are in a new season, God, and that you are wanting to spring and birth and bring new growth in each and every single one of us. And I pray that you would find a bunch of people that just love you and want to be the kind of soil that you can put your word and your promise in. God, I pray and I thank you, that we will bear fruit, that it will glorify and bless you and bless others in your mighty name, Jesus. Amen.
Amen.
[00:44:07] Speaker A: Thanks for listening. We hope that it blessed you. You can subscribe to the podcast wherever you're listening so that you don't miss an episode. See you next time.
