00:00:00 --> 00:00:06 My thoughts and prayers are with you at this difficult time.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:08 I wish you well.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 I hope everything is okay.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:16 These are all very common ways of expressing that we support someone.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:22 But I wonder if they often don't turn into action.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 I see it all over social media.
00:00:24 --> 00:00:28 Someone will express a hard time that they've been going,
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 and people will often respond,
00:00:31 --> 00:00:33 my thoughts and prayers are with you.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:40 But do people actually put any thought into a friend situation?
00:00:40 --> 00:00:44 Is there any seeking to understand a crisis that happens?
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 Like in France last year,
00:00:48 --> 00:00:49 there was a lot of people saying,
00:00:49 --> 00:00:51 my thoughts and prayers are for France.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 And when people say my thoughts and prayers,
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 do those people even believe in a God,
00:00:57 --> 00:01:01 let alone actually pray to him about the situation?
00:01:02 --> 00:01:06 I think this sentiment has become a nicer version of good luck.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 It's a hope that you'll figure things out on your own.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:11 I wish you well,
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 but I'm not actually going to do anything about it.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:16 It's a message that can say,
00:01:17 --> 00:01:17 I love you,
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 and I support you,
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 but I'm not actually going to get up and support you.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:29 I wonder if it is because it is so much easier to actually just say words
00:01:29 --> 00:01:33 than to be motivated to engage and to help.
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 We who know how much Jesus has done for us,
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 his love and his sacrifice shown on the cross,
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 we too can fall to this same temptation.
00:01:45 --> 00:01:46 The temptation to say,
00:01:46 --> 00:01:46 oh, look,
00:01:47 --> 00:01:48 I know I should forgive,
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 but it's hard,
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 and so I'm just going to say those words,
00:01:53 --> 00:01:54 I forgive you,
00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 and then I'm going to hold a grudge for years.
00:01:58 --> 00:01:58 Oh,
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 I know I should give generously,
00:02:00 --> 00:02:01 and you know,
00:02:01 --> 00:02:01 I'll pledge,
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 but I really want to hold on to my money,
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 just in case something happens tomorrow.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:08 Look,
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 I say that I'm not a racist with my words,
00:02:11 --> 00:02:11 but do you know what?
00:02:12 --> 00:02:13 With my eyes,
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 I judge people who have different skin than me.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:22 Can you imagine if Jesus was a thoughts and prayers savior?
00:02:23 --> 00:02:24 If he said,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:25 you know,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:25 oh,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 look at you guys down there on earth,
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 I see all of your sin,
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 I see your hardened hearts turned away from God,
00:02:34 --> 00:02:35 and look,
00:02:35 --> 00:02:36 I'm thinking about you guys,
00:02:36 --> 00:02:37 if that helps.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:43 We would be nowhere if Jesus was just a thoughts and prayers savior.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:53 The challenge for us today is to turn our good intentions into actions that express God's love for us.
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 We are in a series called Share Hope,
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 and we want to share the hope that we have in Jesus.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:06 We want to also share the hope for today with people in very practical ways.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 And today,
00:03:08 --> 00:03:12 we're going to see that our love is shaped by our hope in God.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 Love in deed and action,
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 and not just in words.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:21 We're going to be looking at a letter written by the apostle John,
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 and he outlines what this kind of love looks like.
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 So please have your Bibles open,
00:03:26 --> 00:03:27 have your St.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:28 Paul's app open.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 There are notes that you can be taking for this sermon.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 And the first thing that we're going to see as we have a look at 1 John,
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 is that we are loved.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 We're going to have a look at 1 John 3 verse 1.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:46 See what great love the Father has lavished on us,
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 that we should be called children of God.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:54 God has shown his wonderful love through his adoption.
00:03:55 --> 00:04:01 He has taken a lost and hopeless people and brought them into his family.
00:04:01 --> 00:04:06 Now all those who love Jesus are in God's family,
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 and are to be on about God's mission,
00:04:09 --> 00:04:10 to do the same thing as God,
00:04:11 --> 00:04:12 to love others.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:19 What we love is shaped by the one who has loved us.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:20 Verse 11,
00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 For this is the message that we heard from the beginning,
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 we should love one another.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:28 Love one another.
00:04:28 --> 00:04:34 John contrasts this with an illustration of Cain and Abel,
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 Adam and Eve's first two sons.
00:04:37 --> 00:04:38 Have a look at verse 12 with me.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:42 Do not be like Cain who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:44 And why did he murder him?
