Redeemed For A Reason

Message Moments & Highlights

The Bible doesn’t hide people’s flaws; it reveals God’s power to redeem them. Rahab’s story reminds us that everyone has a past, but God can do something greater with every life surrendered to Him.

Rahab’s courage shows what faith in action looks like. She risked her own life and everyone she knew because she truly believed in God’s promise. When faith takes root in the heart, courage follows.

A redeemed life is not lived for self but for others. When you pour into people, bless them, and live with a heart that considers others first, your life becomes free, full, and beautiful. True freedom comes from living beyond yourself.

When you realise you’ve been redeemed for a reason, everything changes. You are not forgotten; you are a chosen son or daughter of the Most High God. Stand up in faith, believe for your family, and never give up — you can see a miracle.

Redeemed For A Reason

God's redemption isn't merely about saving us from our past—it's about saving us for a purpose. Rahab's remarkable journey from prostitute in Jericho to ancestor in Jesus' lineage powerfully illustrates this truth. When Israelite spies entered Jericho, Rahab risked everything to hide them, demonstrating extraordinary faith in Israel's God even before the walls fell. From Rahab's example, we learn four vital characteristics of redeemed people. First, they refuse to be constrained by their past—Rahab's former life didn't limit God's plans for her. Second, they take courageous steps of faith, backing beliefs with action. Third, they consider others before themselves, as Rahab did when negotiating safety for her entire family. Finally, redeemed people change destinies—Rahab's faithfulness led to her becoming part of David's and ultimately Jesus' lineage. Many Christians settle for a 'cruise ship' approach to faith—seeking comfort and personal enjoyment rather than embracing God's mission. But we're called to more. God asks if we'll believe we can make a difference rather than settling for less. While we may not change the world in ways we imagined, by living fully redeemed lives, we can change destinies for eternity.

• Sermon Summary

  Redeemed for a Reason: What God Can Do Through Your Life

  Have you ever wondered if your past defines your future? Or if God can really use someone like you to make a difference? The story of Rahab in the Bible offers a powerful answer to these questions.

  Rahab's story shows us that God doesn't just redeem us to live comfortable, cruise-ship lives. He redeems us for a reason - to make an impact that changes destinies.

  Who Was Rahab and Why Does Her Story Matter?

  Rahab was a prostitute living in Jericho when the Israelites were preparing to conquer the Promised Land. When two Israelite spies came to scout the city, she hid them on her roof and helped them escape, asking only that they spare her family when they returned to conquer the city.

  Her story appears in Joshua 2, but she's also mentioned in Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 as an example of faith in action. What's remarkable is that this woman with a difficult past became part of the lineage of King David and eventually Jesus Christ himself.

  What Does It Mean to Be Redeemed for a Reason?

  Being redeemed means more than just being saved from our past. It means being saved for a purpose. Too often, Christians live what we might call a "cruise ship life" - focused on comfort and personal enjoyment rather than the mission God has for us.

  Just as a cruise is designed for doing as little as possible while being as comfortable as possible, many of us approach our faith the same way. But God has called us to something greater.

  Four Things Redeemed People Do (From Rahab's Example)

  1. Redeemed People Are Not Constrained by Their Past

  The Bible doesn't hide Rahab's past - she's often introduced as "Rahab the prostitute." But this isn't to shame her. Rather, it highlights the transformative power of God's redemption.

  Your past does not constrain you from what God has in store when you're redeemed. Rahab went from being a prostitute to becoming part of the family of God and eventually an ancestor in the lineage of Jesus Christ.

  Many of us feel like outsiders, but the message of the gospel is that we're all outsiders whom Christ has brought in. Stop thinking about how much of an outsider you are and start thinking about how much Jesus has included you.

  2. Redeemed People Take Courageous Steps

  Rahab demonstrated remarkable courage. She risked her life to protect the Israelite spies because she believed in their God. In Joshua 2:8-11, she makes a powerful declaration of faith:

  "I know that the Lord has given you this land... For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below."

  She had more faith in Israel's God than many Israelites did! And she backed up that faith with action.

  James 2:14-26 reminds us that "faith without works is dead." Real faith always produces action. What actions are you taking because of your faith? What kind of nation would we live in if Christians truly lived what they believed?

  3. Redeemed People Consider Others Before Themselves

  When Rahab negotiated with the spies, she didn't just think of herself. She asked them to protect her entire family. She considered others before herself, even in a life-threatening situation.

  Christianity is unique because at its heart is sacrifice - giving up your life for someone else. Jesus is the ultimate example of this. When you live your life thinking only of yourself, it's the worst life you can live. But when you consider others first, you find freedom.

