Proverbs - Wisdom For Troubled Times

Mark chapter 4, and we're going to read verse 30 to 32. Then we'll go on to Revelation 22, and then we'll we'll read proverbs together. And Whether you're a regular here or here for the first time visiting church, it's always worth reminding ourselves that as we come to the bible, we are coming to the words that have been breathed out and inspired by the living God. This is the God that we've just sung about.

The creator of the heavens and the earth, the 1 who made us and sustains our lives. This is his word, and he speaks to us by his spirit as we read it and hear it preached. And this is Mark chapter 4 verse 30. Again, Jesus said what shall we say that the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds on earth.

Yet, when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants with such big branches that birds can come and perch in its shade. With many similar parables, Jesus spoke the word to them as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable, but when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything. Now, if you want to turn to right to the end of the bible now to Revelation 22, and we're just going to read the first 3 verses of Revelation 22. This is John's glorious vision of the future.

Revelation 22, then the angel showed me the river of the water of life as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life bearing 12 crops of fruit yielding its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. And then back now to proverbs.

Proverbs 11, and we're gonna read from verse 22 to 31. It begins with this proverb. Like a gold ring in a pig's snout, is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath. 1 person gives freely yet gains even more, another withholds on Julie but comes to poverty.

A generous person will prosper, whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. People curse the 1 who hoards grain, but they pray God's blessing on the 1 who's willing to sell. Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to 1 who searches for it. Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind.

And the fool will be servant to the wise. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and the 1 who is wise saves lives. If the righteous received their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner? Well, we're not gonna deal with the gold ring in the pig snout, although thinking about it for next time. So if you're interested in that, let me pray.

Father God help us now, please, to hear your word, be kind to us open up our ears, help us to hear with faith that we may be doers of what we hear in Jesus' name, our men. Now, you know that planting trees is is seen as a as a hugely positive thing in in saving the planet. According to the UK Woodland Trust, a mature English oak tree is the haven of 2300 wild species. And it provides space to eat and to shelter and to breed. And even the acorns of of an English oak tree, are food for 31 different mammals.

Which which is quite amazing, and that includes badgers, and wild boars, and wood mice, and those those sort of things. It also is an amazing thing, a tree, because it absorbs carbon dioxide, which everybody's going on about, polluting the planet. It absorbs 48 pounds a year. That's just the 1 tree. So it's an amazing thing, a tree, isn't it?

So if you wanna save the planet, then planting a tree seems to be, you know, a good a good idea. And we're encouraged to do that constantly to plant a tree from the royal family, right the way through to rock royalty, coal play, the band coal play. So the queen, in her lifetime, has has planted more than 1500 trees. And that means, you know, the little thing where they've dug a tree and she has has the spade and puts the So that's quite that's quite amazing in her lifetime. But Coldplay, they're promising to plant a tree for every tickets sold on their new world tour, which is called Music of the Spears World Tour.

And based on their last world tour, that's gonna be 5400000.0 trees. So you wanna save the planet? There's a big emphasis, isn't there? On planting trees. The Saturday times that I was reading yesterday in their main times has a big double page article on planting trees.

Although, they said, you've got to plant a British tree. So I don't quite know whether that means all around the world, but plant a British tree. Now, of course, in the bible, there is really a lot about trees, you could spend a long time. And we find what is called the tree of life right at the beginning of the Bible in the Garden of Eden. And then you find it again right at the end of the Bible in the new creation.

So, from Genesis, the first book in the Bible, to Revelation, the last book in the Bible, from the Garden of Eden through to the new garden city, the new creation, there is this tree of life. Adam and Eve, our first parents, and the representatives of the human race, they turned from God in the Garden of Eden, as you probably know, they rejected his his loving authority. Therefore, they were brought under this curse. Which meant they were banished from the Garden of Eden, and they were stopped from eating the tree of life. That's a big deal.

And in 1 sense, that's the story of the bible. So now humans are in this god's world, and it's got masses of beauty, and masses of life. But all that is beautiful and all that is alive now is touched by decay. And death, and dust, and is going to die. Everything.

