Northside Church - Sydney
Never Ending Story Week 3 PM: Intersections
You're listening to another great message from Northside Community Church. You've joined us in the middle of an exciting series we are tracking through a series called The Never-Ending Story and it's based on the 1984 cult classic movie The Never-Ending Story in which a young boy Bastion goes through after being chased into a bookstore, a great adventure in which he starts reading through a book and as he gets further and further into this book he realises that the characters at the heart of this incredible story and adventure are actually looking for him and in so doing he takes this step of faith and Bastion himself becomes a part of The Never-Ending Story. Now if you haven't seen it I recommend you go and see it or borrow one of the 15 copies that I've got on my desk or at home but as I was reflecting on tonight's message Bastion never would have gotten to that point of realisation and stepped into that great adventure if it weren't for the school bullies that had chased him into the bookshop in the very first scene of the movie you see Bastion had an intersection with a range of people that were just trying to pick on him and never understood that they would chase him into the greatest adventure of his life. Now look I don't know where you are tonight but the great truth that we're going to pick out of this passage is that God uses all sorts of people and all sorts of means and maybe even a school bully or two in your lifetime to chase you into the greatest adventure and the greatest story that's ever been told that maybe tonight if you don't know Jesus Christ you can open up this book and it's not something out of a fictional 1984 movie it's far more relevant than that you can read through this book God's Never-Ending Story and realise that you can be part of the adventure as well and so what we've been learning is that God calls these people into his story in order to do the good works that he's planned for them to do that was Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10 last week we talked about how then God takes your passions and your unique gifts and abilities and gets you to use them for his broader purposes in order to call people into that and how does that happen specifically it's at the intersections not all of us are school bullies some of us are the agents of God and here's the truth of God's word that if you've intersected with God if you've placed your faith in God and you're intersecting with others then God wants to influence other people through you it's how he's worked all throughout history all throughout the Bible and so what it means then is that the stranger that you happen to speak to or the person who cut across your path may not just be there by accident we're going to uncover that tonight as we read God's Word and as we think upon that we're going to read from 1 Peter chapter 4 verses 7 through to 11 the end of all things is near therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray above all love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sins of a hospitality to one another without grumbling and each one should use whatever gift they've received to serve others faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms if anyone speaks they should do it as one speaking the very words of God and if anyone serves they should do it with the strength that God provides so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ to him be the glory and the power forever and ever amen what a great way to in the Bible reading anyone who is of university age has stared this daunting task in the face it's called your pea plate test and I was there just a few years ago and I had studied and I had practiced and I had done the all sorts of hill starts and all sorts of things and I got to that very point and I will never forget this day because as I got there I was stuck in a bit of traffic wrap on a hill I thought that they could have been a hill start but luckily I was in an automatic so it was okay everything was looking fine the current front of me took off I took off in dad's V8 dragon wagon as I called it and I came to a decision point right when the light went a bright orange in front of me and it was at that point in the middle of my learner driver's test for my peas I put my hand over the instructor and I said hold on going through needless to say I've failed they didn't put that in the manual and then I spent a whole week lamenting why oh why Lord like why didn't he take me out the lady pen and drive there's no traffic lights there there's no cars there there's no hills there there's nothing there I could have done a nice park and it was all fine why why did the instructor take me there you know I think it's because wouldn't we all agree that things happen at intersections all sorts of stacks all sorts of crashes all sorts of lights decisions that we have to make and so the truth the identity that I'm going to bestow on you this evening friends is that you were all el platers for the kingdom of God at his intersections you see God is like that cheeky little instructor in my life he takes you to those places that he knows that he's going to put you through the paces and place in front of you decisions and opportunities that might affect eternal consequences and so in that sense tonight what do we do at intersections how do we navigate God's