SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey, can we send a little feed across the auditorium today? I'm very excited for our speaker today. I can tell you this, she's been faithful in preparation and she's invested all herself into this. Uh to let you know, this is my wife who's coming to bless us today. As your pastor, I might have a few rough edges, but thank the lord for wives like Claire. So can you put your hands together and welcome Claire as she comes to speak?

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Happy Mother's Day, everybody. I'm just gonna put my water here. It is so lovely and such an honour to be able to share the word with you today. I believe God has put a word on my heart for us all today, and um not just the mums, all of us. Um so please, would you take your seat? Say hello to the person next to you if you haven't already. It is Mother's Day today, and I did receive some delightful gifts this morning from the Mother's Day store from school, which was lovely. Always look forward to it. One of my favorite things though is to receive the beautiful cards that the kids make. It's always um delightful, sometimes humbling. Um this morning was no exception. I have a card here from Patrick, and it says, You are a light that is shining to all that comes by. It's like, praise the Lord, I receive it. You are helpful, thank you, Lord, kind, and sometimes funny. I'll take it. Sometimes it's better than never. And then it gets better. They do, you know. Has anyone got one of these where they do like the little, you know, phrase and they have to finish it? This is also from Patrick. He's my little truth teller in all things. All about my mum. My mum's name is Claire. My mum is 36 years old. Pretty sure. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure I'm 37. Yes. But that's okay. Younger, amen. My mum's job is works for the uni. My mum's favorite food is chocolate. Exactly. In case, you know. It's my birthday in October, guys, okay. Um, my mum's favorite drink is no idea. My mum cook cooks the best pasta bake. My mum always says, I'll get the wooden spoon. I just destroyed some of your perspective or perceptions of who I am right there. I'm really sorry. Hopefully, you can receive the word from God that comes through me today. We like to read books together. My mum relaxes by sleeping. My mum is the best because everything. Love from Patrick. Now, I do also want to acknowledge all the other mums here today. Mums, grandmothers, great-grandmothers. My grandmother is here in the house today. Shout out to Nan. She is a great-grandmother. All the spiritual mothers, the stepmothers, the foster mothers. We want to honor you today and say God sees you and we appreciate you. We appreciate all that you do, not just for your family, but for our community. Amen. And I also, like Hamish said, I want to acknowledge all those who find this day very difficult for various reasons. Either maybe you want to be a mum and that hasn't happened yet. You don't have a mum to celebrate today. You are homesick and miss your mum. You are a mum who has lost a child. There are other things too, there I'm sure, but I just want to say God sees you. He has not left you, he has not forgotten you, and he is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Amen. You are a monk's family today, and we love you. And the church said, Amen. All right, turn with me to Hebrews 11, verse 1. Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the convictions of things not seen. Amen. The King James Version says, now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Turn to your neighbor and ask them, what are you expecting? Now turn to the other neighbor and ask them, what is shaping your expectation? You don't have to answer, it's okay. It's purely rhetorical. But I am used to preaching to a congregation of one to four year olds up in kids' church. So uh I'm used to crowd participation, both elicited and completely unexpected and random at times. I should also warn you that I am prone to becoming excessively animated when telling Bible stories. And my messages are usually a max of three minutes long. So this is a whole new world to me today. What are you expecting? What is shaping your expectations? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you for this opportunity to share your word. God, I pray that you would use me as a vessel, God, that your Holy Spirit would speak to hearts this morning. I just proclaim and decree that hearts are open to receive your word this morning, that we would have open hearts, God, that we would partner with you this morning, Holy Spirit, to see transformation in our lives. And everybody said, Amen. I have a story to share with you first off. And um, a little over 10 years ago, Hamish and I were expecting our first child. Not long after our first trimester ultrasound, I had an additional blood test on the advice of our doctor. This blood test was considered non-essential and cost somewhere in the vicinity of $450. So we were pretty certain that we were going to find out the gender of the baby. But um, when the doctor asked if I wanted to find out during this blood test, I was like, absolutely, I'm gonna find out everything I can for $450. Thank you very much. So she told me that she would call us and let us know the gender of the baby when she found out. And not long after the test, we were traveling to visit some friends on the south coast. We were in the car, and I was surprised to find that I had a missed call from the doctor, so I called her back straight away. But the reception was a bit sketchy, so we played a bit of phone tag, and eventually she decided to just send me a message. And the message read something like this: Hi Claire, sorry for the phone tag. We just wanted to let you know that you are expecting a girl. Oh thank you, thank you. Crowd participation, thank you. So that girl is now almost 10 years old and was informing me yesterday that she thinks that when you hit double digits, that is the defining transition to becoming a preteen. So slow down time, please. And all the parents said a huge amen. You are expecting a girl. A girl. As I was preparing the word for today, I felt God bring this memory to the front of my mind. I'd like to ask you the question today: what are you expecting? What seeds have been sown that form expectation in your heart? Let's consider it. Allow the Holy Spirit to put a spotlight on your expectations in an area of your life. He might highlight your goals, a challenge on the horizon, a promise he gave you that you're holding on to. He might bring to mind something someone spoke over you that, good or bad, has shaped your expectations for your life. He might highlight a fear that replays in your heart and mind that maybe you are trying to avoid becoming a reality, but you're focused on nonetheless. Maybe he'll highlight a stormy circumstance you're currently facing, for example, a diagnosis or a situation that seems out of your control. What are you expecting? Expectation means to anticipate the arrival of someone or something, or to believe that something is probable or certain. What has the authority to shape and influence your expectations? Ten years ago, I was expecting a girl. From the outside, I had no visual evidence to confirm what I was choosing to believe. The word of the obstetrician was enough to provide assurance. This was translated into trust. I trusted that what she spoke would come to pass. I didn't ask her to send me the pathology report or to break down how the test could determine the gender of a baby. I didn't ask for a second opinion. It was too expensive anyway. And I wasn't skeptical. I was wholeheartedly expecting a baby girl. Our scripture in Hebrews 11 identifies the opposition of faith and sight. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Faith is looking to God and who he is and trusting him for everything in everything. Choosing to recognize his ultimate authority and rely on his character even when you cannot see the evidence or outworking of those things hoped for or the fruition of his promise yet. Where does faith come from, church? How do we strengthen our faith in God? It is hearing the word of God that builds faith. Amen. So then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Is the word of God shaping your expectations or is it something else? Are you walking by faith or by sight today? Who or what is it that has the authority to shape your expectations and beliefs? Turn with me if you have your Bible to Mark 4.35, where we read how Jesus calms the storm. On the same day when evening had come, he said to them, Let us cross over to the other side. Everybody say, Let us cross over to the other side. Now when they had left the multitude, they took him along in the boat as he was, and other little boats were also with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. But he, Jesus, was in the stern, which is the back of the boat. Mum will be proud of me. Where are you, Mum? Shout out. My mum used to sail. I have no idea. But I did look it up, and Google said it was the back. But he, Jesus, was in the stern, which is the back of the boat, asleep on a pillow. I love that little detail. I'm not really sure why it's there. I tried to come up with like, I was like, Lord, is there like a spiritual kind of you know revelation that I can bring this morning? But he was asleep on a pillow. That's that's all I got. Um I just love that. He was asleep on a pillow. And they awoke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? I'd like to just stop there and point out that sometimes when we give the circumstances around us the authority to shape our expectations and we walk by sight, we begin to call into question the character of our God instead of taking our lead from his example. He was asleep. Jesus was miraculously unfazed by the storm. Sometimes we mistake his silence for lack of caring. But instead, let's go back to his reliable word. What was the last thing he told them? Let us cross over to the other side. Let us cross over to the other side. Let us cross over to the other side. We're going to the other side. We'll get through this because he said we are going to the other side. Hey Peter, grab a bucket, start bailing. Come on, Thomas, stop doubting. Let's just go. Come on. Bail it out. We're going. We're going to the other side. Amen. Refuse a troubled heart. Don't give power and authority to the storm. Don't let your circumstances drive. I believe that this is a word for somebody today. Refuse a troubled heart. Maybe you stand in the midst of a very real intimidating storm. Sometimes we have to actively refuse to be overwhelmed by fear. Don't allow a bad report to govern how you see God today or to take his place on the throne. Amen? Don't let that seemingly hopeless situation determine your perception of God's proximity to you. He is in your boat. Amen. It's not in his nature. Hebrews 13:5, he said he would never leave you or forsake you, and he does not. He cannot lie. He is faithful. And the church said, Let us not react to our circumstances, but may our response be in every season and circumstance. What does the word of God say? Verse 39. Then he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. But he said to them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, everybody say, exceedingly. And they said to one another, Who can this be? That even the wind and the sea obey him. I