Nothing to say, yet
Transcription
The speaker begins by sharing that their mother has been diagnosed with advanced bowel and liver cancer. They ask for prayers and emphasize the importance of finding hope in God. They then go on to discuss some church announcements, including a new database system, a gala day fundraiser, and upcoming events and trainings. The speaker also mentions their own holiday and plans to continue a ministry school. The sermon then shifts to the topic of wanting to leave Invercargill, comparing it to the saying "get out of Dodge" from the Wild West. The speaker acknowledges that they have wanted to leave at times and suggests that others may feel the same way. They then encourage everyone to turn to the Bible for guidance. Mum is fine in her spirit and she keeps the nurses on her toes, on their toes, and while she's tried for a number of years for us and had no success, so she's going to try with the nursing staff down there, and Dad's doing well, and yeah, she was feeling fine, and then over the last couple of weeks, she just hasn't been, so she went to the doctor, got some tests, and they were just sent us back down to hospital, and she went in last Friday, and they had been doing tests for that, and yes, then on Monday, I think, just the diagnosis came in that yes, it is cancer, and that it's bowel, and it's moved into the liver, and it's quite advanced, and so prayers are appreciated, but like I said, God is on the throne, God is on the throne, and there's a reason why we believe what we believe, and there's hope in what we believe, and if you're here this morning, and you know, you may be in a hopeless situation and go, man, I just, I need hope, well the only place you're going to find hope is in God, and so if you are here this morning, and you're going, man, I just, you need God, you need God, because we all need hope, without hope, there's nothing, without hope, there is nothing, and so I pray that this morning, that during the service, and that you would know the God of hope this morning, amen, amen, awesome, hey, just some notices, man, I've got to put my glasses back on again, before we begin, some text messages have gone out, just in regards, we are putting in a new system in regards to our, I can't remember the word that you use for it, but our database system, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, and so a lot of the stuff that we used last year, if you're a part of the church, and rosterings, and services, and church centre, all that sort of stuff, you won't find anymore, so Judith is in the process, we are in the process of just getting it rolled out, so we just need to be shown a wee bit of grace, it's a completely new system to us as well, but it saves us money, and that's always a good thing, and so Judith is in the process of getting all that sorted, and she'll have some more information about that as well. The beginning of March, we have our gala day, and our gala day is, we haven't done one for a few years, and they're very, very successful days, we actually hold them out at the Otatara Church building, with our sections and everything out there, and it's just a great big day, it's for the community, and this year we're raising funds for the Riding for Disabled, which is based out in Otatara, and so it's just a fun day out with a lot of stuff, activities, a lot of raffles sort of things, and stalls, and a great day for the kids, I think there are going to be some horses there, and so we can, hopefully adults can have a ride, and fulfil a childhood dream of that. They're only little horses, so it won't be quite a dream, but it'll still be fun, and so that's coming up, and Brian and Johanna will have some more information on that coming up as well. This week, we're kicking off our life groups, and we're doing a combined evening on Wednesday night, out at Otatara, and it's just a potluck supper, they'll bring a plate, and it's for everyone who's been attending life groups. If you are not in a life group, and you want to be part of a life group, this is a great opportunity, come out, and see what's happening, meet some of the life group leaders, there are the beautiful photos up there, and so it's just another great opportunity to build community during the week. Sunday morning is fantastic, but life groups during the week are awesome, because it helps build community, it builds relationships, and you get to study the word of God, and go deeper into those things. So that's this Wednesday, and then on the 23rd of February, a good friend of mine, Pastor Scott Bell is going to be down, he's going to be ministering over the weekend, and we have a youth event planned for the Friday night, the 23rd, so it's going to be out here, it's a combined event, so a few other youth groups, etc., etc., will be joining us for that as well. He's going to be ministering, there's going to be praise and worship, some games, some activities, some fun, some prizes, but more than that, Pastor Scott will bring the message of hope, the gospel message, and preach, and have our young people encounter God for themselves. Amen? Amen. Amen. And lastly, and not least, but over the holidays, which I enjoyed a holiday, someone, another pastor, I put a post up, and he, saying that I'm back from holiday, and he put up a wee post saying, oh, you actually got a holiday, with