Love
Series: Christianity and Mental Health
Speaker: Chris Cipollone
Date: 6th July 2025
Passages:
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Thank you again so much for having me.
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 And if you weren't here last week, I spoke about the topic of hope.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:09 And particularly, as Steve said, hope through my own story.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 I'm not going to talk about myself so much today,
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 so you can have a break from that.
00:00:13 --> 00:00:18 But my thesis of Christianity is that hope is actually found
00:00:18 --> 00:00:19 very often through suffering,
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 which is an incredible reframe on this topic of mental illness.
00:00:24 --> 00:00:25 That the gospel is not stoicism.
00:00:25 --> 00:00:29 Our message is not, there's no pain here.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 The message of the gospel is absolutely there is pain.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 We have a whole category of lament in the Bible.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 And in the midst of that pain,
00:00:40 --> 00:00:44 you can find true hope that does not put you to shame.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:49 And with that, one of my umbrella arguments, I suppose, to you last week
00:00:49 --> 00:00:53 was that I don't believe in pitting psychology against theology.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 But rather, if we try to do psychology without theology,
00:00:57 --> 00:01:02 we're going to miss a vital part of what it is to be made in the image of God.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 And so last week was broadly aimed at asking the question,
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 what if it's me who's suffering?
00:01:09 --> 00:01:13 And as Steve said, this week's frame as we zoom out is,
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 what if it's somebody who I love?
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 What if it's somebody in this church?
00:01:18 --> 00:01:19 What if it's somebody in my life?
00:01:19 --> 00:01:26 How do church communities respond to this increasingly common issue?
00:01:26 --> 00:01:30 And at the risk of just a little bit of shameless self-promotion about me for a moment,
00:01:30 --> 00:01:34 this talk is in many ways the marriage of two books that I have written.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 One on the topic of mental health called Down Not Out,
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 and the other one which is actually coming out in about six weeks
00:01:41 --> 00:01:42 called Here to Love,
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 recapturing the centrality of Jesus' greatest command.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 And I'll talk a little bit about that in a moment.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 Now when I told people about Down Not Out in 2017,
00:01:54 --> 00:01:55 finding a mainstream publisher,
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 the very common question you get is,
00:01:57 --> 00:01:58 how did you get a book deal?
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 I've heard it's really hard, and it is.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 I'd submitted many book proposals over the years,
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 and I knew what a rejection letter looked like.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:10 But I knew that when I approached the good book company in the UK,
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 it wasn't an automatic yes, but it also wasn't a no.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:19 And so I dove a little bit deeper and tried to just make my foot go through that door.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:24 And of course, the God answer is that it was God's will that I got a book deal.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 But the human answer is,
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 I refer to a lady by the name of Alison Mitchell.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:34 Alison is one of the senior editors with the Good Book Company.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:39 And the reason that she was intrigued by my proposition is that she, like me,
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 had endured a long-term mental health condition.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 In fact, I would say hers was far worse than mine.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:51 She had a medical resistance to any sort of medical intervention,
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 which meant that it was just such a long journey,
00:02:54 --> 00:02:55 and it's still ongoing for her.
00:02:55 --> 00:03:00 When my book got published in 2017,
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 Alison wrote a blog post that went with it called
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 When Depression Makes Church So Hard.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 Now, Alison is a beautiful, beautiful woman of God.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 She loves the Lord with all of her heart.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 But she has this mental health condition,
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 and it gets very messy in terms of what church looks like for her.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 Alison lives in London, and she takes the tube to church,
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 and she told me that sometimes she'll get in the tube,
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 she'll rise up the stairs to where her church is,
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 and she'll look at the church, and she'll shake her head,
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 turn around, go straight back down in the tube back home.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:35 Some weeks, not every week.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:37 And yet she loves Jesus.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 And she tells this story about an Easter Sunday service
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 that I think is very, very profound.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 What you hear in Alison is a wrestle.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 She loves God, as I said.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:52 She loves her community.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 And yet, there's this other thing going on in her mind sometimes.
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 And this is what she says in the blog article.
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 She probably thought I was very rude.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 She sat next to me on Easter Sunday morning,
00:04:07 --> 00:04:08 smiled and asked how I was.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 But I just nodded my head and looked away.
00:04:12 --> 00:04:13 She didn't try again.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:18 What she didn't know was how hard I'd battled to get to church.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:23 Now, I was just barely managing to stay in my seat and not burst into tears.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 Every muscle was straining, desperate to flee.
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 And yet part of me wanted to be there.
00:04:30 --> 00:04:36 I was glad to be in my own church for Easter and to join with my church family in singing the Lord's praises.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:40 This is what depression can do to a Christian.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:47 Having struggled with severe depressive illness for over 12 years, which is now about 20 years,
00:04:47 --> 00:04:54 I can tell you that I never, and she emphasizes the word again, never want to go to church on a Sunday morning.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:59 It is an exhausting battle every single time, and I don't always make it.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 Getting through the door is an achievement, but the battle isn't yet over.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:03 Where can I sit?
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 Is there anyone safe to sit with?
00:05:06 --> 00:05:12 Do I have an exit strategy so that I can leave, if needed, without climbing over people or causing a distraction?
00:05:13 --> 00:05:17 Will I be able to sing, or would the words tumble out as sobs instead?
00:05:18 --> 00:05:22 Am I able to lift my head high enough to see the words on the screen,
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 or will my depressed hunch mean my head stays resolutely down?
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 And what if the pastor says something like,
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 go and talk to the person next to you while the children are going out?
00:05:32 --> 00:05:36 At that point, a shaft of dread strikes my heart.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:38 Even the end of the service is hard.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 How quickly can I leave without looking rude?
00:05:41 --> 00:05:45 Will the noise of so many people talking at once trigger a panic attack?
00:05:46 --> 00:05:50 Can I even lift my head high enough to smile at someone as I scuttle out?
00:05:50 --> 00:05:54 And if not, will they think again how rude and abrupt I am?
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 I once described my own experience like this.
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 My church was like a colorful ocean liner,
00:06:02 --> 00:06:03 sailing full steam ahead,
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 but I had fallen overboard,
00:06:05 --> 00:06:10 and was drowning in a monochrome sea as they sailed away without me.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:15 Thankfully, not every depressive finds church as hard as this.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 It's not even true for me every Sunday.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 Sometimes I manage a brief chat at the end,
00:06:20 --> 00:06:21 or to pray with someone before I go.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 When the depression is less severe,
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 I can lift my head and sing with enthusiasm.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:31 I guess that's part of what makes it hard for my church family.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 They don't know which Allison is going to turn up.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:40 There's a lot there, but I don't know about you,
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 but when I read Allison's article,
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 and I'm someone who has always found church a refuge.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:46 I'm an extrovert.