  The greatest tragedies in the world are people who've lived selfish lives. If you live only for yourself, what's left at the end of your life? Absolutely nothing.

  4. Redeemed People Change Destinies

  Perhaps the most remarkable part of Rahab's story is found in Matthew 1:5, where we discover she was the great-great-grandmother of King David and an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

  From her faith and her life, the world was transformed. She started a royal dynasty that will last forever. Rahab is included in the direct family of Jesus Christ.

  If God can use her - an outsider and a prostitute - to be this mighty hero of faith who changed the world, what can He do through your life?

  Why Do We Settle for Less Than God's Best?

  As children, we dream of changing the world. But as we get older, we're taught that we can't make much of a difference. We settle for survival and comfort.

  Every time we go into God's presence, He challenges those limiting beliefs. He asks, "Are you going to settle? You know I called you for a reason. Are you going to believe that you can make a difference?"

  Maybe you won't change the world in the way you imagined, but if you truly live the redeemed life God has called you to, you can change some destinies and some lives for eternity.

  Life Application

  This week, I challenge you to live as someone who has been redeemed for a reason. Here are some questions to reflect on:

  1. In what ways has your past been holding you back from stepping into God's purpose for your life?

  2. What courageous step of faith is God asking you to take right now?

  3. How can you consider others before yourself in a specific situation you're facing?

  4. What destiny-changing impact might God want to have through your life if you fully surrender to Him?

  Remember, you are not a forgotten nobody. You are a chosen son or daughter of the Most High God. You've been redeemed not just to be saved, but to make a difference. Your uniqueness is not an accident - God wants to use it "for such a time as this."

  As James reminds us, faith without action is dead. What action will you take today to live out the reason for which you've been redeemed?

• Discussion Guide

  A discussion guide for the sermon can be found here.

• Transcription

  We're ready for the word, Lord. Let's bow our heads, and we're gonna pray. If you're watching with us online, thank you for joining with us, and we're glad you could.

  Let's pray. Lord. We come around your word, Lord Jesus. We're hungry for you, Lord. That's why we're here.

  We want your presence. We want your word. We want to be changed by it. And so, Holy Spirit, I'm asking you that with our open hearts, God, that we wouldn't hear just the words of a person speaking, but that, Lord, our hearts would be open to your voice deep inside our heart, because that's what we need. We don't need to hear the words of human beings.

  We need to hear the word of God. We need to hear the Holy Spirit speaking. And I pray that it would be personal and challenging and uplifting to every single person listening. Today. We pray it in Jesus name.

  Amen. All right, we've got a couple of scriptures here, and then a bit of a character in the Bible we're going to talk about. We're going to cut to Hebrews chapter 11, verse 31:1. We're introduced to this character who had an interesting past that the Bible doesn't hold back from us. Says in Hebrews 11:31, it was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God, for she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

  Then she's mentioned again in James, James chapter two. Two. He's talking about faith and action. Faith without works is dead. Some of you would have known this scripture very well, but James 2:25, he mentions Rahab, and he says in verse 25, Rahab the prostitute is another example.

  She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. It's interesting, this idea of faith and action. Faith and action. I'm going to talk to you today about this story, this character in the Bible named Rahab.

  And some of you would know who Rahab is because you've grown up in church or you were a goody two shoes like I was in children's church or Sunday school. And you read all the Bible stories, and I did all my homework. And so you and I had my children's illustrated Bible. And you've got all that. So you'll know the story of Rahab.

  Rahab. And you'll remember some of you have never heard of Rahab before in your life. Who's like that? Never heard of Rahab. You're like, adrian, I don't know what you're talking about.

  And so what we're going to try and do today, I'm going to try and talk to you about the story. I'm going to give you a little bit of the detail, but not all of the stuff, because she's in a couple of chapters in the Old Testament. And I'll try and give you enough so that we can understand and learn from her life. The important thing here is not to. We're not here to do a Bible study in a lecture.

  Lecture. We're here to learn some examples of what does God want to say from the life of Rahab that's going to help me today. And so that's my goal. And I've titled today's message, redeemed for a Reason, Redeemed for a Reason. Because who knows that God has not called us?

  He hasn't saved us, redeemed us, which means to be saved, to be set free of sin and brought into the kingdom of God and made a son and daughter of the most high glory, God. You've been bought by God and set free from sin and death. You've been redeemed, and you haven't been redeemed just to live a comfortable, nice, happy little life. We've been redeemed for a reason. We've been redeemed and set free and saved so that God can do something magnificent through our lives.

  And Rahab is a great example of that. Too often, too often, we get caught in our nice little comfortable cruise, comfort life, don't we? I have experienced this. Narelle and I have experienced this just in the last little while because we went on a cruise. We went on a cruise.