The whole planet is now away from the tree of life. And because of that, All the potential of life is touched by decay and death. However, and I'm cutting a long story short, even from the beginning, God promised that 1 would come 1 would come and turn things around. Someone who in taking the curse of this planet and suffering something of the curse himself would actually crush the curse. Listen to Peter.

Now Peter was a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a disciple, and he writes after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Listen to what Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 2. It should come up with his up. He himself he's talking about Jesus.

Jesus, Look look at the phrasing here. Jesus bore our sins in his body on the tree. Hit the connection. So that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. By his wounds, we are healed.

Look at Paul writing to Christians in Malaysia, and he says this, Christ Jesus, that's Christ Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written. Now, watch this. Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. He redeemed us In order that the blessings given to Abraham might come to the gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might sees the promise of the spirit. Now there's a lot of stuff in that, but the big thing you can see is Jesus is the tree of life And he's coming to this world.

We were excluded, death, but now the tree of life comes. Jesus has come to this sin polluted world of death to bring life. The cross of Jesus made of a tree. The cross of Jesus is the tree. That on it, Jesus is absorbing the curse and all the polluting emissions, of sorrow, and sweat and dust and thorns, and sin, and disobedience, and broken relationships and cruelty and a broken relationship with God.

Jesus, on the cross, is the tree of life. I think what is interesting is when you read, you know, reading the bible, we see these themes. That Jesus, when he was on the cross, it's the only place that Jesus talks uses the word paradise. Paradise, the new creation. He only ever uses that on the cross.

And he uses it to someone who's clearly very sinful, a criminal who's dying next to him on another cross. And he says to this criminal, this is amazing. Today, Here's Jesus on the cross. Today, you will be with me in paradise. It's an extraordinary scene if you can get that.

And not just get used to it. In the sweat and the blood and the dust and the crown of thorns on his head, and the blood pouring down his face. And Jesus becoming the curse and taking all the pollution of the world. Of sin upon him. In this in this scene, he says to the thief on the cross, You'll be with me in paradise.

In this this tree of life, whether the savior is dying, the the the criminal could see something that is going to bring people into paradise. And he says, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus says, today you'll be in paradise with me. The cross is the tree of life. It removes it's the curse.

It brings even criminals, sinners into a renewed universe. Into a new planet in Revelation 22 that Tom read to us. We are now in the new creation, and we see the tree of life again, and we see its properties and what it's doing. And so look at these verses again. On each side of the river, stood the tree of life.

Bearing 12 crops of fruit yielding its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nation no longer is there any curse. Notice the the taking away of the curse and the tree of life, that's the cross. We've just seen that in those verses in the New Testament. It's a remarkable tree that we're seeing here. It bears 12 crops of fruit, and it yields those 12 crops of fruit, 12 times a year every month.

12 is a big number in the bible, and I have no time to go into If you want to know that you can hear our series on the book of Revelation. But 12 is complete, and it's the people of God. 12 tribes in the old testament, 12 apostles representing the people in the New Testament. It's the complete people of God. And here are the people of God pictured in the future, something that we should be looking forward to, something we should be basing our life on now in what we're gonna be like then, it bearing fruit, 12 fruit.

Completeness, freshness, not stale, always in season, always freshly grown. And even the trees of this, of even the leaves of this tree of life are for the healing of the nation. You get this beautiful picture of life and fruit. And so putting all that together, you're wondering where I'm going, because I haven't got the proverbs yet. This is all the introduction.

And I've got many points. Jesus is the tree of life we so desperately need planting in this world. The cross is the tree of life, where he absorbs all the pollution of sin and brings life to people. But the amazing thing is that we Christians are to be the tree of life here. Look look what Jesus says in that wonderful.

It's 1 of my favorite little parables in Mark 4, again, that Tom read for us. He says, Jesus says again, what shall we say the kingdom of God is like? What is the kingdom of God like? Or what parable shall I use to describe it? What's the kingdom government like?

What shall I use that he's thinking? And he says, it's like a a mustard seed. Which is the smallest of all all the seeds on earth. And yet, when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants with such big branches the birds can perch in its shade. That's the kingdom of God that we Christians are to proclaim.