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 And so even if I've had a rough week,
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 church is actually good for my soul.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 But for her, it's a very different story,
00:06:53 --> 00:06:57 which makes it a deeply confusing situation
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 for a community of believers.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 How do we respond?
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 It's confusing for Allison.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 It's going to be confusing for those who are not Allison.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:10 Which is why before we ask,
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 what do we do about this issue in our church?
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 And I will hopefully give you some thoughts on that towards the end.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:20 I want to zoom above the what and look at the how.
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 Because before we respond to Allison,
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 or to Chris, or anybody else,
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 each room has a different manifestation
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 of certain mental dysfunction,
00:07:30 --> 00:07:31 we need an umbrella principle.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:35 And I believe that that umbrella principle is love.
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 Love is the principle,
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 not just of mental health care,
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 but of all of life.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 In Matthew chapter 22,
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 Jesus famously says when he's asked
00:07:48 --> 00:07:50 what the greatest commandment is,
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 to love the Lord your God with all your heart
00:07:52 --> 00:07:55 and with all your soul and with all your mind.
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 This is the first and greatest commandment.
00:07:58 --> 00:07:59 And the second is like it.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 Love your neighbor as yourself.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:05 Those are famous words.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 When I ask Christians what the greatest commandment is,
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 very interestingly,
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 often they forget the as yourself bit at the end.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:14 That's a different sermon,
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 but just I'll give you that little seed to think about.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:19 But in my own journey,
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 and as I wrote this second book that's about to come out,
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 it was the next words that stopped me in my tracks.
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 Verse 40 of Matthew chapter 22.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:33 All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 All the law and all the prophets.
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 What I think Jesus is saying here
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 is that love is not the greatest commandment
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 because it's better than all of the others.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:49 He's saying that love is the greatest commandment
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 because it is all of the others.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 That is to say,
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 if you are doing your faith without love,
00:08:55 --> 00:08:56 you're kind of missing the point.
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 And if you're like the Pharisee,
00:08:59 --> 00:09:00 you know everything,
00:09:00 --> 00:09:01 but you're doing it without love.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:06 Love is crucial.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:07 In fact,
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 it's indispensable.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:12 But here's the challenge.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 Loving a friend who has just gotten engaged
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 is very different to loving a friend
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 who has just lost a mother or a father.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:23 What does love look like?
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 It might be the umbrella principle,
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 but how do we apply it?
00:09:29 --> 00:09:31 And I want to say that we have to apply it
00:09:31 --> 00:09:34 first by looking at God's love for us.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 One of the things I said last week
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 is that in order to move forward,
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 and even to stay in the present
00:09:39 --> 00:09:42 and to believe that God is still with us,
00:09:42 --> 00:09:45 we have to look at his past faithfulness.
00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 Grounding ourselves in everything God has already done
00:09:47 --> 00:09:51 is a powerful mental and spiritual discipline.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 And I said last week in Romans 5 verse 8
00:09:55 --> 00:09:59 that God demonstrates his own love for us in this.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 While we were still sinners,
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 Christ died for us.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:08 And I am going to get to Psalm 103 and Romans 12 in a minute,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 the readings that we had.
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 But before I do,
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 I just want to hone in on one other passage
00:10:13 --> 00:10:17 that I just find some of the most beautiful words of Scripture.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 What does it mean that Christ has died for us?
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 What does the response to that look like?
00:10:24 --> 00:10:28 And Hebrews 4 says something very, very powerful to us.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:33 Therefore, since we have a great high priest
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 who has ascended into heaven,
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 Jesus the Son of God,
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:43 For we do not have a high priest
00:10:43 --> 00:10:46 who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 What does it mean that God demonstrated his own love for us?
00:10:52 --> 00:10:55 It means that when God sees our suffering,
00:10:56 --> 00:10:57 he doesn't just say,
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 oh, I've read about that in a textbook.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 I've heard that's hard.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 He says, I know.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 I know pain.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 I died on a cross.
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 And a father says,
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 I know I turned my face away from my son.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:18 He is able to empathize with our weaknesses.
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 I find those some of the most beautiful words of Scripture.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 That when we cry out,
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 even sometimes without words,
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 he says, I know.
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 And so we may receive mercy
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 and find grace
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 to help us in our time of need.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:38 And just as we receive mercy and grace from God,
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 the more we can reflect that same
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 mercy and grace to others,
00:11:43 --> 00:11:47 we reflect God's love in our church communities.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 And while there are many,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 many passages I can use to point to God's love,
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 I want to go back to that Psalm 103,
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 that first reading.
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 Because King David,
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 as he opens,
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 begins by praising God.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 And look what he does again.
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 What we saw last week.
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 He starts by looking at the past.
00:12:06 --> 00:12:06 Praise the Lord,
00:12:07 --> 00:12:07 my soul,
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 or my inmost being.
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 Praise his holy name.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 Praise the Lord,
00:12:11 --> 00:12:11 my soul,
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 and forget not all his benefits.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:17 The reason we praise God,
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 the reason we love God,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 the reason we love our neighbor,
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 is we remember the benefits
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 we have received from God.
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 That is our primary motivation.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 And what I love in Psalm 103,
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 and if you don't have it open,
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 I'd really encourage you to have it,
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 because I'm going to move through it very quickly.
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 And I just want you to,
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 I guess,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 test what I'm saying.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 What we see in Psalm 103
00:12:39 --> 00:12:44 is a God who is spectacularly powerful
00:12:44 --> 00:12:47 and spectacularly loving.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 And that's also what we see
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 in that moment of Christ on the cross.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 Ultimate love on Good Friday.
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 Ultimate power on Easter Sunday.
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 And I love that,
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 because so often in the world,
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 we either have one or the other.
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 We have very powerful people
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 who seem to be lacking in love,
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 or we have very loving people
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 who seem to have no sort of platform
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 to show that love.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:12 It's not always the case,
00:13:13 --> 00:13:15 but rarely is it both in one person.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:16 And in God,
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 we see the perfection of both,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 love and power.
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 Psalm 103, verse 3.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 He forgives sins.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 He heals diseases.