00:04:45 --> 00:04:49 Because his own actions were evil and his brothers were righteous.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 Cain murdered his brother,
00:04:53 --> 00:04:57 proof that he was influenced and shaped by Satan.
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 Our actions,
00:04:59 --> 00:05:00 the things we do,
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 point to the one who shapes us.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 They can either show that we're being shaped by Satan,
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 or that we are being shaped by God.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:10 Verse 14,
00:05:10 --> 00:05:14 We know that we have passed from death to life,
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 because we love each other.
00:05:18 --> 00:05:21 Anyone who does not love remains in death.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:27 John is saying that hate and murder is a marker that we don't know Christ.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 But love is a mark that we have died with Christ,
00:05:32 --> 00:05:33 and we have been raised with him.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:36 Growing up in Sydney,
00:05:36 --> 00:05:40 I am very much a product of this culture.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 The things that this culture here in Sydney loves,
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 I have found myself loving as well.
00:05:45 --> 00:05:50 I can't help but find that when I take my kids to McDonald's,
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 I get a little bit excited about a Happy Meal,
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 because it's got the good food,
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 but it's also got a toy.
00:05:57 --> 00:05:58 And that still excites me,
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 even though that's just for my kids.
00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 But I continue to love the things my culture loves.
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 I love the movies that my culture tells me to love.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 I love the TV shows.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 I love the food.
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 I love what my culture has shaped me to love.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:14 And to a large degree,
00:06:14 --> 00:06:19 it's consuming capitalistic products and being entertained.
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 But when we become children of God,
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 our culture changes.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 The most influential culture changes.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 We go from being something called ethnocentric.
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 Ethnocentric means that our ethnicity,
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 our culture is our center, ethnocentric.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:45 So we go from thinking that everything that our culture loves
00:06:45 --> 00:06:46 is good to love.
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 Everything our culture does is right.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 And everything every other culture chooses to love is wrong.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 When we become children of God,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 we become shaped by Christ.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 We join a Christ culture
00:07:00 --> 00:07:04 instead of thinking that our culture is right.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 And so before anything else,
00:07:06 --> 00:07:07 I am a Christian.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 My loves and the things I dislike
00:07:11 --> 00:07:12 are to be shaped by Christ.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 They trump what my culture says.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 One example of this is that
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 in the Australian culture,
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 an Australian male wants to show that they are strong.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:25 They don't want to show weakness.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 They don't want to show emotions.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 And definitely don't cry.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 Unless it's at the football, that's okay.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:32 Whenever the football goes back.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:36 But Christ shows his own weakness
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 when he died on the cross.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 And I can be upfront about my own weakness
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 and how much I need his salvation
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 and how flawed I am.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:49 The hope we share
00:07:49 --> 00:07:54 is shaped by the one who has loved us.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:58 John encourages us to love
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 because we have been loved.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 This is a new culture that we are to be part of.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 And so the second thing that we see this morning
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 is that we have been loved to love.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:10 Have a look at verse 16.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 This is how we know what love is.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 And we ought to lay down our lives
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 for our brothers and sisters.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:26 He, Jesus, laid down his life for us.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 And John pushes this to be a principle for us.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 It is not just that Christians are saved by his generosity,
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 even to death,
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 but we are to show the same generosity,
00:08:39 --> 00:08:40 the same love.
00:08:40 --> 00:08:43 We should also lay down our lives for people.
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 I don't think I've ever actually had the chance
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 to lay down my life for someone else.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 I say to my kids, you know,
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 I would jump in front of a bus for you.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:55 And I think I would,
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 but I've never actually had that opportunity.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:02 So it's really easy to have this thought up in the cloud,
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 up in the back of my brain somewhere that,
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 you know, I'd lay down my life for someone,
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 in particular my kids.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 But John immediately grounds this love for us.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 Verse 17.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 If anyone has material possessions
00:09:17 --> 00:09:21 and sees a brother or sister in need.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 John makes this hope that we have
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 incredibly simple and practical.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:29 If we have a material possession
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 and a brother or sister is in need of it,
00:09:32 --> 00:09:33 we share it with them.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 Let's not make it more difficult than that.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:37 We see a need,
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 we have that material possession,
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 we meet that need.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:44 But if we see a need that we can meet
00:09:44 --> 00:09:48 and instead we close our hearts,
00:09:48 --> 00:09:51 we turn away and only offer,
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 say, thoughts and prayers,
00:09:53 --> 00:09:54 well, John questions us.
