Grace Haven Church

0:00 I have a secret.

0:04 Philippians chapter 4 verse 10 says this.

0:07 My heart overflows with joy when I think of how you showed your love to me by your contribution and support for this ministry.

0:16 For even though you have so little, you still continue to help me at every opportunity.

0:21 I am not telling you this because I'm in need, for I've learnt

0:26 to be satisfied in any circumstance.

0:31 I have learnt to be satisfied in any circumstance.

0:37 I know what it means to lack and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance.

0:43 For I am trained in the secret of overcoming all things.

0:49 The Apostle Paul writing to the Philippi Church and I love what he says.

0:54 For I am trained in the secret of overcoming all things.

1:00 There is a secret that we can learn from when it comes to overcoming all things.

1:09 Whether in fullness or hunger, for I have found that the strength of Christ's explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.

1:20 Philippians in another version says this, chapter 4 verse 13.

1:23 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

1:28 Philippians chapter 4 verse 13 in another version says this, Christ gives me the strength to face anything.

1:39 I've learnt to be satisfied in any circumstance.

1:42 I'm trained in the secret of overcoming all things.

1:45 For I have found that strength of Christ's explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.

1:56 Now if you were to listen to the life of Paul you may be surprised that he didn't live an easy life.

2:02 And if I was to take a few moments to one by one in this room find out about your story.

2:10 Someone could be sitting in the front here with an incredible story of overcoming difficulties.

2:15 And yet if you just go maybe two rows back and got to hear someone else's story you go, my story is not so bad.

2:23 Sometimes we think we've got the worst story in the world until we meet someone who's got a really worst story in the world.

2:29 And I think that's something we need to consider today as we lean into the word of God.

2:34 As we consider what God is saying to us and where are you right now on your walk with God?

2:40 Have you even begun?

2:42 Have you started and then pulled back?

2:45 There's no doubt for every one of us difficulties, overcoming, challenges, adversity, circumstances, pressures.

2:54 They're going to come at all of us from an early age right through to a later age in life.

3:00 And this is the secret Paul gives us.

3:03 You can learn the secret of Paul's life.

3:05 The greatest missionary the church has ever had.

3:08 Stepped into the unknown so many times and this is what it's recorded for us in one of the verses.

3:13 And this is what I want to read for you.

3:14 It says this in Corinthians.

3:45 I have worked and struggled and spent many sleepless nights.

3:48 I have gone hungry and thirsty and often had nothing to eat.

3:51 I have been cold from not having enough clothes to keep me warm.

3:55 So what is it this secret that Paul says that kept him and trained him in all circumstances?

4:04 And it's simply this.

4:05 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

4:11 I would say to you today that this would be

4:16 probably the most defining thing for our church.

4:21 I believe this is what will define us as a church.

4:23 I believe it is what's defining us as a church.

4:27 And if I could encourage anybody that's leaning into this environment to really understand that a can do mentality is your advantage in life.

4:36 A can do mentality.

4:40 I'm not just talking about I can run a hundred meters in two seconds.

4:43 I mean, if you can do it, do it.

4:46 You'll be famous.

4:49 That's not what I'm talking about.

4:50 The context of where Paul puts it, first of all, is in a letter to the Philippi Church who are being, again, oppressed by a lot of situations.

4:59 The world is predominantly Roman and outside of that, it was hostile or it was pretty much in some ways Jewish.

5:13 And so if you don't fit into the Jewish category, you're an outsider.

5:17 If you didn't fit into the Roman society, you were an outsider.

5:22 So who were you and what did you do and how did you survive and how did you go on?

5:26 So Paul, first of all, says this is the secret I've learned.

5:28 And he puts it in context.

5:30 So what we do in our Western 21st century, we take this and go, oh, and we put on our boxing shorts and we put it on a, I don't know, we put it all over the place.

5:39 Listen, I've got nothing wrong.

5:40 You can put it wherever you want to.

5:41 You can get a tattoo if you want to.

5:43 I can do all things through Christ has transferred me.