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 He redeems life from the pit
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 in order to crown us
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 with love and compassion,
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 to satisfy desires,
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 to work justice,
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 and righteous for the oppressed.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 In verse 19,
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 His kingdom rules over all.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 A God who the angels
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 and even the stars themselves
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 would consider worthy
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 of their allegiance.
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 This is,
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56 to use an overused word
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 in the English language,
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 an awesome God.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02 A God who demands our awe,
00:14:03 --> 00:14:03 our fear,
00:14:04 --> 00:14:04 our reverence,
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 our whole heart.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:09 But here's the thing
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 that gets me about Psalm 103.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 If we see that God is love,
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 and the greatest of the commands
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 is love,
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 Psalm 103 shows us
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 that it's not just God's quality,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 it's not just who He is,
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 it's also a comment
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 about the quantity
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 of that love.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 And I just want to pause there
00:14:33 --> 00:14:33 for a moment
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 in our church communities.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 Love is not just the quality,
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 but it's also about the quantity,
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 and I'll come to that in a moment.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:42 Verse 8,
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 King David in his poeticism
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 tells us that
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 not only David,
00:14:49 --> 00:14:49 sorry,
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 not only that God
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 is compassionate and gracious,
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54 but it's also that
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 He's slow to anger.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 He's abounding in love.
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 Verse 11,
00:15:00 --> 00:15:00 not only does the Lord
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 love those who fear Him,
00:15:02 --> 00:15:04 that's a qualitative statement,
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 He loves them as high
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 as the heavens are above the earth.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:09 Quantity.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:10 Verse 12,
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 not only has He removed
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 our transgressions from us,
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 He has removed them
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 as far as the east
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 is from the west.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 Verse 17,
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 His love does not just last,
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 it lasts from everlasting
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 to everlasting.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 Verse 22,
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 not only does the Lord work,
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 He works everywhere
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 in His dominion.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 This is a God
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 of unending power
00:15:37 --> 00:15:40 and abundant love.
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 And these are the benefits
00:15:42 --> 00:15:42 that King David
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 is talking about
00:15:43 --> 00:15:45 in verse 2,
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 that we are called
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 not to forget.
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 So what's all of this
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 got to do with mental health?
00:15:52 --> 00:15:55 We'll come there in a moment.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 But for now,
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 Romans 12,
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 we see in the New Testament
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 that God's love
00:16:01 --> 00:16:01 is confirmed
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 in Jesus Christ.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 Verse 1,
00:16:05 --> 00:16:05 I urge you,
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 brothers and sisters,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:07 again, look,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 He goes to the past
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 in view of God's mercy,
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 in view of the God
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 of the Old Testament
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 and in view of the God
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 of the New Testament.
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 What do we do?
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 We offer our bodies
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 as a living sacrifice,
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 holy and pleasing to God.
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 This is your true
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 and proper worship.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 And so here,
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 we begin to pivot
00:16:27 --> 00:16:27 from the vertical.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 What has God done for us
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 into the horizontal?
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 How do we respond
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 to one another?
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 Paul begins
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 to give us the answer
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 that we offer our bodies
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 as a living sacrifice.
00:16:40 --> 00:16:40 Why?
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 In view of God's mercy.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 As King David would put it,
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 to forget not
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 the Lord's benefits.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 And so it's not only
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 the quality of God's love
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 that drives us to compassion.
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 It's not just that
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 He loves us
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 so that we love others.
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 It's the extent,
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 it's the extra mile
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 that we will never fully
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 be able to replicate,
00:17:03 --> 00:17:03 of course.
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 But the more we can think
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 about love in quality
00:17:07 --> 00:17:07 and quantity,
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 the more we reflect
00:17:09 --> 00:17:09 the love of God
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 in our churches.
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 And why am I talking
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 about quantity so much?
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 I think quantity
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 is a key issue
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 we need to think about
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 because it's probably
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 the thing
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 in the mental health landscape
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 I think is missing the most.
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 Not just in our churches
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 but in our society.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 What am I talking about?
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 I think very often
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 the way we talk
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 about mental illness
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 is we describe it
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 as an acute illness
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 when actually
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 it's a chronic illness
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 for the most part.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 You probably have heard
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 this statement that
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 in an effort
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 to destigmatize
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 mental illness
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 we say to people
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 it's okay to get help
00:17:50 --> 00:17:50 and it is.
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 But the way we frame that
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 is we say
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 well just like you'd go
00:17:54 --> 00:17:54 to a doctor
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 for a broken leg
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 you should be okay
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 to go to a doctor
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 if you're struggling
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 with depression
00:18:00 --> 00:18:00 or anxiety.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 It's a beautiful sentiment
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 but it's also flawed
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 and I gently want
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 to push back on it
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 because what we're doing
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 is we're comparing
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 what is for the most part
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 an acute illness,
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 a broken leg
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 that has a six
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 to eight week recovery
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 and you put it
00:18:15 --> 00:18:15 in a plaster
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 and generally
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 it goes well
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 we are comparing that
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 to a vastly
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 different story
00:18:22 --> 00:18:25 and if we subliminally
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 expect our loved ones
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 just to get better
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 with one tablet
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 and a few
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 psychologist sessions
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 then we've probably
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 got mismatched
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 expectations
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 and if we have
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 mismatched expectations
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 then we're probably
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 not going to love
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 very well.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 In 2012
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 Harvard University
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 developed a new
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 technology called
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 magnetic resonance
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 scanning.
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 This is what it
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 looked like.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 This is a real brain
00:18:50 --> 00:18:52 and it was designed
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 to show the different
00:18:53 --> 00:18:53 neural pathways
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 that would go on
00:18:54 --> 00:18:57 and just as an aside
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 I have to stand up
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 for God for a moment
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 and say
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 I can't be an atheist
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 when I look at that
00:19:02 --> 00:19:06 but that's not my point.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 My point is this
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 that's more complicated
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 than a leg bone
00:19:09 --> 00:19:13 and you don't have
00:19:13 --> 00:19:13 to be a scientist
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 to understand that.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 It's complex.
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 This is the biology
00:19:17 --> 00:19:19 behind Alison's comments
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 about church on Sunday.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 When something
00:19:22 --> 00:19:24 goes awry here
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 it's a very
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 very difficult journey
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 to work out
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 what's going on.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:29 We may not
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 actually fully know
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 why
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 with some people
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 this side of eternity.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 Alison doesn't know
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 why she's medically
00:19:36 --> 00:19:36 resistant.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:37 She just knows
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 that she is
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 because she's tried.