one of those shocked faces. And I said, well, yes, but my best friend, she went overseas for three weeks, and I said I'd look after her kids for her. So it wasn't a holiday as such, and apparently that's part of the deal when we got married, that I would do that. So, so, Sarah had a great holiday, and, no, I, I, no, no, the kids, the kids were fine. I palmed them off, and, no, no, I did actually. No, I didn't. I didn't. I didn't do it purposely. They were willing and wanted to go. They wanted, they wanted to get away from me. But, anyway, I've been pondering and working away, because part of our vision is to, to, to be a church that releases and to trains and to equips, and so I, many of you know Andrew Cannon, who was here at the end of last year. I've been communicating with him a wee bit, and a few other things, and so over the year, we are going to crank up our ministry school that we started off last year. Lyle did a fantastic four-week series, and it was great. It's just a real good in-house training and equipping place that we had, and so God's been speaking to me about to, to, to continue that, and so what we've done, what I've done is over the, the, the year I've planned out dates, and, and I'm going to put a, a, a, sort of a calendar out, hopefully next week or the week after, for the, the first half of the year, and so Andrew Cannon, he, you know, he ministered in the life of the church. He's going to be back at the end of this year as well for the, the Harvest Now School of Evangelism that they're bringing to Southland, and, but I've been talking to him, and so he is, we're going to do monthly Zoom meetings. I really want to prioritize and, and, and sow into evangelism into our city, and so he is going to do monthly Zoom meetings at the, more the end of the month, between 7 o'clock and 8 o'clock. He'll be in the UK, wherever he's going to be, but he's going to, we've got a, a list of subjects and topics that he's going to be teaching us, and so that's going to happen once a month, and that's just, you can Zoom in on that at home, and you don't even need to go out, and so it's, you know, for everybody, and then, and then also we're going to do some in-house training and equipping once a month, and they're going to be held at Otara, and we've got various people coming in and just doing topics and, and just a real teaching, equipping time for us, and in June, we're going to do a ministry school intensive, and what that is, is just three weeks in a row, where we're just really going to hammer a good teaching launching topic for us to get our teeth stuck into, and, but it's just a great way, because obviously, you know, Sunday mornings, we're going to do so much, and so we really want to input into growing us and feeding us in the teaching of the Word of God. Amen? Amen. So, that is the end of the notices. Done. Phone down. I want to take a poll this morning, and you can raise your hands, or you can nod your head, you can keep your head bowed, but if you don't want people to know, but I want to ask a question to us. Have you ever wanted to leave Invercargill? Okay, let me ask that again, and maybe just don't go off as, maybe take a wee bit more time, and just go, oh, yes, I have considered it, actually, but honestly, have you ever wanted to get out of Invercargill? Let's just be honest. Come on. Be honest. Be honest. Yeah? And I got out. Law got out, and then the Lord brought him back. You know, whether it's because of economic gain, whether it's because of situations or circumstances, whether it's just the whole attitude of the grass is greener on the other side, or you just want to be somewhere else. I titled this sermon, Get Out of Dodge, and back in the 1800s, I do enjoy Western films, and I was recommended one recently, which wasn't that good. They really raved about it, and I watched it, I bought it. It was all right, but there's a saying, you've got to get out of dodge. In fact, I spoke to a friend of mine in Auckland, because he quizzed me and said, what's that mean? I said, have you never heard that saying? He said, nah, never heard of it. Get out of dodge. And back in the 1800s, 1870s, I think, Dodge City in Kansas, it was a bit of a, you know, economic sort of going on high, a lot of cattle trade, et cetera, et cetera, but with all of that, it brought in a lot of the bad, and it turned from really, really prosperous to really, really bad, because that's where all the people went, because it was prosperous, so they went and looted, and the gunslingers, and then you have people like Wyatt Earp, and those guys who came in, the law keepers, and they tried to keep the balance, but that's where the saying, to get out of dodge, came, because in that time where that was at its worst, people just wanted to get out, because they didn't want to be around that sort of atmosphere. And I can honestly say, yes, I've wanted to get out of Invercargill at times. And I think if we were honest with ourselves, a lot more people would probably put their hand up and go, yeah, look, you know, for whatever, whatever reason that there is. If we turn to our Bibles this morning, if you've got them with you, whether you're on your phone Bible, whether you're pretending to be on your phone Bible, but actually on Facebook, or whatever, or if you've got your physical Bible with you, let's turn to