5:45 But what I am trying to say is, is the spirit and the tension of this secret was no matter what is coming my way, I found the secret to overcoming it.

5:58 Whether it's a health report, whether it's a denied visa or whether it's a failed marriage or whether it's tension at home or whether it's a work that's uncomfortable or whether it's a boss who's domineering.

6:09 It doesn't matter.

6:10 We can find everything, something for everyone in this room today.

6:14 And Paul just said, I found the secret.

6:16 My strength is not in me.

6:18 My strength is in Christ.

6:21 That's where I go to when I have it hard.

6:25 That's where I go to when I have it good.

6:27 That's where I go to when it's difficult.

6:30 That's where I go to when it's awesome.

6:34 And I wonder if we could leave this place today with a sense of I found the secret.

6:40 No matter what's happening, I know the secret.

6:43 Paul shared the secret.

6:44 I've been trained in the secret.

6:46 And the secret is simply this.

6:48 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me with the help that he supplies, with the strength he supplies.

6:57 So the emphasis here, people, is a relationship with Jesus.

7:03 A relationship with Jesus will sustain you in ways that nothing else can.

7:09 A relationship with Jesus can get you through a messy divorce.

7:13 A relationship with Jesus can get you through a messy job situation.

7:18 A relationship with Jesus can get you through some of the darkest days when it comes to health and family and friends.

7:25 A relationship with Jesus can get a couple through some of the darkest days when they're planning to have their beautiful baby come home and they're told that they can't bring the baby home because the baby's no longer alive.

7:36 There are dark days for people.

7:38 There's no day about it.

7:39 Sometimes it's even dark months or even tragically dark years.

7:42 But what is the secret to the greatest missionary that ever was a part of the church?

7:48 And that was I can do all things through Christ.

7:53 I can do this job through Christ.

7:56 I can take this to the next level through Christ.

8:00 I can see my kids find better days for their future through Christ.

8:05 It has to be a revelation, but it comes through relationship.

8:09 You'll never have a revelation without a relationship.

8:14 And that's where religion always leaves people hanging.

8:18 And I want to give you maybe a taster of just one of the great examples of a can do mentality.

8:25 And I'm going to use an Old Testament story for you.

8:28 And I want you to lean into this because I think there's something for everyone, even though you've heard this a hundred times or a thousand times.

8:34 And I'm going to read from Numbers, Chapter 13.

8:37 It's an Old Testament story.

8:38 God delivers his people out of the bondage of Egypt.

8:42 It's an incredible story of hope and yet tragedy.

8:46 And we find that all of these slave mentality people are now heading towards a promised land.

8:52 But the trouble is they're not warriors.

8:54 They're slaves.

8:56 The challenge is, how do we get someone who's got a slave mentality to become a warrior, to become an owner, to become an entrepreneur, to become absolutely the head and not the tail.

9:06 See, so often we come to faith from broken situations.

9:08 Some people come from ordinary situations, messy situations, but we all come to faith as a slave becoming a son.

9:17 But I want you to know, once you become a son, you've got to start learning to think like a son, to know the father and to know the father's business and to start learning to become an owner, not a renter, a builder, not a destroyer.

9:29 And you learn to love and not hate and you learn to walk by faith and not by fear.

9:36 And this is what's happening with God's people in Numbers 13.

9:39 They are slaves.

9:42 They think like slaves.

9:43 They walk like slaves.

9:45 They act like slaves.

9:47 They behave like slaves.

9:49 But they're free.

9:54 You come to Christ and maybe you've still got the addictions going on.

9:57 Maybe you've still got the habits going on, but you're free.

10:01 So what's your strength right now in your freedom or in your behavior?

10:07 Well, if you want to talk to your behavior, go ahead.

10:09 But I want to talk to my potential.

10:10 I want to talk to who I am in Christ.

10:15 And so does God want to talk that about you.

10:17 So God had to do something with them to get them into the promised land, to stop being like slave mentality.

10:23 They had to start thinking where they can do mentality.

10:26 And so this is the narrative that we get into.