We are to take up the cross and follow Jesus, and in doing that, we become the kingdom of God on earth. We become the place for healing of the nations. We become a place where the birds of the air can find their nest. Let me just go back. I hope it all comes together in a minute.

1 Peter, 2 24, we've just read it, but look what it says. He himself, that's Jesus, bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins, and live for righteousness, by his wounds you have been healed. And that brings me, all of that brings me to my verse in proverbs. Proverbs 11 and verse 30. Because this is what we are to be as Christians.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. And the 1 who is wise, saves lives, We are called to be tree of life here. So here's my first big point. Be a tree of life. Don't just plant a tree.

Don't just plant 5400000.0 tree and then fly around the world in your plane. Don't just plant a tree and let it do a job, and then you do nothing. Be a tree. That's what we're called to. If you are righteous in Christ, then you will bear being a tree of life.

Be a tree. Rightsness is not a cloak that you put on and take off. That's religion. That's why religious people are so hypocritical so often. Rightsness is connected to the righteous 1, the Lord Jesus Christ.

He's the vine that we're engrafted into. And as we drink from him, we grow into a tree of life. Righteousness isn't a private thing. It always goes public, always. The good news of Jesus Christ is deeply and intimately personal, but it's never private, ever.

The Fruit of righteousness, the Holy Living of the Christian that we have to cultivate, is a tree of life to this world of unbelief and death and dust and sin and disobedience. You were to have the characteristics of a cross life, dying to self And as you die to self, you rise to become a kingdom person. Who heal the nation. Isn't it magnificent? The little mustard seed says Jesus.

You. Who the who are you? People don't even know your name. Insignificant, tiniest, smallest mustard seed. Nothing.

Laugh at it. It's not a coconut. Is it? You know, look at this well, you can hardly see this fiddly little thing. You have to get out your microscope.

Oh, yes. There's a little seed there. What a perfect as that tiny little insignificant, blow the thing away, as that tiny little insignificant seed is planted in this world and dies because all seeds die and turns into a tree it brings life, you, insignificant mustard seed person who feels like nothing in the world. Be planted and grow, and you will be the tree of life. And there's a bird flying along, and it thinks, oh, yes, there's life there.

I'm going to swoop down and sit there. You can be like an oak tree with 2300 species living off you. Be the tree of life. Be a tree of life. Yielding its fruit.

In season or out of season. Whatever's going on, in your welcome to you. Whatever's going on, in your life, whatever storms are blowing, whatever's bending you as a person, and those things happen. Be consistent, be in season, out of season, be someone who's bearing fruit. Don't be a seasonal Christian.

So many people are up and down and up and down, have some stability in you. Or at least be praying for that. Ask the lord. But you know what? I'm a tree.

I drop my leaves in sometimes this season. But lord, give me the stability. Let me be a stronghold. Let me stand firm. We need stable Christians in this world who are strong, whatever's hitting them.

Who are life givers even if they're being battered. Look at Psalm 1. Look at this psalm. It's such a wonderful psalm, isn't it? Blessed.

It's a whole sermon in that word, but I can't do it. Bless is the 1 who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way of in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. But whose delight is in the law of the lord, who meditates on his law day and night, that people that that person is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season. What does that mean? You just said in season out season, yeah, but it's always in season.

Look, and whose leaf does not wither? Whatever they do, prosperous, not so the wicked, they like chaff, they blown away. To be a consistent Christian, stable. Christian, standing like an old Christian. At least at least will you aim at that?

At least will you pray for that? If you're not and you feel battered and you're broken, at least ask the Lord's people, Please pray that I'll be a strong, consistent, Christian. And every Christian is to be a healer a physician of the soul, a balm, a healer, a tree of life. There is something in those who are righteous, who are connected to the righteous Lord Jesus Christ that produces nourishment invigorates others, whatever they're being battered by. That heals, that give energy, that gives life to others, even in the wilderness of this world, even in the barren world that's all about self and self identity and self discovery and self self self, me, me, even in this world of me and my self and I.

You can stand out as someone who's a giver. To other people. This is why you're left on Earth, brothers and sisters, This is why you're here. I mean, this this is not a waiting room where you sit reading evangelical books. And listen to podcasts.