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 My point is
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 that the journey
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 of mental illness
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 is seldom short
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 and if you're not
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 a science person
00:19:47 --> 00:19:47 let me show you
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 one more diagram
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 that was shown to me.
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 This probably speaks
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 more my language.
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 This is a diagram
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 I was shown
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 as I was beginning
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 to leave hospital
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 as the outpatient program
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 and it was designed
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 to show us
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 what to expect
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 as we left.
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 This was shown
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 actually as the goal
00:20:05 --> 00:20:07 of good mental health
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 recovery.
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 And as you can see
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 very clearly
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 it's still a journey
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 of ups and downs.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 And as a church
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 this is what
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 you should expect
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 from people
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 in your church.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 And this is why
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 it's important
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 to consider
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 the quantity
00:20:23 --> 00:20:23 of love
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 and the chronic
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 nature of the illness.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 Because it's very
00:20:28 --> 00:20:28 tempting
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 to look at
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 just one of those
00:20:30 --> 00:20:30 peaks and troughs
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 and take that
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 sample size
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 and formulate
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 some sort of truth.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 It's easy for us
00:20:36 --> 00:20:36 to do it
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 within ourselves.
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 It's very easy
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 to use
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 as what psychologists
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 would say
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 that we would
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 catastrophize
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 certain situations.
00:20:46 --> 00:20:46 We would look
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 at one of those valleys
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 and think
00:20:48 --> 00:20:48 oh my goodness
00:20:48 --> 00:20:50 I'm back at square one.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 But what we want
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 to see within ourselves
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 and within our communities
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 is that upwards trajectory
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 over a longer
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 period of time.
00:20:58 --> 00:21:00 which is why
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 I'm talking so much
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 about quantity.
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 It's a long game.
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 Slow and steady
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 in my experience
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 really does win
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 the race
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 in good mental health care.
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 Now granted
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 there will be
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 some acute situations.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 Sometimes
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 when somebody
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 is in desperate need
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 it's a triple zero
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 phone call
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 to a hospital.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 But outside
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 of those very
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 immediate
00:21:23 --> 00:21:25 pressing situations
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 where there is
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 danger at hand
00:21:26 --> 00:21:29 the broad picture
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 of good mental health care
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 is a long game.
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 Romans 12
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 confirms this
00:21:36 --> 00:21:36 for us
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 because it asks us
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 how are we
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 to love one another
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 in view
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 of God's mercy?
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 In verse 12
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 we see it.
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 We are to be
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 joyful in hope
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 patient
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 in affliction
00:21:50 --> 00:21:52 faithful
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 in prayer.
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 This is how
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 we are to use
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 our gifts
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 in the church.
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 that Paul
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 has been speaking
00:21:58 --> 00:21:58 about earlier
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 in the chapter.
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 And
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 I can't think
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 of a better
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 model of care
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 for mental illness.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 To be joyful
00:22:07 --> 00:22:07 in hope
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 to recognise
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 there is hope
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 to be patient
00:22:10 --> 00:22:12 and to be
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 prayerful.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 And in particular
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 I want to hone in
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 on that word
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 patience again.
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 If you know
00:22:21 --> 00:22:21 your Bibles
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 1 Corinthians 13
00:22:22 --> 00:22:24 love is
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 patient.
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 I distinctly
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 remember in
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 hospital feeling
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 like I wasn't
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 worth being
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 loved.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 Not only was
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 I unloved
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 but I was
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 unlovable.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 And this is
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 one of the
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 common
00:22:39 --> 00:22:41 thoughts
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 or the
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 common
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 litmus
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 tests for
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 someone wrestling
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 with depression
00:22:45 --> 00:22:45 this feeling
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 of unlovability.
00:22:47 --> 00:22:50 what you crave
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 most of all
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 when the chips
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 are down
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 is unconditional
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 love.
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 That someone
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 still values
00:22:57 --> 00:22:57 you
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 when you
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 find it
00:22:59 --> 00:22:59 near impossible
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 to value
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 yourself.
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 And the
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 gospel is a
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 balm to that
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 crisis because
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 it reminds us
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 that God's
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 love for us
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 is patient.
00:23:11 --> 00:23:11 He stands
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 with us.
00:23:13 --> 00:23:13 And the
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 flip side of
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 that is
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 the hurt of
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 condition.
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 love.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 For someone
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 to come to
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 you and
00:23:21 --> 00:23:21 for you to
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 think again
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 that they are
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 just six weeks
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 away from
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 recovery and
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 then when they
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 don't recover
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 you put them
00:23:27 --> 00:23:27 in the too
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 hard basket.
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 I'm actually
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 going to say
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 something a
00:23:30 --> 00:23:30 little bit
00:23:30 --> 00:23:30 punchy here and
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 you can
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 disagree with
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 me if you
00:23:32 --> 00:23:32 want.
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 But in my
00:23:34 --> 00:23:34 experience I
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 would almost
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 prefer someone
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 not to enter
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 into my mess
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 at all
00:23:38 --> 00:23:40 than enter
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 into it and
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 then leave
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 when I get
00:23:42 --> 00:23:42 too hard.
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 It just
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 reinforces this
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 narrative of
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 unlovability.
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 And I
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 would gently
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 but somewhat
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 firmly say
00:23:51 --> 00:23:53 what if God
00:23:53 --> 00:23:53 had treated
00:23:53 --> 00:23:53 you like
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 that?
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 God's
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 impatience for
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 our sin
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 does not
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 end in
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 abandonment.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 God's
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 impatience for
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 sin ends in
00:24:04 --> 00:24:04 the blood of
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 his son.
00:24:07 --> 00:24:07 Without
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 patience we
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 would be
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 lost.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 The Lord
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 is slow to
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 anger,
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 abounding in
00:24:14 --> 00:24:14 love.
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 Again,
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 slow and
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 steady wins
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 the race.
00:24:20 --> 00:24:20 And so
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 as we wrap
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 up let me
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 provide what
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 I hope to
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 be some
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 very practical
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 and helpful
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 steps as
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 to what this
00:24:26 --> 00:24:26 might look
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 like in
00:24:27 --> 00:24:27 practice for
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 you as a
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 church community.
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 Here are
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 just three
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 thoughts.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 Number one,
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 you need
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 love as
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 well.
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 Carers need
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 care.
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 because if
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 this call
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 is true and
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 if you agree
00:24:43 --> 00:24:43 with it,
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 the challenge
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 is you realise
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 it's going to
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 cost something
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 of you as
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 well.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 There is a
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 self-sacrifice
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 involved with
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 this picture.