intersections in life first of all you've got it and this is almost look if you can bear with me this is almost a bit of a healing moment for me after that experience the first thing I realized I needed to do there was open my eyes if you're going to navigate God's intersections you need to open your eyes you see once there was a man whose house was in a flood and he stood on the porch waters are up on the porch and a boat comes along and says mate get in he says no no it's okay God's going to save me and the flood waters continue to rise they rise and rise they're up there a boat comes up past the first story window of his house they said mate get in he said no no no it's fine God's going to save me flood waters go all the way to the roof he's on the last little bit of the roof boat comes along goes past him this helicopter then hovers above him rope comes down from the sky right next to him they yell out grab the rope he said no it's fine God's good to save me the waters continue to finally come up they succumb he still bubbles coming out the top of the water he breathes his last breath he gets to the pearl he gates in front of God he said God I was a good Christian I did everything that you wanted me to do I believed in you you're a powerful God you're going to save me what the heck aren't wrong Lord Lord said mate I sent you two two boats three boats in a helicopter what else am I supposed to do you see Christians in particular we've got to open our eyes you see God is constantly trying to reach out to the world around us constantly sending boats and ropes down to people saying grab the rope I've got a rescue plan in place here and that's what Peter was saying in verse four verse four let's have a look at what he says in here verse four verse seven sorry he says the end of all things is near the end is near you see now look first thing you wouldn't when you hear that what's the first thing you think of that yeah I don't know if you're anything like me it's some crazy old bearded guy that hasn't shouted about a week with a sign around his neck you know what I'm saying the the end is new you know what's really interesting is that don't you find it funny that when we hear that the end is near our first reaction our modern-day world is that that guy's crazy is a fruit loop and yet for Peter Peter wasn't crazy he was being realistic you see Christianity in anyone that calls himself a Christian is someone who's got the truth of God is already at work in the world that there's another reality from the world around us the God is already breathing and working and moving and so therefore be ready to have your eyes open to what he's doing open your eyes I sort of call it the the the the magic picture principle there were these remember the 3D books that they had back in the 90s were always so popular I used to stare at these magic books and they would have these repeating patterns across the page and my sisters would see it my brother would see it and oh look at the look at the 3D boat it's fantastic wow I'm like I can't I can't see it it's right there in front of you can't see the boats and then one day it hit me and and I blurred my eyes for a bit and went a bit cross-eyed and then bang it hit it and I could see it you see when I say open your eyes it's it's it's it's not a matter of some super spiritual revelation happening you see the way that God works is he's not trying to give you new information he's just trying to make the same information new and so we've got to open our eyes guys you know I the ways that God is working around us why don't we why don't we well come on let's be honest here we get distracted right we get distracted by jobs we get distracted by hobbies we get distracted by relationships you know I was trying to someone the other day they said to me look maybe our busyness is Satan's decoy to distract us from the real work of God and so what I ask you tonight is how often do you guys intentionally pray Lord when might you use my life to intersect with someone else for your purposes in other words are you guys going to be I is going to be open to this week to the to the moment of God in that sense and when when you get to the end either the end when Jesus comes back or your end when you're with God at the pearly gates friend I don't know about you but I don't want to be the sort of person that says God how come everyone else got to do the cool stuff and how come everyone else had the great stories and how come everyone else seem to be used in people's a amazing stories of changing lives and I don't want God to say Sam look I I sent you that girl in the uni cafe or sent you that co-worker whose face was a little bit saddened by the water cooler this week I sent you that parent who really needed to to fill your love and affirmation you haven't spoken to a while I sent you the arnie that you haven't spoken to in a while I don't know about you guys but I want my eyes to be open to the movement of God around us and so you need to see people as God sees them when they cross your path an opportunity to intersect their lives with eternal purposes so first one when you get to the intersection open your eyes the second thing you need to do is proceed with caution don't do what I do and say hold on going through don't do that but you see I think evangelistic strategies in the church they've done that it's the dragon wagon approach if you know what I mean