Ruth this morning, and we're going to start in chapter 1, verse 1. In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. And so a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and his two sons with him. The sons, the man's name was Elimelech. Now, when I first read this story, you know how every now and then you get words and you've really just got to look at it because you're like, Elimelech, and it took me a while to get it, Elimelech. Turn to someone and go, Elimelech. In fact, the other day, I was driving to Dunedin, and I was like, how am I going to remember that? And it just, it must have been God, because it just came to me, almost like prosthetically as I was driving, and it just came, and it was just like, Elimelech. Elimelech. Elimelech. Those of you who grew up in the 80s, which was the greatest decade to live, will understand that joke. But some names are like that. I'm going to digress. It's like driving to Christchurch, between Dunedin and Amaru, I think. There's a town, and it's, I still can't even pronounce it. It's like Makikikikihihi or something, and you know you're coming into it because it's got a long bridge, and it's where they make the chips. Then you're driving in, I'm driving in, I know the sign's coming, and so I'm trying to drive safe, and I'm going, you get to the point where you can see it, and then you start Makikikikihihi. I still haven't got, I still can't pronounce that name, no matter how many times I drive fast, because you're trying to sound it out, and sometimes names are just like that. Anyway. At the very least, you're going to take away Elimelech. This morning. So that's the main thing. And his wife was Naomi, and their two sons were Marlon and Killian. And they were Epiphytes from Bethlehem in the land of Judah, and when they reached Moab, they settled there. In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, if you turn back into your Bibles and you go to Judges 21, and you look at the last verse in that, you read this. In those days, Israel had no king, and all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. All the people did whatever they wanted, whatever they felt was right, whatever seemed right to them, that's how they lived. And in Judges, if you read it, it goes up and down, up and down, where one judge was good, and he would restore Israel back to God. And another one would come in, it would just duck down, they'd walk away from God, and they'd come in, and they'd go up and down, up and down. And often in the Bible, when there is a famine, it's because they were away from God. And God was using it so it's time to come back, and He would cause famine in the land to cause that. But they would live and they would do whatever seemed right in their own eyes. The meaning of His name, Elimelech, is My God is King. So in a land where they did what seemed right in their own eyes, He had a name that said God is My King. They operated in Judges, there was no king, He had a name where God is My King. God is My King. And when a severe famine came on the land, when economic strife came into the land, when things got tough in the land, He did what seemed right to Him. And He moved. He left. He took His family, He took His wife, He took His two sons. And He left Bethlehem, which means house of bread, and He took them to Moab. And the Moabites were descendants of Moab. And if you go back to Genesis 19, Lot's daughters got them drunk and they slept with them and they conceived Moab. He was born out of incest and they worshipped false gods and they would sacrifice children. In fact, if you read Psalm 60 and verse 8, God says that Moab is My wash basin. Moab is the place where I will wash My dirty feet. So don't go there. In fact, it was forbidden to marry Moabite women. So it wasn't moving to a like town, it was specifically moving away to a place where God said don't go. In verse 3, it says then Elimelech died and Naomi was left with her two sons. And the two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Oprah and the other named Ruth. But ten years later, both sons died. And this left Naomi without her two sons and without her husband. As we know in biblical days, when you are married and you have sons, they are your future. They are what's going to protect you. They are what's going to provide for you. They are what's going to keep you in later life. And she's lost it all. So now she is in a place that God doesn't even like, that God treats as His wash basin for His feet, without a husband, without her sons, with two Moabite daughter-in-laws, with no security, with no protection, with nothing. You know, we have to be careful as believers that we don't let our circumstances or we don't let our decisions dictate, we don't let our, sorry, we don't let our circumstances or situations dictate to our decision. That we don't let circumstances, we don't let situations dictate to a decision that we are going to make. That when we go through hard times, when we go through circumstances, when something is against us, when economic times are against us, and it's interesting because I would hazard a guess that we could all agree that actually this is how society lives now, is society lives by doing whatever seems right in their eyes. This is the society that we live in. This is how they think. Whatever feels right, whatever seems right, whatever