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 When I
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 left hospital
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 one of the
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 first things
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 my wife
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 had to do
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 was go and
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 see a
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 psychologist
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 herself and
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 that was the
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 right thing
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 because it
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 had taken a
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 toll on
00:25:02 --> 00:25:02 her as
00:25:02 --> 00:25:02 well.
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 Find
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 someone
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 external.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 external.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 Find
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 someone
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 external to
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 the situation
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 and preferably
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 someone external
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 to the person
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 you're caring
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 for if you
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 can to
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 care for
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 you too.
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 Again,
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 it can be a
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 professional or
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 it can be a
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 friend but
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 being needed,
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 I've learned
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 as a pastor,
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 is a little
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 bit addictive
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 sometimes.
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 Being the
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 carer carries
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 with it an
00:25:27 --> 00:25:29 identity but
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 again,
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 love your
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 neighbour as
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 yourself.
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 It's okay to
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 receive care as
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 well.
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 You're going
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 to need it if
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 you're going
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 to play the
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 long game.
00:25:36 --> 00:25:38 And I
00:25:38 --> 00:25:38 also just
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 want to say
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 something very,
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 very important
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 about love.
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 And I want
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 you to hear
00:25:43 --> 00:25:43 this very
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 clearly.
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 When Jesus
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 calls us to
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 love our
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 neighbour with
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 all of our
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 heart and
00:25:49 --> 00:25:49 with all of
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 our soul and
00:25:50 --> 00:25:50 with all of
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 our mind and
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 with all of
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 our strength,
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 I think he's
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 doing two
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 things.
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 The first
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 thing he's
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 doing and
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 the thing I'm
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 advocating for
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 here is he's
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 giving us the
00:26:00 --> 00:26:00 goal for life
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 itself.
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 To love
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 well because
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 God has
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 loved us.
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 But I
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 think he's
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 doing something
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 else as
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 well.
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 He's
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 revealing a
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 gap.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 Because the
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 question becomes
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 who can
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 love with
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 all of their
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 heart and
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 with all of
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 their soul and
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 with all of
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 their mind and
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 with all of
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 their strength?
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 Only Christ.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 And so the
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 reason I'm
00:26:24 --> 00:26:24 saying this is
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 you are not
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 going to love
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 perfectly and
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 God knows
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 that.
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 He makes up
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 for that gap
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 in Jesus
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 Christ and yet
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 we still hold
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 on to the
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 goal.
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 The
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 absoluteness of
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 the call to
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 love is the
00:26:39 --> 00:26:41 aspiration and
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 the thing we
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 remember that we
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 run to Christ
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 when we get it
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 wrong which we
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 will.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 Again if I
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 come back to
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 that Hebrews
00:26:47 --> 00:26:49 4 passage even
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 though God can
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 empathize with
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 our weaknesses
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 there is one
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 key difference.
00:26:54 --> 00:26:56 we have one
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 who has been
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 tempted in
00:26:58 --> 00:26:58 every way
00:26:58 --> 00:27:00 just as we
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 are yet he
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 did not sin.
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 And so remember
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 that as you
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 love you're
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 going to need
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 God's love for
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 you as well
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 because you're
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 not going to
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 perfect that
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 love in
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 somebody else.
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 And yet we
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 still hold on to
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 that aspiration.
00:27:17 --> 00:27:17 There are
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 actually a number
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 of services
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 professional
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 services for
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 carers as well.
00:27:21 --> 00:27:21 I only learned
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 this a few years
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 ago but Lifeline
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 is actually
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 available to
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 call not just
00:27:26 --> 00:27:26 if you're in a
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 bad way yourself
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 but you actually
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 need a bit of
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 support as you
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 care for someone
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 who's in a bad
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 way.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 So you can call
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 Lifeline for
00:27:34 --> 00:27:34 that.
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 There are online
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 resources like
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 Beyond Blue,
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 the Black Dog
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 Institute and of
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 course there is
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 professional help
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 if you need that
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 support too.
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 So my point
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 number one is
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 you need love as
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 well please don't
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 forget that.
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 You need it in
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 order to play the
00:27:50 --> 00:27:50 long game that I'm
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 advocating for.
00:27:51 --> 00:27:54 Number two,
00:27:55 --> 00:27:55 there is a time to
00:27:55 --> 00:27:57 listen and a time
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 to speak.
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 I say this because
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 I've seen both
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 ends of the
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 pendulum.
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 Some people come
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 in like a bull in
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 a china shop and
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 just goes,
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 here's what I
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 think is going
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 on.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 Have you thought
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 about this?
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 Have you thought
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 about this?
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 Slow down.
00:28:11 --> 00:28:11 Listen.
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 But also,
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 some of us tend
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 to listen and
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 nod and smile and
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 not say anything
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 at all.
00:28:18 --> 00:28:20 And so I
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 would ask you,
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 are you more
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 of a talker,
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 which in my
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 experience most
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 of us probably
00:28:25 --> 00:28:27 are, or are
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 you a listener?
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 Consider your own
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 starting point because
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 I'm saying there's a
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 time for both.
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 We need to listen
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 quickly in order to
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 understand deeply,
00:28:36 --> 00:28:38 but also if we
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 really do love
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 someone and we
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 see them going
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 into destructive
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 paths, love
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 actually does look
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 like saying
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 something sometimes,
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 but always with a
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 gracious tone.
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 If we see someone
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 heading to self
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 destruction and
00:28:51 --> 00:28:51 all we do is
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 nod and smile,
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 we've got to ask
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 whether that's
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 true love.
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 Sometimes a
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 gracious word is
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 what's needed,
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 but we have to
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 do it slowly,
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 grounded in
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 listening and
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 understanding.
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 And my third
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 and final point,
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 somewhat related
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 to the first,
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 recognize your
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 limitations.
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 Know that our
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 government has
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 put significant
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 funding into
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 mental health
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 care.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 If you don't
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 know, you
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 can access
00:29:18 --> 00:29:18 through your
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 GP, very
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 often a
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 mental health
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 care plan,
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 which means
00:29:22 --> 00:29:22 that you get
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 subsidized
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 sessions and
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 therapies,
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 psychologists,
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 because no
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 single one of
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 us can do
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 everything.
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 But here's
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 why churches
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 are beautiful.
00:29:32 --> 00:29:32 A church can
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 do what a
00:29:33 --> 00:29:33 psychologist
00:29:33 --> 00:29:35 can't, and
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 a psychologist
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 can do what a
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 church can't.