talking with my my mentor this week Graham Agnew he's he's he's shared many a times in which his evangelistic strategies that he's used back when he was my age and a budding young minister and all that sort of stuff and you were saying how you know you get to someone's front front door and you'd ask them this question if you died tonight where would you go heaven or hell now I look have you ever experienced that have you ever experienced when people come to you like that isn't it funny that somehow when you take that tactless approach to evangelism often it leads to you being told to go to hell yourself why is that look I think it's because in in our day and age this sort of fear tactic doesn't work in our in our day and age here's the thing for someone to come to a belief in the God that we worship here tonight then the demonstration needs to come before the proclamation you know when I was at school I always always loved show and tell and it was really easy when you had show until you take an object and you'd show it and you'd tell about it I think the churches flip the things upside down churches always tell and then show I want to tell you about all the things that God's going to do and yet we don't show people the love of God in that respect what does that look like look you've maybe you've been in this scene before right large family barbecue friends are there you're at someone's house bowl of punch on the table smell of sausages wafting in through the byfold doors on this beautiful summer's day peace and quiet the clinking of glasses is someone's washing up in the background and then two brat kids come running through the lounge room going crazy bowl of the punch gets everywhere people are getting really frazzled and there's always probably like two ladies that are friends with the mother of the child and there's sort of hiding between a glass of champagne each that's sort of saying that's Julie's kids and you know it's funny that all sorts of judgments are happening and put their out runs poor Julie you know heres out the side of her face and then you see it from the other side of her and this is how parents control kids it's with a little thing called the evil eye and you can see Julie standing there given the evil eye to the kids settle down it's trying to calm them down and that's it we've all been there we've felt the pain of the poor Julie's and maybe you've even been one of those kids themselves and the kids are totally oblivious to it isn't it they've got no idea what's going on and the embarrassment they're causing their parents wives is a cause embarrassment you see because how the children act it was more reflection on the parent than the child himself a reflection on the parents values and what they stand for and a level of discipline in that family and here's the thing for us you know the great truth of the Bible says of where the children of God and so in the great living room of the world you know many of us go bust and punch bowls everywhere and acting like idiots and here's the thing how we act is more of a reflection on God than what we say you know it's not so much the words you use but the way that you live and the choices you make you're either enhancing God's reputation or you're turning him into Julie oh that's God's kids add it again look guys you know look at the life of Jesus look at the way that he acted as one of one of the ultimate child of the father in that sense he was a perfect example of the way that he interacted with the world in his whole approach he didn't call people to decisions and say if you died tonight where are you going you know no no no when when he goes and he sees the boys hanging out with John the Baptist he says just come and see come and check me out he's first words to a Samaritan woman were not are you a adulterous thing you but can I have a drink first words to Zacchaeus a cheating lowdown little tax collector who was hiding up the tree to get a glimpse of it glimpse of him was not pay back the money mate but it was Zacchaeus get down I want to eat with and you tonight I love Jesus example he's so radically different from everyone else those approaches at the intersection you see you know Jesus was we called people to believe don't get me wrong but he always there's always a demonstration of the father's love and his grace before he called a person to decision they were in every interaction with Jesus there was patience and there was grace and there was a willingness to listen to their story why how look verse eight of this passage gives us a clue Peter picks up on it remember Peter was one of his disciples he says because love covers a multitude of sins see Jesus loved people Jesus loved people Jesus's difference was a genuine love for those that he intersected with he didn't see himself on some conversion mission from God he just was here to love people and so begs a question for you and I tonight that are followers of Jesus question is what is your motivation for seeking to intersect with other people's lives you see unless our desire is to share the story of God with others is motivated by love then one or two things is going to happen are they going to be driven by a sense of superiority I'm in the know I'm a Christian you better go on my agenda or going to be driven by fear that if I don't do my job this week God's gonna smack me it's either superiority or fear because we're not grounded like