10:29 And it starts at Numbers 13, verses one to three.

10:31 The Lord said to Moses, send out 12 men to explore the land of Cain, the land I am giving you.

10:39 You need to highlight that.

10:41 The land I am giving you.

10:43 Some people want to get a hold of things that God's not given them.

10:48 You've got to understand, if God started it, He'll complete it.

10:51 If God got you into it, He'll take you all the way.

10:53 If God promises it, He will fulfill it.

10:57 You can't get into it and then start doubting God.

10:59 God is not the kind of God that says one thing and then holds back it again.

11:03 He is the God and He says, the land that I am giving to you.

11:06 So straight away, it's a done deal.

11:09 As far as God's concerned.

11:12 His son on the cross, it's a done deal.

11:14 As far as God's concerned.

11:15 Sin forevermore wiped away.

11:18 Past, present and future.

11:19 It's a done deal when you're talking to the Father.

11:23 It's a done deal.

11:28 Now, now, the land that I have given you, they still have to go in and possess it.

11:34 All that Jesus has done on the cross, done deal.

11:37 But you still got to apply what God says and what He's done.

11:40 So yes, you've got to learn the secret of Paul's life.

11:43 I've learned, no matter what, to overcome.

11:46 Because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

11:50 In other words, you've got to put it in the context of the narrative.

11:53 And you can't just twist it and use it for your selfish ambition.

11:57 You've got to realize that God is helping the church understand the power.

12:02 It's Christ alone.

12:04 I can have it can do mentally because of Jesus.

12:08 Well, my family wasn't raised that way.

12:10 I wasn't raised that way.

12:12 Yeah, but you're in Christ now.

12:13 You're not in your family.

12:14 You're in Christ.

12:16 So you're going to start talking differently.

12:18 You're going to start living differently.

12:19 I guarantee when you start to live like you are in Christ, it will cause tension.

12:25 I never forget the first day I came home after a believer and I just said, we're going to say grace.

12:29 Well, I actually didn't tell.

12:31 I said, can we take grace?

12:33 I didn't hear anything.

12:34 So I'm thinking that's a yes, not a no. I realized when I got saved, I'm living my life with a green light, not a red light.

12:40 Some of you need to change the light from a red to a green.

12:46 So I've had my head.

12:48 Father, thank you for this food.

12:49 Who are you thanking for the food?

12:52 I bought the food.

12:54 This is my dad.

12:57 Thank you, Lord, for the food and thank you for my family.

12:59 Amen.

13:00 It was very quick prayer.

13:03 But obviously we get we got stuck into a chicken and chips in the basket kind of dinner.

13:08 And I never forgot it.

13:09 I was like, my dad couldn't even let me pray.

13:12 And he's already in arms saying, what are you thanking him for?

13:15 You should be thanking me.

13:16 I'm the one that got it.

13:17 And what I'm trying to say is, is when you start to live different, you think differently and start to behave differently, there will be tension.

13:24 Your friends, your family, they want to drag you back to where they are.

13:28 And that's not your fight.

13:30 Your fight is not them.

13:32 Your fight is to move into all that God's got for you.

13:34 Can I just tell some people here today, your fight is not your family.

13:37 Your fight is all that God has for you.

13:42 Thank God for your family.

13:44 Do your best to pray for your family.

13:46 If you know where the tensions are, don't go there.

13:48 But don't fight your family.

13:50 Move into the bigger fight, which is all that God has got for you.

13:54 And I want to try and help you understand here.

13:57 So the land that I am giving you.

13:59 So Moses sent them in verse 17 to 20.

14:03 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Cain.

14:06 And he said to them, go there by the south part and then move north into the hill country.

14:15 See what the land is like.

14:17 See if the people live there are strong or weak.

14:21 And if they are few or many.

14:22 Find out if the land they live in is good or bad.

14:25 See if the cities they live in are open or walled.

14:28 Find out if the soil is rich or poor.

14:31 And if there are trees in it or not.

14:35 Then try to get some of the fruit of the land.

14:37 Moses picks 12 spies.