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 And so the
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 more, as I
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 said last week,
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 we can handle
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 this from every
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 angle, the
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 better our
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 recovery options
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 become.
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 Because churches
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 are here to
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 love and walk
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 side by side
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 for the long
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 term.
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 That is a
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 beautiful piece
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 of the puzzle
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 that is so
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 often missing
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 in our
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 society.
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 And it's
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 why we've
00:29:57 --> 00:29:57 created Life
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 to the Full
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 that Steve
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 talked about.
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 I've been
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 doing these
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 talks for
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 many years,
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 but I just
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 love that we're
00:30:03 --> 00:30:03 able to put it
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 into practice
00:30:04 --> 00:30:04 now.
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 We have
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 professionals who
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 can help,
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 professionals who
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 are coming from
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 a Christian
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 worldview.
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 We have an
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 amazing team
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 that God has
00:30:14 --> 00:30:14 raised up,
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 and this
00:30:15 --> 00:30:15 has been
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 part of the
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 evidence that
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 he has been
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 in this
00:30:18 --> 00:30:18 journey from
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 the very
00:30:19 --> 00:30:19 start.
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 And so if you
00:30:20 --> 00:30:20 do need help,
00:30:21 --> 00:30:21 whether you are
00:30:21 --> 00:30:21 the one
00:30:21 --> 00:30:23 struggling or
00:30:23 --> 00:30:23 you're the one
00:30:23 --> 00:30:25 caring, we
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 would love to
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 support you in
00:30:26 --> 00:30:26 that journey.
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 And so my
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 final point,
00:30:30 --> 00:30:30 which I hope
00:30:30 --> 00:30:32 and pray has
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32 been helpful,
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 is this, that
00:30:33 --> 00:30:33 whether you're
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 living with
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 mental illness
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 or whether
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 you're caring for
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 someone with
00:30:38 --> 00:30:38 mental illness,
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 I would encourage
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 you to see that
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 your identity is
00:30:42 --> 00:30:42 not in the
00:30:42 --> 00:30:44 illness, that
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 your identity
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 is not in
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 your performance,
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 but it's
00:30:48 --> 00:30:48 actually the
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 identity that
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 you have in
00:30:49 --> 00:30:51 God, no
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 matter who
00:30:51 --> 00:30:53 you are and
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 in whatever
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 circumstance you
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 find yourself
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 in.
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 From 1 John
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 chapter 3,
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 this is my
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 prayer for each
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 of us, that
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 we would know
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 this more and
00:31:00 --> 00:31:02 more, that we
00:31:02 --> 00:31:02 would see what
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 great love the
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 Father has
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 lavished on us,
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 that we should
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 be called
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 children of
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 God, and
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 that is what
00:31:09 --> 00:31:09 we are.
00:31:09 --> 00:31:12 Father God, we
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 thank you that
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 we are children.
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 We're not
00:31:16 --> 00:31:18 identified by our
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 illnesses, first
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 and foremost.
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 We are
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 identified by
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 your love for
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 us, that we
00:31:25 --> 00:31:25 saw in the
00:31:25 --> 00:31:27 Psalms, is not
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 just a quality
00:31:28 --> 00:31:28 that you
00:31:28 --> 00:31:30 exhibit, but is
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 infinitely
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 quantitative as
00:31:32 --> 00:31:32 well.
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 Lord, in our
00:31:35 --> 00:31:35 own imperfect
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 ways, and we
00:31:36 --> 00:31:36 pray that we
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 would run to
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 your throne of
00:31:38 --> 00:31:38 grace when we
00:31:38 --> 00:31:38 don't get it
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 right.
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 But in our
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 own imperfect
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 ways, we
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 would pursue
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 this more and
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 more each
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 day.
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 I pray for
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 St. Paul's
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 that they
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 would continually
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47 work out what
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 this looks like
00:31:48 --> 00:31:50 in practice, that
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 they would be
00:31:50 --> 00:31:52 willing to make
00:31:52 --> 00:31:52 the sacrificial
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 move to play
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 the long game
00:31:54 --> 00:31:54 with one
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 another, knowing
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 that this does
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 cost something
00:31:57 --> 00:31:57 of ourselves.
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 And as this
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 community works
00:32:01 --> 00:32:01 out how to do
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 that sustainably,
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 and how to
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 love their
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 neighbour as
00:32:05 --> 00:32:07 themself, help
00:32:07 --> 00:32:07 each person in
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 this church to
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 get the support
00:32:09 --> 00:32:09 that they
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 need as they
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 walk with
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 others.
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 And ultimately,
00:32:13 --> 00:32:15 Lord, we pray
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 that this would
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 be a community
00:32:17 --> 00:32:19 that is
00:32:19 --> 00:32:21 flourishing in
00:32:21 --> 00:32:21 what our world
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 so often lacks,
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 which is love,
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 compassion, mercy,
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 tenderness.
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 May this be a
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 safe place for the
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 hurting.
00:32:32 --> 00:32:32 And again,
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 Lord, may those
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 who are caring for
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 the hurting get
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 care themselves.
00:32:36 --> 00:32:36 ourselves.
00:32:37 --> 00:32:37 Thank you that
00:32:37 --> 00:32:39 in love, you
00:32:39 --> 00:32:39 give us the
00:32:39 --> 00:32:41 goal, and you
00:32:41 --> 00:32:41 also reveal the
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 gap that only
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 Christ can
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 fulfil, that you
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 are able to
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 empathise with our
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 weaknesses, and
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 yet you are not
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 like us, because
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 even though you
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 were tempted, you
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 did not sin.
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 And so thank you
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 that because of
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 that, we are
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 able to approach
00:32:55 --> 00:32:55 your throne of
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 grace with
00:32:56 --> 00:32:58 confidence, so
00:32:58 --> 00:32:59 that we can find
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 mercy and receive
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 grace to help us
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 in our time of
00:33:02 --> 00:33:02 need.
00:33:02 --> 00:33:04 So Father
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 God, hear our
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 prayers, see our
00:33:06 --> 00:33:08 hearts, and we
00:33:08 --> 00:33:08 pray that you
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 would give us
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 wisdom to know
00:33:10 --> 00:33:10 what to do with
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 our hands and
00:33:11 --> 00:33:11 feet.
00:33:12 --> 00:33:12 Amen.
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 Thank you,
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 Chris.