This is not a waiting room. This is it's not like there's not like a queue for heaven. There's a bit of a bottleneck and Jesus can't get everyone in at the time. He's just waiting for you. We're not here in the waiting room, waiting for our number to come up.

We are here to plant a tree. Plant a tree. A self denying Jesus cross shaped tree. That's why we're here. So that's my first point.

Be a tree, plant a tree, be a tree, Here's my second point. It's all connected. Be a soul winner. Be a soul winner. Look at the second part of verse 30.

And the 1 who is wise saves lives I really don't like that. Version, I have to say. I I do like the old version. The AV, the authorized version, it says, he that Wineth souls is wise, I love the word souls here, and I wish we would use the word soul a bit more because it's more than just a life. It's a soul.

Yeah? It's the very depth of a person. Yeah? We're not just saving a planet for a few years. We're saving a soul.

An eternal soul. It's a much bigger task. Now the 2 parts of that verse go together. The first part, obviously, is is majoring on on your life. You're giving yourself a cross shaped life to the world that actually will bring life to people.

But this is really what that cross state life is about. And this is wisdom. If you're gonna be a wise person, then you're not just tree of life, you're about saving souls. Look at this wonderful verse in Daniel. This is such a lovely verse.

I had to put it in. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. They're wonderful, isn't it? If you're wise, You're leading many to righteousness. In other words, to Christ.

There's just a great wisdom, you know, in soul winning. Solomon's saying, you know, if you're saying I'm gonna be a sole winners, Solomon's saying, that's a wise person, ace. There's all sorts of things you can be, isn't there? In life? I mean, in the Christian way, you can be an expert on theology.

Well, so what? You can be an expert on prophecy. There are people, aren't they? They look for everything in the news and their experts on prophecy. Who cares?

Aren't we? Don't talk to Tom, not me. Well, I've had enough of those prophecies. You can have all of that stuff, and you're not wise. Be a soul winner.

The word win here is like catching, like a hunter, catches an animal, and and it carries with it the sort of idea of design and skill, and thought, and wisdom. Use your skills, your abilities of who you are to catch people. It's it's like a lover winning his love, you know? There she is. Now if I sit here, she might notice me.

If I sit behind her, she won't. So I'll sit in front. And if I spill my drink, she might help me clear it up, and our hands might touch. Yeah? And our eyes may gaze at each other, and there might just be that little connection.

Yeah? So I'm going to boot my drink over. Oh, damn it. Fred is helping me. Why do you help me?

You stupid blunt. I was doing it for her. So I'll try it again. Oh, no James is there. Why are you doing this man?

I wanted her to do it. And so you're scheming and you're planning. That's what lovers do, or a soldier, winning a battle. And he fights until he's once this thought, this skill, this thinking, we're taken up until we win. And it takes wisdom to love and to give and to reasonably and winsomely answer someone who isn't a Christian.

It takes love and thought and care and interest in them. Souls, need, winning, The planet doesn't. Souls need winning. For they are eternally made by Christ and will go in eternity. Heaven or hell Jesus bluntly says.

The product of every other kind of work that you do in this world will fade, everything. The worldly wise man who lays up millions leaves it all behind, all of it. It doesn't matter whether you have money to go into space or not. You leave everything behind. The spiritually wise person lays up treasure in heaven where thief and rust and moth says Jesus.

Cannot destroy. Paul himself, in the new testament, talks about the reward of his ministry as a crown of rejoicing, there is something brothers and sisters about being a soul winner that rejoices your soul. Are you a miserable Christian? If if people just scroll, just flip it, actually, is a miserable Christian. Or he's are you a miserable Christian or are you a Christian that's low spiritually, or are you are you spiritually unwell?

You then Well, don't stay there. You need a prescription. If you're a miserable Christian, go to the doctor. Yeah? Get some healing.

And the prescription is this. Speak to someone about the lord. Speak to someone about the lord. Seaks a saver soul. Think about another soul, lost.

And think about, take your mind out of yourself, and think about how to win a soul. And if that's not a spiritual panacea for your spiritual wheels, I don't know what is. At least try it, brothers and sisters before you ever go with me. If you're a miserable Christian or you're full of Christian ills. At least have a go and see what and come and tell me if it doesn't work.