14:40 The Bible says that he picks the leaders of each tribe of Israel.

14:44 The promise of God.

14:46 God has spoken.

14:47 They have gone free of the Egyptians.

14:49 The waters.

14:51 And the Egyptians are dead.

14:54 And they are now in the wilderness.

14:55 And God is supernaturally providing.

14:58 And he is alight by night.

14:59 And he is coolness and clouds by the day.

15:02 And they are seeing the miracles and the provision of the heavenly father.

15:06 So basically this is it.

15:07 We are going into the promised land.

15:08 So Moses basically gives him instructions.

15:10 So Moses what does he do?

15:11 He gets 12 from each tribe.

15:13 And this is what he does.

15:13 He says right.

15:15 And he names them.

15:16 Now I guarantee you will not know any of the names of this except Joshua and Caleb.

15:23 At the end of 40 days the men returned from exploring their land.

15:26 They came back to Moses and Aaron the whole Israel community with a report.

15:30 And showed the fruit of the land.

15:33 So God said it is yours.

15:34 Moses said you guys are going in.

15:37 And he asked them a whole lot of questions.

15:38 See what the land is like.

15:40 In other words see what the land is like.

15:42 Take a risk.

15:45 What is ahead of some of you?

15:47 You need to take a risk.

15:49 God is already on your case.

15:50 God is already speaking.

15:52 But you need to see what the land is like.

15:54 See what that job is like.

15:55 See what that relationship is like.

15:57 See what that country is like.

15:59 See what that next step is like.

16:01 Take a risk.

16:03 And that is what he said to me.

16:04 He said see what the land is like.

16:06 I know God says it is a land.

16:08 But we are going to take a risk.

16:09 We are actually not just going to see what God says.

16:11 We are going to actually enjoy what God says.

16:14 Some of you know what the Bible says.

16:16 But you are not enjoying it.

16:17 You know the goodness of the Lord is towards you.

16:19 But you are not enjoying the goodness of the Lord.

16:21 You need to move from what God says.

16:23 To what God is doing.

16:25 You can't sit in a church and do nothing.

16:27 You have got to sit in.

16:29 Take it on board.

16:30 And do it.

16:32 So they go back and they take some of the fruit of the land.

16:34 Then they gave Moses his account.

16:36 We went into the land to which you sent us.

16:39 And it does flow with milk and honey.

16:42 There is fruit.

16:44 But the people there that live there are powerful.

16:47 And the cities are fortified and very large.

16:50 We even saw the descendants of Annath, the giants there.

16:53 And Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said.

16:57 We should go up and take possession of the land.

16:59 For we can do this.

17:01 But some of the other men who had gone up with him said.

17:04 We can't attack these people.

17:06 They are stronger than we are.

17:09 And they spread amongst Israel a bad report.

17:12 About the land that they explored.

17:13 They said the land we explored devours those who live in it.

17:17 All the people we saw were like giants.

17:19 We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes.

17:22 And we looked the same to them.

17:25 See we see the world with our eyes.

17:29 Coloured by our internal filters.

17:31 You don't see the world as it is.

17:32 You see the world as you are.

17:36 You've got to have a different spirit.

17:39 If you're going to have a can-do mentality.

17:41 You've got to understand.

17:43 A can-do mentality takes a different spirit.

17:46 And I love this because they're bringing a bad report.

17:49 And I love what it says here.

17:51 And I want to read it out to you.

17:53 If I can find it.

17:54 It just says this.

17:57 It just says.

17:58 Numbers 14.

17:59 But my servant Caleb has a different spirit.

18:02 And thinks differently.

18:03 He follows me completely.

18:05 So I will bring him into the land he has already seen.

18:09 And listen to this.

18:10 His children will own the land.

18:15 His children will own the land.

18:19 How many people's children that are going to come out of your life.

18:22 Your children.

18:23 Your children's children.

18:25 They need you right now to start to think differently.

18:29 You've got to understand.

18:30 A different spirit today.

18:33 Strengthens the generations tomorrow.