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 Let me read verse 17 again.
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 If anyone has material possessions
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 and sees a brother or sister in need,
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 but has no pity on them,
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 how can the love of God be in that person?
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 How can the love of God be in that person?
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 Have they heard the gospel?
00:10:12 --> 00:10:14 Are they actually following Jesus?
00:10:15 --> 00:10:19 If we can't love with the love that we've been shown,
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 do we know God's love?
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 If there is a person in front of us
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 and they need something that we have
00:10:26 --> 00:10:27 and we don't share it,
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 do we know God's love for us?
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 Are we still operating like our own culture dictates
00:10:34 --> 00:10:40 instead of operating by a Christ-shaped culture?
00:10:40 --> 00:10:45 John knows the importance and difficulty of the reality of this.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 And so to encourage and also challenge us,
00:10:48 --> 00:10:49 he writes in verse 18,
00:10:50 --> 00:10:50 Dear children,
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 let us not love with words or speech,
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 but with actions and in truth.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 He starts with dear children.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:02 This is a recurring phrase that comes up in John's letters.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:06 It's an expression of closeness and love and affection.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:10 It's the parent that says to a child,
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 little child, share with your brother.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:18 Little child, I forgive you and I love you,
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 but don't disobey.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 Little child, it's okay.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 Dear children,
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 let us not love with words or speech,
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 but with actions and in truth.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 Love with actions and in truth,
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 not just with words.
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 Let's not just be thoughts and prayers type Christians
00:11:41 --> 00:11:45 in just words or some words we've typed on the computer,
00:11:46 --> 00:11:50 but let's love with actions and in truth.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 Loving in action is truth
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 because when it's just words,
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 it can show to be false and hollow.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 And so to be able to love other people,
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 we have to know God's love for us.
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 We have to know how loved we are to love.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:11 Romans 3 is a great place to be reminded
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 of how amazing God's love is for us.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:18 It paints a picture of our sin and our rebellion,
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 and yet God chooses to show his love.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 He chooses to show his righteousness.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:26 Let me encourage you,
00:12:26 --> 00:12:30 go and spend some time meditating on God's love for us.
00:12:30 --> 00:12:34 Because when we are reminded of all that God has done,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 sharing his love is so much easier.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 A couple of weeks ago,
00:12:39 --> 00:12:43 as I was preparing for this series on sharing hope,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 thinking about what it means to love others
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 and to show mercy,
00:12:47 --> 00:12:50 it was just as isolation was starting to ease.
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 And my family, we went out,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 we went through Chatswood for the first time in a while,
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 and we went down the road and we bought ice cream.
00:12:58 --> 00:13:02 And as we were walking down through the Chatswood shops area,
00:13:02 --> 00:13:07 I noticed somebody on the side who was homeless,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 and they were clearly in need.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:15 But my heart and my eyes have built up a callus
00:13:15 --> 00:13:17 against people and their needs.
00:13:17 --> 00:13:20 I've gotten used to ignoring people's needs.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 But as we walked past,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:26 I noticed the eyes of one of my children
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 watched this person,
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 and I could see the compassion they had on them.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 And so as we walked back up,
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 I said to this child,
00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 do you think we should help out this person?
00:13:37 --> 00:13:40 Do you think we should help them with their needs?
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 And thankfully at that time,
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 I actually had some cash in my pocket,
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 which I don't often do.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 And I said, I have some money.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 Do you think we should give it to them?
00:13:48 --> 00:13:51 And my child said, yes, I think we should help them.
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 And so we walked over,
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 and we shared what we had with them.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 Now, I know that that was a very small thing.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02 It was not much help in the long run.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:07 But I had a chance to share this part of the Bible with my kids,
00:14:08 --> 00:14:13 to show that we have been loved by God so much,
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 that we are called to love others.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 He has been so generous to us.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 We are called to be generous to others.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 And the reality is, we can do it.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:28 We need to have that connection between
00:14:28 --> 00:14:32 how awesome God is and how much He has loved us.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 And when we do,
00:14:35 --> 00:14:38 it is so much easier to share His love with other people.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:42 So we have seen that we have been loved.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 We have seen that we have been loved,
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 and now we are to love other people.
00:14:47 --> 00:14:50 And now we are told to do that.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:51 Go and do that.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 Don't just do that in words or speech.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 Actually love with actions.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 But the third thing this morning,
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 well, what does this look like?
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 How do we love?