We're thinking something else. Men and women and boys and girls help to Christ through you are an everlasting memorial. To your time spent on Earth. That's wisdom. The 88 children in our in our rooms, that are being taught by brothers and sisters about the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's wisdom. To bring others to Christ, will multi apply your glorying of God. Is that what you want to glorify God? Well, if you bring someone to Christ, there's another person glorifying God, so that's twice as much glory to God. And if they bring someone to Christ, then so it goes on.

Be wise. Be a soul winner. Can I just give you 3 3 practical things? We're coming to real practical things in a minute, but here's here's 3. Believe that people can be brought to Christ through you.

God has left you here for this reason. Believe that. Believe that. God can bring You know, we were at an evangelist conference, and it was alright. But the the best thing that was said, the absolute best thing that was said.

He said, who's the greatest evangelists in the world? You think like Billy Graham and all these people. And then he said, mothers. More mothers have led children to Christ than anyone else in the whole you think, isn't that right? Sunday school teaches, mothers.

Some of you here, your mums are led you to Christ. Yeah. Dad didn't do anything. Looking at the bells here. And the lampros.

Yeah? But mothers. Why? Because they're a tree of life. Mothers always live across shaped life.

They give. They're up at night. They're up early in the morning. They're dabbing ill children. They're changing filthy nappas.

Fours are pretending to work. So believe that you can bring people to Christ. Second thing, make a list of people, not a long list because it would just be too much. Just make a list of non Christians that you can think of. And if you can't, then ask the Lord to bring non Christians into your life.

Make a list. Though they ask for opportunities to speak to them about Christ, or write to them, or text them, or say something on your social media that isn't just following some stupid, worldly stuff. Say something about the Lord Jesus. I found Jesus is so wonderful. I found in all this argument, that the Lord Jesus Christ has bold my bold my mind.

It's just so wonderful, so gorgeous. I find praying, to the Lord Jesus, so very helpful. Just a little sentence somewhere. Think about something. Do that.

Be wise. If everyone in my hearing here led 1 soul to Christ, we'd be doubled. Let's not lose that. This is why Cornerstone's here. We're not here sitting around reading evangelical magazines.

Oh, did you read all the old ice article? Yeah. Oh, yeah. What about the the shove off? We're here to read the world and to grow a tree and plant a tree.

That's my second point. So plant a soul winning tree for Jesus. Here's my third point. We're nearly there. Be generous.

Be generous. Look at verses 24, 25, and 26, 24, 25, and 26. Let me just read them. You look at them? In Proverbs 11.

1 person gives freely, yet gains even more. You see that? Another withholds on Julie, but comes to poverty. See that? Very simple.

Look at verse 25. A generous person will prosper. Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Verse 26. People curse the 1 who hoards grain, but they pray God's blessing on the 1 who's willing to sell.

Those verses are showing us how to grow the tree of life in this world. You wanna be a tree of life. Yeah. How do you keep going as a tree of life? How do you keep bearing fruit as a tree of life?

It's this. Be generous. Actually, I I think these verses are telling you how to be happy. Stop being a miserable old cow. I've got COVID and so for you, you know.

I've I've I've gotta get some value out of it. Forget me. Anyway, forget forget that word. Don't dwell on that. Okay?

Alright. Look at the contrasts here. Do you see the contrast? There's those who give freely, they're a generous person, they're a refresher, and they're willing to sell what they have. The other side is those who withhold, They hoard their hoarders, and they're unwilling to sell because they've pushed the high prices up.

So the general simple principle in these verses is that by caring for others, By giving for others, by refreshing others, you care for yourself, you will receive, and you'll refresh yourself. You wanna be refreshed. Be a refresher. You wanna be watered water. You wanna grow as a tree of life, give.

I was thinking about these verses, and I I I remember a pastor I I well, I know. I haven't seen for a long time. But he he told me something many years ago. I don't know whether he particularly did this, but this is what he said anyway to me. He said, you know when those people come to you and they're they're mourners in the church.