love this. The disciples, their fear of their circumstances had determined their expectation. But when Jesus spoke, and the wind and waves obeyed him and came under his authority and his command, this fear was replaced by a reverence and recognition recognition of Jesus' authority. Amen. They were going to the other side. That means that they were not going under, regardless of the storm they could see. Come on, walk by faith and not by sight. You are not going under in this storm, amen. He is in your boat. I'd like to highlight two areas of our life that are influenced by what we allow to have authority over our lives. I believe today that identifying them will bring clarity and understanding regarding what is currently governing your expectations. The first one is the meditation of our heart and mind, our thought life. One of the delightful aspects of sharing the text message with Hamish from our doctor was sharing the joy and surprise together in that moment. I distinctly remember seeing the transition on his face from the expression of joy and delight to a weighty understanding of what it meant to be the father of a girl. It was quite interesting to watch. I saw the realization happen before my very eyes. And I could tell that I was witnessing him experiencing these thoughts and revelations for the first time. The way that he related to our baby and his expectations of this next season of our life was influenced in that instant. And the only thing that had changed was receiving words in a text message from an authoritative source. The more the thought settled in his heart, the more his expectations genuinely changed. His protective instincts rose up within his heart and it physically had an impact on him. His countenance completely changed. Hamish was now a girl dad. He hadn't seen her in the flesh. He hadn't met her or held her in his arms, but it was as good as done in his mind. And his responsibility was clarified. He was already looking ahead to how he was going to say no to all the boys who asked permission to date her. What influences and shapes your thought life? What are you meditating on or thinking about? Is it the word, the promises of God? Is it the difficulty of your circumstances? Is it the distractions from your circumstances? What are we putting in place there? When we're stressed, when we're overwhelmed, when we see and the circumstances ahead of us and they are magnified, what do we do? Do we distract ourselves? My uh distraction go-tos, I've already ruined everybody's perception of me with Patrick's thing. My distraction go-tos, my counterfeits, television, chocolate. They aren't gonna help me in a storm. Sometimes we let counterfeits sustain us. But it's the word of God that we need to turn to. Amen. Hebrews 4 12 says, For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Let the word of God be the authority that governs your thoughts. Protect your mind. Amen. Romans 12, 2. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God. When you're in the midst of the storm, turn to the word of God. When you're in the middle of a circumstance that seems completely overwhelming and you're not sure where to put your foot next, turn to the word of God. Amen. Joshua 1, verse 8 says, You shall meditate in the Word of God day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. Deuteronomy 11, 18 says, Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as the uh be as frontlets between your eyes. Let it be what you focus on, amen. Let it be what you focus on. Replay it, meditate on it. What does the word of God say? What was it that he told me? What was the promise that I am standing on in this situation? I do not walk by sight. I choose to put um authority and weight on the word of God in my circumstances. If you want to know the will of God for your life and for it to shape your thoughts and plans, lay hold of his word and surrender to its authority over your life. Amen. The second area of our life that is influenced by what we give authority is the confession of our mouth. I'd like to invite the band up. When we found out that Grace was a girl, it impacted the confession of our mouth. So much so that we decided almost immediately that there was no way we could keep the gender under wraps because she was no longer an it. She was a she. We couldn't help ourselves but refer to her as a her, she. So there was no secret. We started considering different girl names and settled on the name Grace Olivia Claire Thompson long before she was born. We had the conviction in our heart, and now we have the confession of our mouth. The expectation of your heart is revealed by the words that you speak. What are you speaking? What are you speaking over your children? What are you speaking over your future? What are you speaking over your career? What are you speaking over your family members who are not saved? What are you speaking over your neighborhood? I had a great uh moment of conviction about this myself not long ago. Um our neighborhood has experienced a bit of crime lately, and I had started saying things like it's not safe anymore. It's not safe for my kids to just walk out there. There's all these cars getting stolen. What's happening to our neighborhood? It's not like it used to be. And I felt God convict me and say, What are you speaking? What are the words that you are speaking over your neighborhood? They have power, amen. So instead of being uh determined by what I see, my words change to be determined by faith. And I started praying. I was like, Lord, this is your territory. I extend the boundaries of your territory in my neighborhood. There will be salvation over my neighborhood, there will be protection over my neighborhood as I'm driving around.