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 I'm going to
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 continue to pray
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 and invite the
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 music team to
00:33:24 --> 00:33:24 come on up and
00:33:24 --> 00:33:26 be ready to
00:33:26 --> 00:33:26 sing.
00:33:28 --> 00:33:28 Gracious
00:33:28 --> 00:33:31 God, you
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 created a good
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 and perfect
00:33:33 --> 00:33:35 world, and how
00:33:35 --> 00:33:35 much it must
00:33:35 --> 00:33:37 grieve you, the
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 destruction of
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 what you have
00:33:39 --> 00:33:41 made good has
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 been so destroyed
00:33:42 --> 00:33:44 by human sin.
00:33:45 --> 00:33:47 As we live in
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 this world of
00:33:48 --> 00:33:50 suffering, the
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 grief that we
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 experience grieves
00:33:52 --> 00:33:52 you.
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 Your heart is
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 bound to
00:33:55 --> 00:33:55 ours.
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 You're a God
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 of infinite
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 compassion.
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 And as we've
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 heard right at
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 the beginning of
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 this service from
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 Psalm 34, you
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 are the God who
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 is close to the
00:34:06 --> 00:34:06 brokenhearted.
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 You are the one
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 who saves those
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 who are crushed
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 in spirit.
00:34:11 --> 00:34:11 You're a God
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 who's not distant
00:34:12 --> 00:34:12 or absent.
00:34:13 --> 00:34:13 You're not just a
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 mere force.
00:34:15 --> 00:34:15 You're not detached
00:34:15 --> 00:34:17 or unaffected or
00:34:17 --> 00:34:19 unmoved by our
00:34:19 --> 00:34:19 condition.
00:34:20 --> 00:34:20 You draw near.
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 You came.
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 You, the author
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 of life, the author
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 of history, took on
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 our nature and
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 entered right into
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 your very creation.
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 You came to us.
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 You came to the
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 brokenhearted, the
00:34:32 --> 00:34:32 crushed, the
00:34:32 --> 00:34:35 lost, the weary, the
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 sinners, the
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 sufferers.
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 Thank you, Jesus.
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 Thank you for
00:34:40 --> 00:34:42 leaving behind the
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 perfection and the
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 wholeness and the
00:34:43 --> 00:34:47 joy of life in
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 heaven with the
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 Father and the
00:34:49 --> 00:34:50 Spirit and coming
00:34:50 --> 00:34:50 to us.
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 You descended not
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 just into human
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 form but even
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 further as you went
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 to death for us.
00:34:57 --> 00:34:59 the author of life
00:34:59 --> 00:35:01 dying on a cross
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 so that we might
00:35:02 --> 00:35:02 live.
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 You were treated
00:35:03 --> 00:35:05 as if you were a
00:35:05 --> 00:35:05 sinner.
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 You carried to the
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 cross all the evil
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 and the carnage and
00:35:10 --> 00:35:11 the sin of human
00:35:11 --> 00:35:11 history.
00:35:11 --> 00:35:12 You, the innocent
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 one, suffered
00:35:13 --> 00:35:15 condemnation for us.
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 You chose for the
00:35:17 --> 00:35:20 just wrath of God to
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 be poured out on
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 you.
00:35:23 --> 00:35:26 And on the cross, you
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 cried out the
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 scream of
00:35:28 --> 00:35:32 dereliction, the
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 scream of
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 abandonment, loss,
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 and isolation from
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 everything that is
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 good and lovely.
00:35:38 --> 00:35:40 You descended into
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 complete darkness of
00:35:41 --> 00:35:43 death all alone
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 that we might be
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 brought into the
00:35:45 --> 00:35:46 light of life of
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 eternal relationship
00:35:47 --> 00:35:48 with you, our God.
00:35:48 --> 00:35:51 Lord Jesus, you
00:35:51 --> 00:35:52 have gone deeper
00:35:52 --> 00:35:53 into the depths of
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54 darkness and
00:35:54 --> 00:35:54 loneliness than
00:35:54 --> 00:35:56 anyone could ever
00:35:56 --> 00:35:56 imagine.
00:35:58 --> 00:36:00 Gracious God, you
00:36:00 --> 00:36:01 journeyed into that
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 together.
00:36:02 --> 00:36:08 and so we ask
00:36:08 --> 00:36:13 you on behalf of
00:36:13 --> 00:36:14 sufferers and the
00:36:14 --> 00:36:14 carers of
00:36:14 --> 00:36:17 sufferers, we turn
00:36:17 --> 00:36:19 to you that they
00:36:19 --> 00:36:20 might find hope in
00:36:20 --> 00:36:22 you and we commend
00:36:22 --> 00:36:24 to your faithful
00:36:24 --> 00:36:25 love those who are
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 crying from the
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 depths of darkness
00:36:27 --> 00:36:27 now.
00:36:29 --> 00:36:31 Holy Spirit, when
00:36:31 --> 00:36:33 scorn and shame
00:36:33 --> 00:36:34 and despair,
00:36:34 --> 00:36:35 besiege when the
00:36:35 --> 00:36:37 clouds, the dark
00:36:37 --> 00:36:38 clouds of depression
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 and anxiety and
00:36:39 --> 00:36:41 shame descend, and
00:36:41 --> 00:36:42 hope is veiled in
00:36:42 --> 00:36:44 grief, bring
00:36:44 --> 00:36:45 sufferers and
00:36:45 --> 00:36:46 sinners to the
00:36:46 --> 00:36:47 embrace of the
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 wounded hands of
00:36:48 --> 00:36:48 Jesus.
00:36:50 --> 00:36:52 Restless with grief
00:36:52 --> 00:36:53 and fear and
00:36:53 --> 00:36:53 distress and
00:36:53 --> 00:36:55 hopelessness, Lord
00:36:55 --> 00:36:57 Jesus, you call us
00:36:57 --> 00:36:57 to come.
00:36:57 --> 00:36:59 you are gentle
00:36:59 --> 00:37:01 and lowly and
00:37:01 --> 00:37:02 call all who are
00:37:02 --> 00:37:03 weary and loaded
00:37:03 --> 00:37:04 with burdens to
00:37:04 --> 00:37:05 find rest in you
00:37:05 --> 00:37:08 and be lifted to
00:37:08 --> 00:37:08 the gospel of
00:37:08 --> 00:37:09 hope.
00:37:10 --> 00:37:11 And so Holy
00:37:11 --> 00:37:13 Spirit, we would
00:37:13 --> 00:37:14 ask that you would
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 free us from
00:37:15 --> 00:37:17 everything that keeps
00:37:17 --> 00:37:17 us from hearing that
00:37:17 --> 00:37:18 call to come.