00:14:59 --> 00:15:04 Earlier, I was putting down the idea
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 of being a thoughts and prayers Christian.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 But I think it's actually a good place to start.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 When we look at the world right now,
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 the problems seem so big.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:18 They seem insurmountable.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:22 How are we supposed to meet all the needs of the bushfires,
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 let alone the needs of all those people impacted by coronavirus?
00:15:26 --> 00:15:30 There's a number of cafes around here
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 who are all doing it particularly tough
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 because their businesses just disappeared.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 And even if I went to four different cafes
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 and bought two coffees a day,
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 the reality is it's not going to help them that much.
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 And I'll just be buzzing from caffeine.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 Now, I pushed hard against the idea
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 of being a thoughts and prayers Christian.
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 But if we start with those two,
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 it's actually a really wonderful thing
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 to think about an issue,
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 to actually spend time investigating
00:15:58 --> 00:16:01 and researching a friend's problem,
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 an issue overseas,
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 a problem in our country,
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 we might realise we actually can help out.
00:16:09 --> 00:16:12 We can serve somebody.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 Maybe something we give will actually make a difference.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 And if we can't,
00:16:17 --> 00:16:20 just understanding, seeking to understand,
00:16:20 --> 00:16:22 helps us to empathise with others
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 and love them more.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 And so the first thing we can start with
00:16:26 --> 00:16:28 is thinking deeply about an issue.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 And the second thing is prayer.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:33 Prayer is a good and wonderful thing to do
00:16:33 --> 00:16:35 because we have a God
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 who is in control of all things.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 There are plenty of problems in our world right now,
00:16:40 --> 00:16:42 in our country as well,
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 that seem too big for us.
00:16:44 --> 00:16:47 But they are not too big for our God
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 because He is sovereign
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 and in control of all things.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 Prayer is an effective way
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 to love people who are in need.
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 And so the next time
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 you're tempted to just type,
00:17:00 --> 00:17:00 oh, you know,
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 my thoughts and prayers are with you,
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 well, do those things.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 Take a moment to investigate
00:17:05 --> 00:17:08 and to spend some time in prayer to God.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:12 But the call and the challenge for us today
00:17:12 --> 00:17:15 is that deep thinking and understanding
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 and real prayer to God
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 is not where it should end.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 I found it really difficult
00:17:21 --> 00:17:24 watching what's been happening in the US
00:17:24 --> 00:17:28 with the protests and the riots
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 after the death of George Floyd
00:17:30 --> 00:17:33 almost two weeks ago in police custody.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:37 I've been horrified by both the rioters
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 and by some of the politicians.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:43 With an issue like widespread racism,
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 it is just one of those big things
00:17:45 --> 00:17:49 that I don't even know how to start dealing with.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:53 And I don't just want to support in words
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 and not in actions.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:59 Tuesday week that just passed in the week,
00:17:59 --> 00:18:03 it was branded as Black Out Tuesday
00:18:03 --> 00:18:06 to show that Black Lives Matter.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:09 And many people change their image
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 on Facebook or Twitter
00:18:11 --> 00:18:14 to just a blank image of black
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 to show that Black Lives Matter
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 and to show their support.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 I thought about doing the same thing
00:18:22 --> 00:18:25 because I believe that black lives do matter.
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 But I stopped
00:18:26 --> 00:18:29 because I thought
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 that it almost would have been too simple
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 because for me,
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 if I had done that,
00:18:35 --> 00:18:38 that would have been the only action that I took.
00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 I would have just changed a picture
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 on the internet
00:18:43 --> 00:18:47 and that's where my action would have ended.
00:18:47 --> 00:18:50 For me, that's all it would have done.
00:18:50 --> 00:18:52 Now, there's nothing wrong with doing that.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:54 There's nothing wrong with supporting
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56 our African brothers and sisters
00:18:56 --> 00:18:58 and people of African descent in that way.
00:18:58 --> 00:19:00 But for me,
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 I think it would have been a problem
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04 because that's all I would have done.
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 It's easy to think that racism
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 is just a problem overseas
00:19:09 --> 00:19:12 and it's easy to support in that way
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 because it's far away.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 But the reality is,
00:19:15 --> 00:19:17 is that racism is alive and well
00:19:17 --> 00:19:19 in Australia too.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 We only have to think of our
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 indigenous community.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:26 People from an indigenous background
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 are put in jail
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 at rates far higher
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 than the rest of the population.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 In 2015,
00:19:34 --> 00:19:37 an indigenous man died in jail
00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 in very similar circumstances
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 to George Floyd.