You know, nothing ever You know, they're always always about them. They're spiritually dry. He they they come to him to be ministered to, and and basically said, I can't be I can't be bothered with it to be quite honest with you. He says, best thing is to kill kill 2 birds with 1 stone. He says to them, okay, do you want ministering to?

And they say, yes, that's why I'm here. So he doesn't bother to talk to them about their woes. He says, let's go out and minister to someone. So he he took them out, and visited another person that needs ministering to, and then he would say to the person who'd come moaning or spiritual ill, tell him the testimony. Tell him a testimony.

And they would tell him about how Christ had come into their life. And he said that normally cured everybody. And he says you killed 2 birds with 1 stone. It's great pastoring, isn't it? Now, listen.

I think that is a cure for most spiritual illness. Many Christians that feel hard done by and they go on about it all the time. They're resentful, they're low spiritually. Do you know what the best thing is? Not to receive, you don't need to receive much counsel, but to give.

And as you give, you receive. Now listen okay. Can I just say to you? Look, have a go at that. You know, if it doesn't work, come and see me or Tom.

Why why not try? Why not try and minister to someone? See whether it helps? Look at verse 24, because it rubs this in, and I'll just go through these verses quickly. But look, 1 person gives freely yet gains even more.

Another withholds unruly, but comes to poverty. See, we never lose when we give generously into the kingdom of God. If you're the picture of the mustard seed, growing, you'll always have life around you. You'll find you'll be invigorated. Paul says this, when he's writing to the Corinthians Christians, about giving to the poor Christians.

He says, remember this, Whose whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And whoever sows generously was always will reap generously. Each if you should give what you have decided to give in your heart, not reluctantly, but under or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And then he goes on. I have no time to read it all.

When we're selfish and ungenerous, god often takes away from us. And we become dry, barren trees that only a vulture will sit in picking its dead bones. Look at verse 25. A generous person will prosper whoever refreshes others will be refreshed Again, I like the old version here, because it says whoever waters will himself be watered. I love that second part.

Because, you know, If you wanna be watered, if you wanna grow as this tree that you need to be watered, if you wanna be watered, you water others. And what I love about that is watering is easy. It's the first thing you give children in a garden to do. Here's a little getting water. When they're a little bit older, you give them the hose pipe.

It doesn't matter if they're splashing it over the fence and the neighbors are walking apart. It's all fun. They're watering. And as they're watering their feet are soaking, they're wet. It's 1 of the delights.

Even children can water in other words. And as you water, you get watered. Exerciseise the holy art of watering others. Look at verse 26. People curse the 1 who hoards grain, and they pray God's blessing on the 1 who is willing to sell.

What you got here is trader, a businessman, a grain seller, he's keeping back the grain, hoping it will push the price up. It's all about him. There's nothing about giving or selling to people at a decent price. He's not a tree of life that you come to. He's holding back life.

From others so that he can hoard it. Don't be a hoarder. Don't hoard your gifts, trade in them. God's given you abilities, then used them for the glory of God and the salvation of others. So be generous.

Now let me land this. Plan to tree for Jesus. That is what we're about. We're not about I mean, it's a good idea to plant a physical tree in this world. I'm more than happy with that.

I love trees. But that's not what the church is about. We don't gather here to raise money to plant a tree. We are here to be trees for the lord Jesus Christ. A life giving, soul winning, self sacrificing, generous tree for Jesus.

Because there are so many new people coming to church, I thought I would just go through some of the formal ministries the church does. And the reason for doing this is to say, hey, there's lots of things on, put on foot. There are lots of other things you can do. This is You know, I know this. I know there are lots of other ministries that are really important, but these are the things the church puts on.

And I want to ask you to ask this question. Think about If you could go, think about who you could invite, think about how you would invite that person. There are some here that are irrelevant to you, and there are many that are irrelevant to you, relevant to you. Let me just go through these, to show you how you could use these to water, to be generous, to see souls saved because that's the point of the church. Let me just go through some of these.

We'll have a look at them. There's creation, bible tots, and and cornerstone kids. That goes on every Sunday. They're all very important. The wonderful thing about bible tots is how young are bible tots when they're hearing about the Jesus?