Jesus was in love look classic example chatting to James Kennedy about Hope Street and the work that we do there with the inner city mission in Gleeb he was talking to Julie the lady that runs the mission down there is one of the pastors down there and no not that Julie and he's talking with Julie there it and she was telling a story about the group that was in before our church the way that they'd been there to serve and they'd been there for one weekend and and one of the team that had been down there from another church had had caught up that week and said I need the number of this person that's a funny thing oh what what for yeah well we're with them and she made a decision and we need to follow up we need to counsel we didn't need to do all this sort of stuff now Julie had been working there for years and these people we're interested in sort of getting in there and get the numbers all stitched up and I don't want to sound overly critical here but here's the thing that James reflected back to me you know those guys have been doing that ministry every month for three years not once is James sort to go in there with cards and numbers and statistics and count and conversions and all that sort of stuff he was there simply to serve because he just wants to love people the team just wants to love people and here's the thing this is why the Christian can get into these intersections of life would you caution and patience and proceed with caution because Christians realize that God is a master evangelist God's the one that's doing the work it'd be a Christian you realize you didn't do anything to step into his story it was all his work anyway and so in that sense you just passing it on you know John 16 verse 8 says that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of their sin doesn't say that the North side of will convict the world of their sin and I think so many churches are trying to twist people's arms behind their back and make them feel guilty make them feel bad but you know what it's saying to us tonight is that there's a great release the great burden guys is you don't you're not the one who has to do the saving you're not the one who has to do the hard work here God's not putting you into some sort of evangelistic pressure cooker instead he's just asking you to partner with him in his work so the question is well what can I do what is my job you know verse 10 what the Hope Street team does each and every month use your gifts to serve others be a faithful steward of what God has given you to just serve others to just love other people unconditionally as a follower of Jesus because you and I have the opportunity this week to make the invisible God visible in the world and so to proceed with caution means we love deeply and we serve others unconditionally you know if people don't come to Christ through deeds of love that's okay you know what we're going to do we're going to continue with deeds of love because that's what it means to walk as Jesus walked that's what it means to model how Jesus turned this world upside down not through evangelistic strategies not through questions of if you died tonight where would you be guys when you demonstrate the love of Jesus through practical ways when you demonstrate first you'll discover you'll earn the right to proclaim God's love in people's lives that the demonstrations got to happen with the proclamation and the proclamation's got to happen with the demonstration so proceed with caution don't floor it this week in your evangelistic endeavors finally guys evaluate your experience learn from your mistakes that's what I had to do I did pass my peace test by the way if you were sort of wondering my wife doesn't have to drive me around everywhere I mean here's the question and I can be a bit dawning for some but look if you've almost been involved in an accident at an intersection it's a it's a terrifying thing I was on the Pacific highway you had the brothers and sisters in the car and a caravan and Jack knifed and came over onto my side of the road and I was just looking at a wall of a caravan coming at me and it missed our car by literally half a meter and I don't know about you but if you've ever been in those situations when you look back on it I don't know why but everything seems to get played in slow motion you you you relive every single moment wobbling caravan that that's what that effect is and you evaluate your experience what would I do where would I turn next where would I go if this happened what would I do what what would happen here you know would I break harder look why that's great is I want to tell you tonight when it comes to intersecting with other people for God you will have a head on you will you will crash and burn at least once and I hope you do because we learned from our mistakes in that regard and we can rest assured that God is the one that is in control everything but it's great for you to begin to understand what your best approach at each intersection of life might be now verse 10 verse 10 says this it says each one should use what ever gift they have received to serve others faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms you know what it's great about that that passage and what Peter saying tonight here it means that there'll never be a one size fits all in demonstrating the love of God the people in the world now last week I said how how will you use your