00:37:19 --> 00:37:20 In the darkness of
00:37:20 --> 00:37:21 unknowing, when all
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 else seems lost, when
00:37:22 --> 00:37:24 your love seems so
00:37:24 --> 00:37:26 absent, draw us into
00:37:26 --> 00:37:28 the heart of God to
00:37:28 --> 00:37:29 find refuge and
00:37:29 --> 00:37:30 rest and the
00:37:30 --> 00:37:31 certain hope of the
00:37:31 --> 00:37:32 dawn of forgiveness
00:37:32 --> 00:37:33 and redemption and
00:37:33 --> 00:37:34 renewal.
00:37:35 --> 00:37:37 How generous is your
00:37:37 --> 00:37:38 goodness, how great is
00:37:38 --> 00:37:39 your salvation, how
00:37:39 --> 00:37:40 faithful is your
00:37:40 --> 00:37:40 love.
00:37:41 --> 00:37:43 It is this love that
00:37:43 --> 00:37:44 you have called your
00:37:44 --> 00:37:45 church to display to
00:37:45 --> 00:37:45 all people.
00:37:46 --> 00:37:48 As you have loved us,
00:37:48 --> 00:37:49 so you called us to
00:37:49 --> 00:37:50 love one another.
00:37:52 --> 00:37:54 And so in a world of
00:37:54 --> 00:37:55 rage and suffering and
00:37:55 --> 00:37:57 pain, Holy Spirit,
00:37:57 --> 00:37:58 empower us and shape
00:37:58 --> 00:37:59 us and convict us to
00:37:59 --> 00:38:01 be a church that
00:38:01 --> 00:38:02 displays the love of
00:38:02 --> 00:38:04 Christ and especially
00:38:04 --> 00:38:06 to descend to the
00:38:06 --> 00:38:07 place of weeping with
00:38:07 --> 00:38:08 those who are weeping.
00:38:09 --> 00:38:10 Give us patience and
00:38:10 --> 00:38:12 grace and steadfastness
00:38:12 --> 00:38:13 to carry each other's
00:38:13 --> 00:38:15 burdens, that we might
00:38:15 --> 00:38:16 be a community of
00:38:16 --> 00:38:17 refuge for sinners and
00:38:17 --> 00:38:19 sufferers alike, a
00:38:19 --> 00:38:20 community devoted to
00:38:20 --> 00:38:22 one another in love,
00:38:22 --> 00:38:23 joyful in hope,
00:38:23 --> 00:38:25 patient in affliction,
00:38:25 --> 00:38:26 and faithful in prayer.
00:38:27 --> 00:38:28 Gracious and most
00:38:28 --> 00:38:29 merciful Father God,
00:38:30 --> 00:38:32 we pray therefore as
00:38:32 --> 00:38:34 well for those who
00:38:34 --> 00:38:36 work in mental health
00:38:36 --> 00:38:37 care in our city.
00:38:37 --> 00:38:39 We ask that you provide
00:38:39 --> 00:38:40 them with wisdom and
00:38:40 --> 00:38:41 skill and compassion and
00:38:41 --> 00:38:43 patience as they engage
00:38:43 --> 00:38:43 with patience.
00:38:44 --> 00:38:46 All individual lives
00:38:46 --> 00:38:48 made in your image for
00:38:48 --> 00:38:48 your glory.
00:38:49 --> 00:38:50 May they treat each
00:38:50 --> 00:38:52 individual as precious in
00:38:52 --> 00:38:56 your sight, worthy of
00:38:56 --> 00:38:57 respect and dignity.
00:38:58 --> 00:38:59 Give them discernment and
00:38:59 --> 00:39:01 clarity in diagnosing and
00:39:01 --> 00:39:01 treating.
00:39:02 --> 00:39:04 We ask God that you would
00:39:04 --> 00:39:05 sustain them through the
00:39:05 --> 00:39:06 secondary trauma that they
00:39:06 --> 00:39:08 come from seeing others
00:39:08 --> 00:39:10 suffer and the carrying of
00:39:10 --> 00:39:10 those burdens.
00:39:12 --> 00:39:13 Provide them with peace and
00:39:13 --> 00:39:14 space to care for
00:39:14 --> 00:39:15 themselves.
00:39:16 --> 00:39:17 A medical system that
00:39:17 --> 00:39:19 equips and supports them and
00:39:19 --> 00:39:19 resources them.
00:39:19 --> 00:39:21 a community to shoulder the
00:39:21 --> 00:39:23 burdens in order that they
00:39:23 --> 00:39:24 might have the healthy frame
00:39:24 --> 00:39:26 of mind to care for
00:39:26 --> 00:39:26 others.
00:39:28 --> 00:39:29 We would ask that you would
00:39:29 --> 00:39:30 use them to be
00:39:30 --> 00:39:32 transformative agents in the
00:39:32 --> 00:39:33 lives of the distressed and
00:39:33 --> 00:39:35 the suffering to bring about
00:39:35 --> 00:39:36 healing and hope to them and
00:39:36 --> 00:39:36 their carers.
00:39:37 --> 00:39:39 We pray for your intervention
00:39:39 --> 00:39:41 as well, Lord, in the public
00:39:41 --> 00:39:43 health system in this state
00:39:43 --> 00:39:45 that have seen so many crucial
00:39:45 --> 00:39:47 mental health care workers
00:39:47 --> 00:39:47 leave.
00:39:48 --> 00:39:50 We pray for these issues,
00:39:50 --> 00:39:51 whatever they are, to be
00:39:51 --> 00:39:53 resolved through adequate
00:39:53 --> 00:39:53 resourcing.
00:39:55 --> 00:39:56 We pray for your protection
00:39:56 --> 00:39:59 over sufferers not able to
00:39:59 --> 00:40:00 access the care that they had
00:40:00 --> 00:40:03 even months ago when it is
00:40:03 --> 00:40:03 particularly needed.
00:40:04 --> 00:40:06 And so, Lord, we ask that you
00:40:06 --> 00:40:07 would have mercy on us.
00:40:08 --> 00:40:09 Mercy on all who are afflicted
00:40:09 --> 00:40:11 in mind and heart.
00:40:11 --> 00:40:13 Because your heart is bound to
00:40:13 --> 00:40:13 ours.
00:40:14 --> 00:40:14 Amen.
00:40:14 --> 00:40:15 Amen.