SPEAKER_02 24:01

Literally what I look like. Sometimes I forget people can see you when you're gone. Anyway, that's okay. If you see me driving around, just like pray for me, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 24:18

Um ask yourself, does the confession of my mouth align with the word of God? If not, get into agreement with him and start declaring and decreeing his promises over your life. Out loud. Faith comes by what? Hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Sometimes we need to proclaim it ourselves so we can hear it. Amen. Proclaim the word of God, proclaim the promises, pray out loud, speak it over your children. Only last week in kids' church I had to take my child out of kids' church. I was like, right, that's it, you're out of here. That's one too many smacks of other people's faces. Come on. So I took him out and I was like, wait a minute, he was just preaching, I'm on kids. And I was frustrated. I was like, ah, again, Lord. But he reminded me, what are you gonna speak over him? What are the words that are gonna come out of your mouth? We can give life and discipline at the same time, amen. So I said to him, You are a kind boy, you are gonna be kind, you are a good boy, and I spoke life over him and I said, This behavior is not acceptable, but you are a good boy, you are kind, you are gentle. Speak life over your circumstances in Jesus' name. 2 Corinthians 5 17 says, I am a new creation in Christ, old things have passed away. Behold, all things are new. Speak this over your life. 2 Timothy 1 verse 7 says, I do not have a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. 1 Peter 5, verse 7 says, I cast all my cares on the Lord, for he cares for me. Joshua 24, verse 15 says, As for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. You might have family who is far from God, but do not be consumed by your circumstances. Speak the word of God. It has power, it has all authority. And if you speak the word of God over your family, if you speak the word of God over your future, it will frame and it will determine your future. Amen. I want to encourage someone today. Don't settle for the words or titles, the labels or statements that you or someone else may have spoken over your life that don't align with how God sees you. The only limits, or worse, it this only limits or strangles your faith and therefore your expectations. You are a child of the Most High God, fearfully and wonderfully made. His thoughts towards you outnumber the grains of sand. He knew you before you were formed in your mother's womb. He is the one who created you. He is the only one with the right to proclaim who you are. Seek your identity in his words. They should be the ones that carry authority in your life. What is dictating the confession of your mouth? Is it faith in the word of God? Is it unbelief? Joshua 14, verse 6 to 14 relays the faith-filled expectation of one man, Caleb. This verse comes about in the story where Joshua is distributing the land to the Israelites. They have come into the promised land and they are distributing the land after they've fought wars and defeated enemies. And Caleb is a man whose expectations were shaped by the word of God, even in the face of opposition. And it says, Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb, son of Jephunah, the Kenesite, said to him, You know what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God at Kadesh Barneah about you and me. I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh Baniah to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions. But my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. Caleb aligned his convictions and expectations with the word of God back then, 45 years ago, when they were initially sent in to spy out the land. He came back and said, God said that we would take this land. So let's go and take it. But unfortunately, he and Joshua were the overwhelming minority in this regard. Verse 9. So on that day Moses swore to me, the land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. This is the word that he held on to for 45 years, walking in the wilderness, fighting battles. He held on to this word and trusted that this is what would frame his future. Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for 45 years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, 85 years old. I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out. Come on, somebody. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were larger and fortified, but the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said. Then Joshua blessed Caleb and he gave him Hebron as his inheritance because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. How many know that there is no expiry on the word of God? I think some of us need to retrieve those promises that God gave us years ago. Shake off the disappointment this morning and renew your trust in God. Isaiah 55, 11 reminds us, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth, it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Caleb held on to the promises of God for his life and let it shape his expectations for 45 years. Through those years, he experienced the wilderness, he experienced warfare, but his expectations remained steadfast because it was rooted in the Word of God. What has the authority to shape your thoughts and speech, church? Because it will shape your future and the future of the generations to come behind you. For some of us, we need to shake the dust off our Bibles and lay hold of the promises that God has available to us to let it shape our expectations. It is time to lay claim again to those verses that used to hold authority in our lives, but that we may have relegated to the periphery of our conscience like a bumper sticker because we forgot how powerful they are, or got disappointed or disillusioned by our very real circumstances along the way. Verses like Jeremiah 29, 11. For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future. Come on, that is something worth holding on to today, church, not just memorizing, putting in the back of our mind. Let that be rooted in your heart. Psalm 23, verse 1. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul. Come on, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? Because you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Amen. Sometimes we need to speak these things out loud to ourselves. His words and his thoughts are for us, church. You can trust him wholeheartedly. Make his thoughts your thoughts and his words your words, amen. Why don't you stand with me? Maybe you say to me, Claire, I've given up expectation. I'm disappointed. I'm disillusioned. I don't even know where which way is up at the moment. That's okay. This word is for you today. I believe God has brought this word for us today. Why don't you just open up your arms to the Lord today? And just let the Holy Spirit breathe on you, speak to you this morning, right where you're at. And if that's you and you feel disappointed, or that disappointment has shaped your expectations, I'm going to tell you, God sees you today, and this is his word for you. Rise up, trust in me, and know that my word is all powerful, and my promises are for you. If that's you, I just want to pray for you before Hamish comes. Oh God, we're so grateful for you, God. We are so grateful that you are in our boat, that you will never leave us or forsake us. And God, in the midst of our very real circumstances, we choose, we choose right now to give your words authority over our life. God, bring to mind scriptures that maybe we've forgotten. The promises that you have laid in our heart. God, bring them back to life. Breathe your life on those words this morning. God, we pray for your healing power to fill this room. God, heal broken hearts in this place. Begin to reveal again those words that do not have an expiry date, those promises to which we are called to lay claim. We thank you, Jesus, for the authority that is in your name, for the authority that is in your words, and we choose this morning to go out of this place and to fall in love with your word again. We will speak it out in faith in the name of Jesus. And everybody said, Amen.