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 We only have to go back
00:19:42 --> 00:19:44 to the start of the coronavirus spread
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 in Australia a couple of months ago
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 to be reminded of the racism
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 that came out
00:19:49 --> 00:19:51 to people from an Asian background.
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 There was abuse
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 and beatings
00:19:54 --> 00:19:56 on the streets of Sydney
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 that just stemmed from racism
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 because people
00:19:59 --> 00:20:01 looked different.
00:20:02 --> 00:20:04 Part of the action
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 that we are called to do
00:20:05 --> 00:20:07 means calling out racism
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 when we see it.
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 We are all raised
00:20:10 --> 00:20:13 to think in an ethnocentric way,
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 to think that our culture
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 is right,
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 but Christians should seek
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 to bring Christ to bear
00:20:19 --> 00:20:21 on all that we do,
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 what we love
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 and what we allow
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 to influence us.
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 The love that we share
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 is to be shaped
00:20:29 --> 00:20:31 by the love God has had for us
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 and to love in action.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 I want to encourage you
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 to do two things
00:20:36 --> 00:20:39 if you are in the same place
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 that I have been concerned
00:20:40 --> 00:20:42 about what has been happening
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 in Australia,
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 Australia,
00:20:44 --> 00:20:44 let alone overseas.
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 The first thing
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48 is to write a letter.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 Earlier in the week,
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 I wrote a letter
00:20:51 --> 00:20:54 to those who can make change
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 in our state.
00:20:56 --> 00:20:58 I wrote to two members
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 of our state parliament,
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 to the Minister for Corrections
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 and the Minister for Police,
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 the Honourable David Elliott
00:21:04 --> 00:21:07 and the Honourable Anthony Roberts,
00:21:08 --> 00:21:08 employing them
00:21:08 --> 00:21:10 to make a change
00:21:10 --> 00:21:13 because they have
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 significant influence
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 and power.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 You can get a template
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 for the letter
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 that I wrote.
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 You can go to a website
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 called
00:21:20 --> 00:21:24 commongrace.org.au.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:26 It has a lot of information
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 there for Christians
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 about supporting
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 indigenous people
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 in our country.
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 Or you can even contact me,
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 contact the church.
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 I can send you my letter
00:21:33 --> 00:21:35 and you can send that as well.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 The second thing
00:21:37 --> 00:21:37 that you can do
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 is be aware
00:21:39 --> 00:21:41 of your ethnocentric bias
00:21:41 --> 00:21:44 and change what you do.
00:21:45 --> 00:21:45 Be aware
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 that we are all ethnocentric.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 We all,
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 just the way we are brought up,
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 are raised to think
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 that our cultural way
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 of doing things
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 is right.
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 And we need to be aware
00:21:57 --> 00:21:57 of that
00:21:57 --> 00:22:00 and move away from that.
00:22:00 --> 00:22:02 Because it is very easy
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 to go from thinking
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 our culture is right
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 to being racist
00:22:05 --> 00:22:07 and saying that people
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 who are different
00:22:08 --> 00:22:08 are wrong.
00:22:09 --> 00:22:11 There is no one race
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 or culture
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 that is more Christian
00:22:13 --> 00:22:15 than all the others.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 This is one of the reasons
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 why we speak
00:22:18 --> 00:22:21 of being a trans-cultural church.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 We don't just want to be
00:22:22 --> 00:22:24 an Australian culture church.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 We don't want to be
00:22:24 --> 00:22:26 a Chinese culture church.
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 We want to be
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 a church
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 that is shaped
00:22:29 --> 00:22:32 by a Christ culture.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:35 One that is united
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 in our diversity.
00:22:38 --> 00:22:40 And this is really difficult.
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 One of the small ways
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 I've noticed
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 that I need to change
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 my ethnocentric preference
00:22:47 --> 00:22:49 is just in the way
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 I give people nicknames.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:53 If you've ever met me,
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 I have probably given you
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 four different nicknames
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 in the space of four minutes.
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 It is one of my favourite
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 things to do.
00:22:58 --> 00:23:00 And we have
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02 a dear colleague at work,
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 Adrian,
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 our missions pastor.
00:23:04 --> 00:23:06 His last name is Wong
00:23:06 --> 00:23:06 and
00:23:06 --> 00:23:08 I call him
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 Wongi sometimes.