18:40 You've got to understand what the word is saying here.

18:43 So here we have 12 spies.

18:45 Two of them stand out.

18:46 Joshua and Caleb.

18:48 All of us in the 21st century know this.

18:50 Because we've heard this story so many times.

18:54 No one remembers the name of a can't person.

18:58 People remember the name of a can person.

19:04 And I think you've got to understand.

19:05 It's not just let's go to church and see what happens.

19:08 It's got to be more than that.

19:10 It's got to be bigger than that.

19:11 It's got to be better than that.

19:15 And I want you to understand.

19:16 That's what's going on here.

19:17 I love what Moses.

19:18 Look at these seven questions Moses asks.

19:23 See what the land is like.

19:24 Maybe you're a business owner.

19:25 Maybe you're building something.

19:27 Maybe you're wanting to step into the future.

19:29 The economies are not over.

19:31 The reason we have so much tension in our world today.

19:34 It's not because there's nothing new out there.

19:36 It's because we inherited so many bad behaviors.

19:38 Bad mentalities.

19:40 Bad policies.

19:42 Greedy people.

19:47 So I want you to know the next 30 plus years, 2050, we've got the most phenomenal time on planet Earth.

19:52 Yes, I understand the tensions.

19:55 The risk of wars.

19:57 But what I am saying is I'm more aware of the potentials.

20:02 Not of bad, but of good.

20:04 And playing our role as believers.

20:07 I'm not going to allow the world economy or the world's politics, political climate, to rule my spirit.

20:19 I was told to look to Jesus.

20:21 Not the leader of the opposition party or any party.

20:25 That means yes, we pray for our leaders.

20:26 Yes, we do what we are called to do.

20:29 But my job is Jesus.

20:30 My job is to look to him and to be a minister of reconciliation.

20:34 To let everyone know that because of Jesus.

20:37 And I want to take as many people to the promised land if you can say it that way.

20:41 But I'm not going to do it with a negative report.

20:44 I've learned the secret.

20:45 I've been trained in the secret of overcoming all difficulties.

20:49 Whoever's in power, it's not going to stop me.

20:52 Whatever the policies are, it's not going to stop me.

20:54 Whether it's economy or no economy.

20:56 Whether I live in Macedonia or whether I live in the center of an awesome city like Berlin.

21:01 Whether I'm close to an incubator for entrepreneurial spirits and attitudes.

21:07 Or whether I'm completely in the desert and I haven't got a cup of water.

21:11 He said this is the secret.

21:14 In other words, you're not paralyzed.

21:16 Maybe you're seeking asylum, you're not paralyzed.

21:20 Maybe you've been asked to do a tough job on behalf of your country in another country.

21:24 And they're not too happy about the things that are going on.

21:27 Maybe you've got a tough job, yeah.

21:28 But it's not impossible.

21:33 And so 12 spies went in.

21:35 And they all saw what they saw.

21:37 But why did they say we can do it?

21:39 And why did they say we can't?

21:43 You've got to remember what they said affected the children and the children's children.

21:48 What they said affected the children and the children's children.

21:52 Let me read to you what it says here.

21:55 Numbers 14 verse 30.

21:57 Not one of you will enter the land where I promised you would live.

22:01 Only Caleb and Joshua will go.

22:05 So everyone that came out of their lives got to go into the land and become owners, not just slavers.

22:13 They became new entrepreneurs.

22:14 They learned how to build.

22:16 They learned how to be warriors and how to be entrepreneurs and builders and cultivators and farmers.

22:21 And they learned to create more for others.

22:25 Listen to the questions.

22:26 If you're leading anything, you need to ask these questions.

22:29 See what the land is like.

22:31 See what the land is like.

22:34 If you want to step into the unknown, don't risk your family's wellbeing or safety.

22:41 So I'm all for risk taking, but there are some boundaries on risks.

22:45 I've run out of time to give you more on that, but what does the land see?

22:48 Are the people strong or weak?

22:52 Are they few or many?

22:55 Is this a good place or is it a bad place?