knobbly bits if you weren't with us everyone had a bit of a puzzle I wasn't being rude everyone had a bit of a puzzle and and I was saying that the knobbly bits of of your piece of of God's puzzle is your unique shape and your talents and your gifts and your abilities and the things you love and the passions that just this is the switch you want how will you use your knobbly bits in God's purposes how we use your passions in his purposes in order to call people into God's never ending story so in that sense practically tonight guys here's your challenge for the week what common ground purposes already exist in the relationships that you have with people what's the what's the common ground that could be used to glorify God your common interest in your common passions and your common linkages to the everyday world things like dirt bikes you see I'm not much of a dirt biker but my brother-in-law Greg is and he's a bit of a personal hero for me in this regard because Greg hasn't been a Christian all his life but he's got a passion for dirt bikes I've been at his garage I've seen how clean they are and how good they are I can't even climb on the thing I mean I I mechanically I struggle with my wife's hair straight now if I can't if I can't drive that thing properly what hope have I got on a dirt bike you know but see here's the thing you know Greg I always used to go dirt biking it's been a passion all of all of his life but when God came into his life God switched that totally upside down for his purposes and now every second or third month he goes down to these dirt bike camps down south near Canberra and he works with a bunch of other passionate guys that all call themselves Christians and they run camps for underprivileged kids and and and and school groups and kids that that are going to be there and have a bit of fun but they're in going to encounter God's story you know what I love about dirt bikes who said evangelism couldn't be fun look guys what I want to say tonight and and and it's it's it's Grego's story is that I want to give you permission to explore some new evangelistic strategies get on the bike if you have to but here's the thing evangelism doesn't have to be reduced to doing something that you don't like with people that you don't know that you think don't care it doesn't work that way how can God use your passions redeem your passions when you place your faith in him for his purposes the dirt bike principle look guys the best way for us as a church to build a relationship is to simply discover ways for us to be useful and you might have all sorts of gifts and talents we've had knitting groups in this place that have engaged with the mums of the community we've had all sorts of ways that people have used their gifts and their abilities and so I'm just saying evaluate look back upon the things that you do each and every time to find out how you could adapt to find a common ground intersection and I mean if God can use dirt bikes and maybe you can use hair straighteners I'm not sure but but they're there it's about finding those common linkages and adapting for the sake of the broader story that's what Jesus did right it's a finish tonight John chapter one in the beginning was the reason for life and that reason for life was God and the reason for life was with God and he was God and John says he became flesh he became a human and and we saw him the great story the gospel guys is that the God spanned the entire universe and became a man a human so he could intersect with the human race and and that human being turned the world absolutely upside down and went guys when we look at the effort that God went to to intersect with your life it means one of two things for you tonight look it means firstly if you if you don't believe in God or you don't believe in Jesus just take a look at the story at least at the effort that God is going to to get your attention you know it's not about sending boats or helicopters but he sends friends and he sends boyfriends and girlfriends and he sends family members and he sends neighbors and he sends family you think all this is by accident I want to say tonight look these intersections are the pen and the ink on the paper of his story that it's how God is is interacting with your life and so if you're at that point tonight I just pray that you don't write this moment off that you just don't deem that this is something you've got to do tonight and you were just floating through it was all your own doing God ordains every specific moment in people's lives and you can intersect with him through faith in Jesus Christ tonight would you like that but it means if also you're a follower of Jesus friends brothers sisters look guys if God went to the effort across the universe in order to intersect with us do you seriously think you know our motivation in terms of getting right do you think it's that much of an effort for this week for us to be intentional about crossing a classroom or a school playground or a university campus or a workplace or just a conversation to demonstrate the great love of God in this incredible world that's the heart the reason as to why we do this sort of stuff we're not on some evangelistic crusade and friends as I close with this story because I always believe in practicing what you preach and that's always a difficult thing this week but I was thinking about your passions his purposes this week I had