  And I know some of you would never go on a cruise in your life, but Narelle and I, we've gone on a few cruises in our lives, and I enjoy them because a cruise is the opposite of this message. A cruise is all about doing as little as possible and being as comfortable as possible. You go on a cruise, you don't have to make your bed, in fact, throw your pillows on the ground. And make a mess because someone's going to come every single day and clean it up and smile as they do it. And you go, you don't have to.

  You don't have to do a single thing to eat. Who's been in a cruise before? And yeah, we put on about a few kilos if you're not careful, because there is food everywhere. So we went on this cruise and I was not thinking about taking action. I was not thinking about faith and action together.

  I was thinking about how much food can I eat and my stomach not explode.

  And so I did take some action. I'll tell you the action I took. I was very, very wise and I was a hard worker. Wasn't, honey, because I did not use the elevator once, I did not use the lift once. I walked out of my room and I walked up the seven flights of stairs to get to the buffet.

  And then I ate in the buffet. And then I'd sit there for a little while and then I'd say, I think there's a restaurant on the fourth floor. So I'd walk down the eight flights of stairs to get to the restaurant and I'd go, what can I eat in this restaurant? And then the last night of the cruise, I had three dinners. Yes, I did.

  Yes, I did. I'm proud. We went to a beautiful, nice restaurant. Was Ella's birthday and we went to a nice restaurant, the three of us, and that was like all you can eat. Brazil steakhouse meat.

  It was all. Was nice. It was really awesome. And I was so full. And then the AFL final was on.

  So we found a room and then we sat there. But it was, guess what? The AFL final was literally next door to the bar and I was full. But you know what? After a couple of hours, I was like, I think there's a bit more room left.

  And so I walked out to the buffet and Ella looked at me, she goes, dad, you can't be serious. I said, I am serious, Ella. I'm doing this. And I went out there and I found a little bit of, you know, some meat and then I found some extra desserts that I really liked. So I brought them in and I ate them.

  And then later that night, the final, it was about 11:30 at night, it was the last night of the cruise and there was an all year, there was a 24 hour restaurant available that did this amazing burger. The blue cheeseburger. The blue cheeseburger with a beautiful tomato chutney. And I looked at Ella because she was still awake and she Said, you're not gonna, Dad. I said, I am going to.

  I said, this is my last chance. I said, I don't know if I can, but we're going to. And so at 11:30 at night, Narelle had been in bed for, like, three hours by then. We went to the cafe, and I ordered the blue cheeseburger with chips. And I'm gonna tell you this, guys.

  I didn't know if I could do it, but I did it brilliantly, and I loved every moment of it. And we've got. I don't have pictures to show you right now, but Ella took some pictures of me. And there's a look of amazing satisfaction on my face at this final burger that I had before we had to get off the cruise. Three dinners in one night.

  Now, Lord, forgive me if that is gluttony, but it was very enjoyable. That is the opposite, I have to say, of what I'm talking about today. I was not redeemed. For that reason, I was not redeemed. So I can go on a cruise and pig out to my heart's content and have everyone else clean up for me.

  I will say this. At least I used the stairs. At least I use this because some of you here have been on a cruise, and you didn't use the stairs once. And I watched some people. I watched people have to go up one floor, one deck, and they stood at the elevators for, like, 10 minutes, waiting for a lift to come because they did not want to go up one flight of stairs.

  I use the stairs. But this is what happens on a cruise. We just look to relax and be comfortable. And it's nice to go on holiday, isn't it? Some of you just come off school holidays, uni holidays, and it's like, I'm just gonna.

  You got out of bed late. You relax. That's nice for a season, for a short amount of time. But if you turn that into your goal in life, you've lost the plot. You've missed the point of why you are who you are.

  You have been saved and redeemed for a reason. And this is why James says to us, he says, faith without action is dead. What's the point of believing something life changing if it doesn't change your life? What's the point? And too many Christians, we do this, don't we?

  We say, I believe in the most amazing thing. Our faith in Christ is the most amazing thing that has ever happened in the universe, Right? Better than any science you'll ever read, Better than any quantum Theory, discovery, Einstein's theories of relativity, all this amazing stuff that's been discovered, discovered. The truth of Jesus Christ is the most amazing truth that will ever be known in the universe. And we have it.

  And it should change our life and it should cause us to act. And so I want to look at the life of Rahab, this story of Rahab, because Rahab was someone who started life out in one way, but it changed her. And she was redeemed. And she knew that it was for a reason, and she did something about it. And you're called to do the same thing.