22:59 It's a wonderful land.

23:01 What's Berlin like?

23:02 Is it like London?

23:03 No. London, they wear suits.

23:07 In Berlin, they wear jeans.

23:13 Are there many or few?

23:15 Well, when it comes to church, there's not many.

23:18 It's a few.

23:20 But I didn't see how many people don't go to church.

23:23 I saw how much opportunity we've got for people to go to church.

23:27 I didn't see how strong... I saw basically how strong God was.

23:33 And these are the questions he asked.

23:34 Are the cities opened or are they fortified?

23:38 When we came to Berlin, it looked like everyone was fortified.

23:41 Don't come here.

23:42 Don't come here.

23:43 What do you mean, invite me?

23:44 What do you mean, invite me?

23:45 Why are you putting love in the food?

23:47 What do you mean?

23:48 And I started to realize that there was fortification going on, but we just started to build with love and hospitality, put a dinner party in it.

23:54 And I'm telling you, I saw the walls come down and it became open fields.

23:58 What's in this room today?

23:59 Open fields, open fields, open people.

24:02 It's a wonderful land where there was defensiveness of, there's now a lot more openness.

24:11 And this is what he's saying.

24:12 Is this soil rich and poor?

24:14 Can you work there?

24:15 Can you build there?

24:16 Is there new opportunities for jobs there?

24:18 I remember when I first came here, the team were like, and I was like, it's an entrepreneur's paradise.

24:22 It's an entrepreneur's paradise.

24:23 And they're like, Bas, Bas.

24:27 Not one advertising on the trams, on the trams, on the U-bines.

24:30 None.

24:31 Now everywhere, Apple's got a massive one up there that costs them, I don't know, hundreds of thousands of euros every week.

24:39 But there was no advertising 10 years ago.

24:41 Hardly any.

24:44 It's a wonderful land.

24:47 It's an entrepreneur's paradise.

24:49 Is the soil rich or poor?

24:51 Joyce and I turned up in Berlin.

24:53 The soil's rich.

24:55 New jobs, new economies.

24:58 10 years, so much has happened in our city.

25:01 And I'm paralleling this Old Testament story with today in Berlin and all that we get to play a part of it.

25:07 But what will take you into the promised land is your mentality.

25:10 Is it small?

25:11 Is it parochial?

25:12 Is it negative?

25:13 These two stepped into all that God's had.

25:16 And their children was able to enjoy all of the future.

25:19 And you and I owe it to our children's children to move into the future, to move into all that God has for us.

25:27 It's a wonderful land.

25:30 The soil is rich.

25:32 The cities are open.

25:34 Are there trees there so we can build?

25:37 If there's trees, there's got to be fruit.

25:39 If there's trees, there's got to be fruit.

25:41 You might be a tree, but is there fruit?

25:49 But is there fruit?

25:52 We're always likened in the Bible to being trees.

25:56 Palm trees, oak trees, or sorry, cedar trees.

26:02 But is there fruit on the trees?

26:05 See what God sees.

26:07 See the days in which you live.

26:09 See the hour in which you dwell.

26:10 You're moving to the promised land.

26:13 And the promised land is not a geographical position.

26:15 It's a person.

26:17 It's a person called Jesus.

26:19 And I love that these were able to take not just themselves, but their families and their children and all that God had for them into their future because they got their mentality sorted.

26:33 A can-do mentality.

26:36 A can-do mentality.

26:38 A can-do mentality.

26:40 Well, that's not Swedish.

26:42 I know.

26:46 It might not be Finnish.

26:48 It might not be Danish.

26:49 It might not be German.

26:52 It's a kingdom spirit.

26:55 My servant, Caleb, had a different spirit.

27:00 You've got to have a different spirit if you want to move forward, people.

27:04 If we, as a church, are going to step into all that God's called us to do, we've got to have a different spirit.

27:10 We've got to have a different spirit.

27:12 A generous spirit.

27:13 A big spirit.

2018-08-14 - What's Your Advantage Pt. 4 I have a secret II - Mark Wilkinson.

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