18 months, 18 months, and you got that weird South African at the back saying, I think the Bible can even speak to an 18 month year old. Does it? There we go. So there's watering there, there's kid stuff to do. At least what you can do is to pray for these.

There were 88 children last week in Cornerstone Kids. 88 Praise God, 88 potential new trees to be planted. Yeah? 88. Forget coldplay, and they're 5400000.0.

We got 88. Yeah? Let's move on. The youth groups, that's an old picture. Look at.

I mean, look at Ben in the middle there. I mean, look at him. Oh, that and and that's a Gibson, isn't it? He's the 1 who's gonna come and blow things up for us. Yeah.

Look Ben, he wasn't even married. Oh, there's I'm in there as well, and there's you, Rory. You look exactly the same. But there's the youth. Yeah?

Is there any young people you could encourage? Young people are going through tough days with completely wrong evil satanic words being spoken to them, lies from the father of lies about what life is and who they are. Some young people you might be able to invite. If not, you could pray for them or encourage the young people. You could say to a young person, be a tree.

Yeah? You could tell them to pray for you. What's your name? Yeah? Oh, I told you that times already.

Don't matter, I forget I'm an old person. What's your name? I'm gonna pray for you. Students, there are 20 or whatever it is. I can't remember how many now.

26000 students come to Kingston. 26000 students, you go on to Kingston University. And they're being indoctrinated with the lies of Satan. We need to be trees there. We need to pray for the students to stand strong, stable Christians that are loving the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let's move on. There's Hub Club and Hub Club's an amazing thing. Lots of kids from 5 to 6 30, at least you can pray, but are there kids that you could ask? Is there a way of watering this ministry? Men behaving badly.

Brilliant. Blokes bring their kids, give their wives, another lie in, and and and there's just lots of people there to be able to talk to, to minister to, to say, hey, who are you? Breakfast church. Perhaps there's something you could do there. That happens Sunday mornings.

Before the service, it's very simple. You can have breakfast together. You can bring your family. Are there families you could think about? Inviting, watering, being generous to, not hoarding your gifts, Monday tots.

Lots of Muslim women come to this. What a wonderful opportunity to tell them about the real profit of god. Isn't it? Perhaps you could come to that. Perhaps you haven't got children.

Well, there's lots of children there. Come? Let's move on. Hubcrafts. This is for those who like craft they're crafty people, these people.

They like doing crafts. Perhaps you do, perhaps you want to start up a craft. Perhaps you're no good, you know, you think, oh, we might start in knitting. Well, you could come there. It's it's very informal.

It's not You know, you're not gonna get masses of, you know, you're gonna get 45 minute or however long I've been waffling on for, sermon there. But you get a little word from the bible, and there's times to chat, and there's cream teas. As walking group is an amazing thing again. There's no sermon on the walking group. But it's a great opportunity to walk and talk and express the gospel.

And it's just terrific to see Christians as well walking together and enjoying the countryside. And it's a great opportunity. Perhaps you could use that for your watering and sowing and soul winning. Film Club. It doesn't look at Christian films.

This is not a Christian film club. We're not watching Christian films. Thank goodness for that. There are films that you might not like, and you may not want to come and watch them. Because some of them, you know, you might say, oh, I don't I don't wanna watch that.

But the idea of this is to watch it and to understand the world view that we're being indoctrinated with. That's an opportunity to come, to sit next to a non Christian, to speak to them, to perhaps, you know, give them some popcorn. You know, these are gentle introductions to the Christian faith. Let's move on. Kids and adult football This goes on.

You need to speak to Steve Kanard about this. It's an opportunity for kids to play football, but there are dads there with their kids an opportunity to say, no, I go to the church, an opportunity to perhaps speak about the gospel with them. Let's move on. Reliable men. That's an opportunity for men to understand our Christian message that we may be better trees, sisters act exactly the same.

Fantastic sisters Act, learning the gospel, understanding the gospel, learning how to be wise in soul winning. Women's bible study goes on in the day, opportunity to invite women. Do you want to hear what the bible says? We're just ordinary women gathering around. 1 to ones that people are doing.

I'll come back to that in a minute. Let's move on. Anything else? Oh, gosh. International.