  We're not called to live the cruise life. We're called to live lives of action and authority. I was asking Fua this week. I said, fua, I've been away for a little while. What do you think God is saying to our church?

  And I had this message in my heart. And he said to me, he looked at me, he said, it's time for action. But he said, it's time for action. He said, it's time for people to rise up. And God's saying to us, what does God want to do through your life?

  What does God want to do through you? That's what I want to ask you today. What does God want to do in your life? In this church, in your family, in your uni, in the navy, wherever you are, in your workplace? How does God want to use your life to change things?

  Can we look at that today? So there you go. That's my intro. Now I'm going to give you four points about Rahab. We're going to talk a little bit about her.

  Four things that redeemed people do, four things that they realize and that they do that Rahab did. So before I can go into that, I need to give you a little bit background about Rahab. So Rahab, we find her in the book of Joshua. And so for those of you who have a little bit of background, the people of Moses has led the people of Israel out of Egypt. They were slaves and they've been set free.

  And now they've wandered around the wilderness for 40 years because they didn't have the courage to go into the land of Canaan. God said, I've got a promised land for you. I've got a land where Israel is now and extended beyond that. There was a land there called the land of Canaan. And God said, this is the land for you that I want to give you.

  But other people lived there who weren't serving God and were doing things that weren't Godly. And God said, I want to give you this land, but you've got to have the boldness and the faith to step in. And so 40 years, they didn't have that. And after 40 years, Joshua took over from Moses, and he said, okay, now's the time. God said, now's the time to go and take the promised land, to go and take the land of Canaan.

  So what is. What he did is he sent. He picked out two spies, two Israelites, and he sent them to a city called Jericho, who's heard about Jericho? The walls of Jericho fall down. We sent them to the city of Jericho, which was a fortified city.

  And they went in as spies to see how they were going to conquer this land, see who these people are. And these two spies got there. You find this in the Book of Joshua, chapter two. They got there and they met this woman named Rahab. And we don't know how they met this woman.

  Woman, but they met her, and she made a decision to protect them, and she hid them away. She wasn't an Israelite. She wasn't. She was part of this other nation, and yet she chose to protect these two Israelite spies, and she hid them away. And when they were looking for these spies, she actually put them up on her roof and said, I'm going to hide you and protect you.

  But she said, what I want you to do is when you. I believe in your God, is what she said. She said, I believe that your God is the one true God. And when you come to conquer, because I believe you're going to. She had greater faith than they did.

  She had faith that their God, the God of Israel, was going to help them conquer the whole land. And she said, when you do, I ask that you protect me and my family. And they agreed to do that. And so when they came in, they actually ended up taking over Jericho. The walls came down and they destroyed the whole city of Jericho.

  But Rahab and her family were saved. They were saved. And it says that she ended up living with the people of Israel ongoing. And we're going to talk a little bit more about that. But that's basically the background.

  She was a prostitute. She came from that thing. But she did something courageous and mighty. And so we're going to talk about four things that redeemed people, people do from the life of Rahab. The first one is this redeemed people are not constrained by their past redeemed people.

  Rahab is an amazing story. She's an amazing person because the Bible is a bit Unfair. Sometimes it seems unfair because it doesn't hide people's issues. It just throws them out there. Some of it.

  You would know the story of King David and he had an affair, and it just exposes his issues before all of us forever. We all know if you read his story about Rahab in James and Hebrews, doesn't it? Rahab, this person who was loved by God? No, Rahab the prostitute. It just exposes her life.

  You go, that's not fair. I don't want to be in the Bible like that. Why does God do that? Why do the writers do that? Because one of the things they're trying to say and trying to show us is that all of us have a past.

  All of us have things we're not proud of. All of us have come from some level of brokenness. We don't know why she was a prostitute. We don't know whether it was a choice she made or it was abuse that she'd suffered and been pushed into sex trafficking. We don't know what she had gone through.

  We don't know this person. We just know that she got labeled in a certain way with something that no one really wants to go through and be that. No one's like, that's a choice I want to make. But she became that person. And the Bible shows us that because it's trying to say this, it doesn't matter what your past is.

  God can do something greater in your life. And when I look at the story of Rahab, I don't look at someone and go, oh, that's a terrible person. I look at someone who came from brokenness, who came from hurt, who came from pain, who came from not knowing God. But when she met him and discovered him, something changed in her. And Rahab should tell us that when you have been redeemed, your past is not constrained you.

  Your past does not constrain you. This story goes further. There's some little pieces in him. We don't have time to look at all of them. But one of the things the spies say to her say, if you want to be protected, this is what we want you to do.