it is you want to do, you do. A few years back, you know, when I said at the beginning, have you ever wanted to leave, for a long, long time we never did. We got married, and three, four years into that, we had some circumstances, we had some situations, and we just thought to ourselves, let's just go. Let's just get out. And so we were going to move to Portland, Oregon. As you could. As you could. It was going to fix our problem. It was going to fix, it was a solution to the circumstances, a solution to a situation that we were going through. I had to, I had a job, had a job as a youth pastor over there at a church that was arranged, that was through a friend of mine, an acquaintance, that teed it up. I went to, I had to go to Auckland, or Wellington, sorry, because I needed to get a special visa approval to enter into the States. Don't worry, it's not because of drugs or anything bad that I did, it was just a result of a car accident that I had a conviction of, and you can't have any convictions going into the States, so I had to go get a special visa so there wasn't any hang up. I went, we got it, we were about to, I think we were about to book flights to go over to Portland, Oregon to meet the church and to get some stuff happening, and then we found out that Sarah was pregnant, and we had a decision to make. Do we get out of Dodge, or do we stay? Do we, do we, do we get out, or do we stay? And we decided that actually no, God was actually asking and wanting us to stay, so we stayed, and here we are. But when times get tough, it can be tempting to question God and take control of our situations. When times get tough, when the economy is down, when the food prices are up, when you're struggling to meet, that job offer over there with an extra 20,000K looks pretty good. When you're working so hard and you think, man, I just need some more time off, you get a job offer in Australia where you're guaranteed five days a week and an extra 30K, yeah, it looks pretty good. When you know that you can leave your situation, you can leave your circumstance and you can head over and things are going to look pretty good. It's hard in those situations to stand back and go, God, what do you want? I mean, I could have sat there and said, well, you know, look, let's step out in God and let's pick up the phone and ring the airport and if I get a ticket to Wellington, well then maybe God's saying we need to go. Well, if we, you know, it's amazing, I got a plane ride to Wellington. God must be in this. God's doing something. Well, maybe if, you know, well, we've got to ring and sort this job out. Well, if we ring and someone answers, I think that's an open door. I think God is saying something. And we can make up all these doors that by the power of God just seem to open. When in actual fact, if you ring the airport and book a plane ride to Wellington, chances are you're going to get a plane ride to Wellington. You pick up the phone, chances are someone would go and answer the phone on the other side, but we create these doors. We throw these mats out. With little we test for God. That God's sitting there going, I didn't even do anything. I haven't even moved yet. But we've built up this picture of, yeah, God's speaking here. Because our situation, because our circumstances, we want to change. And we take it back and we start controlling. We begin to worry, how can I fix this? What can I do? What can I do to fix this situation? But if we let circumstances and if we let situations dictate a decision, we actually miss out sometimes on what God is actually really wanting to do. And that's get into our hearts and teach us and train us and form us. The situation that we were going through, it wouldn't have fixed moving cities, even though I thought we were moving countries. It wouldn't have fixed that. It just would have come with us. It just would have traveled with us. So don't let circumstances, don't let situations, don't let the promise of the grass is greener fool you into moving somewhere where you shouldn't be. What if, what if we have done that? What if we have moved, as Elimelech did, move his family and all of a sudden the whole world crumbles around? In verse 6 we read this, then Naomi heard in Moab, which was only about 50 miles away from Bethlehem, heard in Moab that the Lord had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good crops again. See seasons come, seasons go. Sometimes we're in a famine because God wants to teach us. We're in a famine because he wants us to draw near him. We go through tough times because we need to rely and trust in him. Famines aren't always bad. Sometimes famines cause us to draw close to him. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her homeland where her two daughters-in-law, she set out from the place where she had been living and they took the road that would lead them back to Judah. They took the road that would lead them back home. Sometimes to be where we should be, we have to leave where we shouldn't be. Craig Rochelle says it like this. He says, to get to the right place, you have to leave the wrong place. We have to return. We have to turn. We have to go home. To be where you should be, you have to leave where you shouldn't be. To do what, to stop doing what we shouldn't be doing, to do what we should be doing. You see, when you return home, you have to leave that place. You have to leave that place knowing that home is there. That there's good things, that God has good things for us. That God is a good God and that we can come home to him. Nothing says it better, like the story of the prodigal son who found himself in the decline down to the point where he was eating the pig slop out of the pig troughs and he said, even going home and being a servant to my father is better than what is happening here now. And Ruth decided to return home. After losing her husband, losing her two sons, she said it's time to go home. There's something that happens within us when we decide to go home. I love being at home. And when I'm away, whether it's for a weekend or whether it's for a period of time, even just for the day, I literally, like I go to Dunedin most weeks and the night before, I'm not even thinking of going to Dunedin, I'm thinking of coming back from Dunedin. I'm thinking about driving home before I'm thinking about driving away. In February, Aaron and Lyle, we're going to the Philippines. Because as a church, we want to pick up our overseas missions again, which we put on hold for a period of time and then COVID got in and this got in and that got in. So we really want to pick up our overseas connections and missions again. And so we're going to go, many of you will know Brian and Josh who came over here, they've been here in 2019. They've asked us to come back over. They said they won't come back until I go over. And so we're going over in March and Aaron and Aaron are going to come over and they're going to scope out some missions projects that we can do as a church and take a missions team back and serve overseas and bless them. And the reason I say that is because actually I just don't want to go. And I've been quite honest about that. I mean I tell them I can't wait to be there and looking forward to it and hoping that by the time I get there the prophetic statements come true. But I'll be fine. But I just want to be at home. And even now I'm looking more at the incoming home than what I'm looking at going over because there's something about home that just connects and cements you. And when you've been away from God, if you've been away doing your own thing, if you've been away doing what seems right in your own eyes and you come home just like the prodigal son came home to the father and was restored, that's what God wants from us. That's what God wants from you. And it doesn't matter whether you've found yourself in a place like Moab, a place where God forbade you to go, a place that he used as his watch base, a place that has not been good, it doesn't matter where you have found yourself, the fact that you can get up and travel the road home to him, the father. And I wonder whether this year, and I'm not saying this for this church, it might be for another church that I'll preach at later on, but as we live and as we reflect and as we have started the year off, I wonder if we would be known as a church that would live and operate out of God is my king, not I do what I want to do because it feels and seems right to me. We live understanding that we live with a king as our ruler, not ourselves. And you might be here and you've been thinking about the grass is greener on the opposite side and you might have these doors open in front of you and it's not about having the doors open in front of you because you've been praying God open the doors, it's about stopping at the entry of those doors going, God, what are you wanting me to do? What is it that you are wanting me? I have these doors. I have created these opportunities for me, but what are you wanting? Because you are my king and I want to live for you. I give you everything. I've given you my heart, my mind, my soul. I am yours. What is it that you want? And that is what I will do because I don't want to do what seems right to me, whether that means continuing on in these situations. But know this, in those famines, God causes growth again and the season changes and then all of a sudden there is plenty. I would rather live in a famine with God than in plenty without. God is my king. As an individual, as a church, do we really believe that? I know that Lyle has been preaching the last couple of weeks about being Christians, that believing believers, believing believers do things differently than unbelievers because we understand that we are under the hand of God and that our life is His. And are we going to operate? Are we going to walk? Are we going to live in accordance to what He says? Or are we going to let circumstances, are we going to let situations, are we going to let famines, are we going to let stuff cause us to move away? And if you have moved away, when you think everything is gone, when you think everything has been taken away, when you think you have nothing left, it's in those places where you go, it's time to give completely to God what is His and return home, to return home to Him. Let's just bow our heads and close our eyes. Jesus, Father, I pray. Father, we know we live in a society which does what seems right in their eyes. Father, we know we live in a world which is contrary to what You say. But Father, we choose to live under Your authority, to live as God is my King. And I will follow Him all of my days. And no matter the circumstances, no