Friday off I thought about my passions I love to cycle I'm really in the cycling at the moment love my lycra and so Kristen was at work and and I decided to get on the bike and and I was gonna write all the way to Brooklyn but I thought you know Lord redeem redeem these unusual purposes young man in such skimpy looking outfit and and I wrote all the way to Brooklyn and and I just prayed I said Lord you just use me today will you I'm gonna preach on this on Sunday can you just use me today so I rode my bike all the way up to Brooklyn didn't see one other person on the way up there not that I was gonna get in a big conversation on the back of a bike but I get to Brooklyn I sit down at a cafe there's a few mums around but nothing's sort of happening there so I thought I'll leave that go back go to get on the train get to the train station there's not one soul on the train station I think it's great winds blowing its howlings tumbleweed going down the platform I'm thinking Lord you're doing a great job so far I've got about four hours until Kristen gets home you better hurry up Lord and so I get I get there the train pulls up the doors open and I think okay I'm gonna go in this carriage and I go there put my bike down sit down there trying to be out of the way of people not a pretty sight and there are these two lovely old people sitting next to me they are just across there they got their bags they're on the train I said oh wow you guys off for a bit of a trip they said yeah yeah we're off to Europe on a Trafalgar tour and so for the next half an hour we got talking about Europe and all the fun things that they were gonna do and they live up on the central coast at Davestown and and as the conversations going I don't know if you do this but I'm I'm praying whilst I'm trying to listen us guys I'm not good at multitasking but I'm I'm praying at the same time Lord Lord is this it is this one is this the intersection and I'm three minutes from Epping station I'm praying Lord you better hurry up here I've got three minutes and so the whole time I just been listening to what they do I think it should I drop the pasta bombshell in there that's got to do something spiritual but I thought no no I'll leave it and then finally three minutes for the station the the old man says well what do you do and I said well I'm a I'm a minister I went wow what denomination I said our churches are Christ they're like the Baptists and they said oh we're Baptists at which point I thought awesome God you've spent half an hour of my life getting me all excited for a bunch of Christians two minutes to go almost the Epping station coming down the station so yeah I'm up I'm a pastor or we'll come to our church I'm thinking great I'm supposed to be running people to my church so I can't I'll go to Green Point Baptist when I'm up there next Devoker staying with the folks and and and and and so I'm there I'm thinking Lord what are you doing and all this and I said look it's my last railway line I said well look at the least folks brothers sisters you've been great because I'm preaching on intersections and how God uses us to intersect with people's lives this week and you've been really good sermon research for me so thanks heaps for doing all that because I got up this morning and I prayed Lord just put me in place of someone who I could just share a bit of God's grace and love with and you've been great practice for me at which point the older lady Elaine just burst into tears and and she's tapping the leg of the old garden even know what his name was and she said well you know what I've got a minute and a half left here before the Epping train station's coming up here she says I'm I'm carrying some really serious health concerns over to Europe and I'm just so anxious and I've been praying to God this morning that I could just find some comfort could you just pray for me which point the train pulled up the doors opened and I turned around I said look before I get on this bike I'll do that for you and the last vision I had of this lady was just of old couple in their eighties and the older lady in tears just sort of pat in the leg of her husband who obviously had been at the same time praying Lord what are you doing can you give me a sign in that sense and I use some chump little minister in Lycra to affirm that God is at work now guys I didn't save anyone this week your passion his purposes and open eyes to the intersections of life guys if each and every one of us just had one of those this week what there could be a hundred and thirteen hundred and fifty hundred and fifty of those sorts of intersections this week if our eyes are open if we had seven and do the math we could be close to a thousand but look our role in the church is not to get everyone in the world to know Jesus it's to position ourselves so that everyone in our community in our part of the world knows someone that knows Jesus and so you may very well be that one person that knows Jesus in a company of a thousand people in a university of tens of thousands of people in a school of a couple hundred people in a mother's group of fifteen people I don't know you could be that one person but the truth on a stadium tonight is that God wants to impact the world through the intersections of your life with other people open your eyes proceed with caution May we continue to evaluate our experiences as we continue the Christian church.