What a wonderful thing. We don't want to be like our country that seems to want to deny access to internationals. We want to be people that are open. We love people from other countries. We learn so much from them.

They're so usually friendly and thankful, and it's such a joy to share the gospel there every week at the international cafe. Spanish speaking people, whatever that says. If you know Spanish people, just invite them. Here's an opportunity. All these, do you see what I'm saying?

Are opportunities to water, to share. Now you might have lots more on, that's fine, but these are here for Think about who you could invite. Do you know a Spanish speaker? Why not say, hey, do you know we've got this I can't even begin to say it. This thing, busco.

Yeah. We got busco on. And so, you know, You could you could get the bus there at the l hub. Let's move on. Men's break I mean, this annoys me because that women's breakfast looks a lot better than men's.

Oh, no. You've changed it. That's a flipping Richmond sausage, and they're disgusting. Well, they're horrible things. Look at the bacon on the women's group.

I mean, goodness, sake. You can say to all your vegetarian friends, Why don't you come and try a piece of bacon or whatever? You know, this these are there to invite to take people on. Forgive me Lampros. I know you're vegetarian.

You can have a vegetarian option. Yeah. Let's move on. These are terrible bits of graphic, but they're in sight. They're embarrassing, aren't they?

But nevertheless, the thing that we do is fantastic. This is the Easter experience where we go through all the schools come in and the Christmas journey where we go through the whole of the Christmas story and the Easter story, and we explain the gospel. At least be praying, or coming along, or making tea, or or or saying to your school, if if your kids aren't coming. Why isn't our school going to this? Can I have a a meeting with the headmistress?

We want our school to go to these things. You know, we have 600 kids come through this stuff. It's extraordinary. Let's move on. Oh, there's so many things.

Look, beside where where we're interested in women that are abused and caring for them and being a lifeline to them and this nearly new sale, you know, let's move on. Oh my goodness. There's so many things. The monster mash bash coming up. Are there kids that you could say?

Hey, you know, what are you doing? You don't wanna go knocking on doors with some old grumpy person answering the door full of COVID? You wanna come to the monster mash bash. Yeah. Where we take COVID seriously, but we actually take the good news of Jesus seriously.

There's a wonderful presentation of the Lord Jesus Christ at that meeting. The Carols for Camry we're hoping to do in the open air this year, and and let's move on. Oh my goodness. There's all the media stuff that you could look at. You could say, hey, you know, raising boys, you're interested in raising boys because people are.

Or there's a new 1 we've just done on squid game. If you don't know anything about well, you've heard about squid game probably, and and there's a little podcast on it. I don't know what I'm doing up there. Sister stories. They're great.

I listened to them. The only thing I could listen to with COVID because I did get quite bad, and my brain was completely adult, and I couldn't really think. I listened to sisters stories. Yeah? Because they're simple and easy to listen to.

Now they're brilliant. I loved it. I absolutely loved it. There's all these things. Let's move on.

That'll do. Okay. But there's 1 other thing I just want to say, and then I'm gonna finish. That on Fridays, we're doing table talk. It's going to be an opportunity where you can ask a question, and there's table talk, and we learn stuff.

We will take on subjects. But for the next 3 Fridays, around Paul Simpson's house, which is now lovely, and it's You know? I've got a lot of space. We're doing table talk, but we're going to learn this 1 to 1, and how to read John's gospel 1 to 1 with people. So we're just gonna look at this for 3 weeks.

And we're gonna read this together, this little book that you can use to help you say to someone at work, or a neighbor, or a friend, or a family member, Do you want to know what the bible says? And we're going to do that on Friday nights, a sort of extra home group. Because we think people need help with this. But even if you're just interested in John's gospel, come along, Friday night. What time is it?

7 37 30 for 8, we sit around a table, we'd do the an hour of this together, and we'd discuss. If you're interested in that, it's gonna be this Friday. We're gonna start this Friday. So you can water. You can be generous.

There are lots of things on that we do as a church in order to save souls. Can you use them? If so do, If you're using other things fine, but please, let's be about being a tree. Let's not just plant a tree. Let's be a planted tree.

Father God help us with these things in Jesus' name, amen.