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 And I did that
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 with another brother,
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 another Christian brother
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 of
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 Chinese background
00:23:16 --> 00:23:18 and he was shocked
00:23:18 --> 00:23:20 because it is not
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 a respectful thing
00:23:21 --> 00:23:21 to do.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 And
00:23:23 --> 00:23:26 I had this moment
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 where I just went,
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 ah yeah,
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 but I'm Australian
00:23:28 --> 00:23:30 and this is what I do
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 and this is fine.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:33 And Adrian's okay with it
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 but I realised
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 that my preference
00:23:35 --> 00:23:37 was not actually
00:23:37 --> 00:23:39 loving my brother.
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 Not actually
00:23:40 --> 00:23:42 loving people
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 who are from
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 a different culture
00:23:43 --> 00:23:45 who don't,
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 who understand
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 that it is not
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 respecting people.
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 We need to be aware
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 of our own biases
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 and to instead
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 be shaped by Christ
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 and to change
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 our behaviour.
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 to love
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 in action
00:23:57 --> 00:23:59 and not just
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 in words.
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 Verse 18,
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 Dear children,
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 let us love
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 with words,
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 let us not love
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 with words or speech
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 but with actions
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 and in truth.
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 So,
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 we should first of all
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 be thoughts
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 and prayers Christians.
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 We should be thinking
00:24:14 --> 00:24:14 deeply about
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 other people's problems
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 and bringing them
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 to our Lord.
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 And we should also
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 be prepared
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 to help those
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 around us
00:24:22 --> 00:24:22 in need.
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 seeking to bring
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 real healing
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 to people's lives
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 who are damaged
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 from sin,
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 who are damaged
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 from their own sin
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 and other people's sin.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:34 Their needs could be
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36 from psychological trauma,
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 from social instability,
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 from economic
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 or physical pain.
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 I want to encourage you
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 to come
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 and drop off food
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 for the Anglicare Food Drive.
00:24:45 --> 00:24:45 That is a really
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 wonderful thing to do.
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 Be supporting
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 Sam and Sally
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 financially
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 as they seek
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 to plant their church
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 and see many people
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 on the Gold Coast
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 come to know
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 and love Jesus.
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 Give money
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 to support
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 the people
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 in Narrabri
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 who are continuing
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 to find life difficult
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 after the floods
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 and bushfires.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 These are all
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 great things to do.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 I commend them
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 to you
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 and I will be
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 financially supporting
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 all of them.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 But let's not think
00:25:15 --> 00:25:17 that when we do
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 those things
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 we have met
00:25:19 --> 00:25:19 the call
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 for the Christian
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 to love
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 in action.
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 God has called us
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 to meet the needs
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 of the people
00:25:26 --> 00:25:28 that are around us.
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 Brothers and sisters,
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 we can give
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 to every worthy cause
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 but we can also
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 ignore
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 the people
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 God puts
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 in front of us.
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 Let's not only
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 love with words
00:25:41 --> 00:25:41 or speech
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 but love
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44 like we have been loved
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 in actions
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 by God himself.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 Let me pray.
00:25:48 --> 00:25:50 Dear Heavenly Father,
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 I thank you so much
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 for your love
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 to us.
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 I thank you
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 that you
00:25:55 --> 00:25:57 did not leave
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 us alone
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 but that you
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 sent your Son
00:26:00 --> 00:26:02 and that he
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 acted to die
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 on the cross
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 the greatest
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 expression
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 of love ever.
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 Heavenly Father,
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 help us
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 to love
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 like you have loved.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 To love
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 when it is difficult,
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 to love
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 when we see
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 people's needs
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 in front of us
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 and not just
00:26:17 --> 00:26:19 give loving
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 words
00:26:19 --> 00:26:21 but to love
00:26:21 --> 00:26:23 in physical
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 needs,
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 Lord.
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 Father,
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 help us
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 to be able
00:26:25 --> 00:26:28 to support
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 the many
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 things that we
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 are seeking
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 to support
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 this month.
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 Father,
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 continue to be
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 with Sam
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 and Sally.
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 Help us
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 to support
00:26:36 --> 00:26:36 Anglicare
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 as they support
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 many people
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 and Narrabri
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 as well.
00:26:40 --> 00:26:40 But Lord,
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 open our eyes
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 to the people
00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 who are in front
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 of us
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 who have
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 needs.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 Change our
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 hearts
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 that we
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 would love
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 like you
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 love us,
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 Lord.
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 Amen.
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 Amen.