matter the situations that we are in, Father, we would trust You in those situations. We would obey in those situations. Father, we would draw close to You in those situations. I get a real sense this morning that there have been people, and there are people, and circumstances has caused you just to ponder, man, let's just get out of Dodge. Let's get out of Dodge. It'll be easier for us. It'll be better for us. I just believe the Lord would want to speak to you this morning and say, I don't want you to leave Dodge. I want you to draw close to Me. I don't want you to live under the dictation of your situation or your circumstances. I want you to live according to Me. Draw close to Me. And you may be here this morning, and you know you're in a place where you shouldn't be, and to be where you should be, you've got to leave that place. To get to the right place, you have to leave the wrong place. To begin doing the right things, you've got to stop doing the bad things. God is calling you home. He's saying, come back home. Bethlehem, the house of bread. Jesus, the bread of life. The famine that you're in, the situations, the circumstances you find yourself, He's calling you home. He's calling you home. Before we continue, I want to just give the opportunity that if you are in this building today, and you know you've been away from God, you know you've been in a place where you shouldn't have been, you know you have been doing things you shouldn't be doing, you know that life is not looking that great at the moment. I want to give the opportunity that Naomi had, that she took the road that would lead them back to Judah. She took the road that would lead them back home. You're not here by accident, you're not here by coincidence. If that's you this morning, if you know that you need to get your life right with God, I'd just love you to lift your hand. I just want to see it. If that's you, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome. Is there anybody else? The decision to come home. Jesus, I'd love to pray with you guys. We've got a ministry, we've got an eldership team here that would love just to pray with you. And I'm just wondering whether or not you'd do one more thing and just stand and come to the front of the church, come to the altar. Come, follow that road home and come down the front and have a team who would pray with you, who encourage you. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Oh, look up. Jesus. I want to ask the eldership to come, Dave and Robin, just to stand with these ones that have come forward. This is the greatest miracle you're going to see. People coming home, people coming home who have been away, who know. So Father, I thank you, Lord God. Father, as a church, Father, we stand behind these ones, Lord God, and we praise your name. Father, even though we can be in the darkest place, even though we can put ourselves in situations and circumstances that are away from you, Father, there is a way back home through your son, Jesus. Just as the prodigal son came home to the father thinking he wanted just to work in the fields, the father restored him. Father, I pray a restoration, Lord God. Father, on these ones this morning, a restoration, Lord God. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Oh, Lord God. I want to have the ministry team just pray for these ones. You may be here this morning and you've had some situations and some circumstances and you've thought, man, I want to get out of Dodge. I just got to get out. I want to pray for you. Just as me and Sarah a few years ago, going through a tough time, we stood with decisions to make, with doors open, and we said, God, what are you wanting? And I believe that this morning he's wanting you to draw close to him. He's wanting to bring you into a place where, yes, the situation, the circumstances might not change instantly, but it's not about them changing. It's about us drawing close to him. And so I'm wondering if you are here this morning, and that is you, if you could just lift your hand and just give me a wave. If you're here this morning and you've just got that thing of, I just need to get out. I've just got to go. I want to pray for you this morning. Is there anybody? Awesome. Awesome. Anybody else? Anybody else? Jesus. Jesus. Oh, look up. Jesus. I'm going to hand back over to Rachel. She's going to lead us in a song, and we're going to continue ministering here. I'd love to come and pray with you, if that's all right. But let's stand and let's just continue to worship God as the ministry team continue to pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Jesus, you are unfailing. Oh, Lord God. Father, we thank you for this morning, Lord God. Father, we thank you for an encounter with you, Lord God. Father, I pray that through this week, Father, this wouldn't be a Sunday experience, Lord God. Father, I pray that we'd wake up every morning. Father, we would draw close to you, Lord God. Father, we wouldn't have an encounter with you, Lord God. Father, we would be aware of your presence during the week, Lord God. Father, whether it's in the workplace, whether it's in the car, whether it's at home in the supermarket. Father, I pray that we would have opportunities to share your love, to share your gospel message with those around us, Lord God. Jesus, in your name we pray. Amen. Amen.