  Your house, her house was on the outside of the wall. And they said, we want you to tie a scarlet rope, a scarlet cord, to the window on your outside wall. And when we come to defeat Jericho, when the Israelite army comes to defeat the feet, we'll see that scarlet cord, and we will save everyone who's in that house, everyone who's inside there. And scholars have looked at that and these connections. And it reminds us of when the angel of death came in the book of Exodus.

  And God had said to the people, if you will take lamb's blood and you will post it up against and paint it on your door frame, whatever, whoever's inside those painted houses with the blood will be passed over. That's where we get the idea of Passover from. I will pass over, and you will be protected inside because of the blood on there. We have this idea here of the scarlet cord, this red scarlet cord, if it's on your window, whoever's inside will be protected and redeemed and saved. And for us as Christians, we can look at this analogy, and we can look at this and we can see within it this picture of the blood of Jesus Christ.

  That whoever is within Jesus Christ when his blood is shed, whoever chooses him and says, I choose Christ as my protector, I choose Christ as my Savior. I put myself within him. You will be saved and protected. Protected from sin, from the devil, from death. This is this idea all through scripture from the Old Testament, all the way through that.

  This idea of. We see it with Rahab, that she started off lost, broken. She was an enemy. She was not an Israelite. She was an outsider.

  But because she put the scarlet cord, she was protected. When we put ourselves within Jesus Christ and his sacrifice and his blood, you've been protected. Can I say this? You're protected from the attacks of the enemy. Some of us, we get attacked by the enemy and we get scared.

  We go, what if he does this? What if this happens? What if my future's wrecked? What if bad things happen? I go.

  You claim the blood of Jesus Christ and you claim the name of Jesus Christ. I put myself not because of my power. I don't have power. Jesus Christ has power. His name, his blood.

  And I put myself within him and I'm protected and I'm saved and the devil can't harm me. My body can be taken. We can go through sickness and pain. We can go through things in this life. But you can't destroy me.

  That's the idea. Your past cannot constrain you from what God has in store when you're redeemed. And so Rahab goes from a prostitute to being someone who becomes part of the family of God. She gets included within the family. It says they included her and her family.

  And she lived among the Israelite people. She wasn't destroyed. She wasn't murdered. She was protected. She was looked after.

  Here's the other thing I want to say about this Some of us feel like we're outsiders. The more you think about your uniqueness and your individualism and the things that make you unique sometimes, the more you can feel like an outsider. And you can be in this church and you can feel like you're an outsider. And I know many people that do. I've been there myself in churches, in meetings of people.

  You can look around and go, well, do I fit? Some of you have come for the first few weeks. Might be first time today. Do I fit with this group of people? I don't know this story of Rahab, Adrian.

  Does that make me, like, something wrong? I don't fit here? No, it's. It doesn't. The message of the gospel, the message of Christ says that we're all outsiders, and Christ brought us in.

  This is where the church needs to change its way it's perceived. Because, you know, I know people, they like, they come and ask me something. Am I allowed to come to your church? Am I allowed to be there? So that's what a sad question I'm glad they're asking, because, yes, you are.

  Come on in. But it's a sad question that people would think that the Christian faith is separated and is unique to just a few. The message of Jesus is that we are all outsiders. Rahab is a story of an outsider. She was an enemy of the Israelite people.

  She was a prostitute. So many reasons why she should be an outsider and rejected. And yet God brings her into the family of God. Stop thinking about how much of an outsider you are and start thinking about how much Jesus has included you. I don't care what your age is.

  Some of you go, I'm too young. No, you're not. I'm too old. No, you're not.

  I've got a different colored skin to yours, Adrian. I speak a different language. I come from a different country. Great. God made you.

  He made me. He doesn't care about all of those things. He made us unique. Not so that we'd be rejected. And an outsider.

  That's what human beings do to each other. In the family of God, we're included. Your past does not constrain you. Your past does not constrain you. And I want to be a church full of people that say, you know what?

  I'm not an outsider. I'm included in the family of God because we're all sons and daughters of the most high God. How do you need to apply that in your life today? How have you been acting in a way that might be an outsider or Saying, my past constrains me. The things that I've done, the failures that I've had, the rejections I've had, say, God, can you help me not let those things be things that stop me from entering in, to being a person of action, to being a redeemed person who steps into the calling of God on my life.

  The second. The second thing that redeemed people do is that they take courageous steps. They take steps of faith. They take steps of action. Look at Rahab.

  She is a powerful woman of God. Rahab, the prostitute, yes. Was not constrained by her identity in this world. She said, I'm going to be someone different. And I want to read to you some of the words that she said to the spies.

  And actually, I'll say this. She speaks to the spies. You want to hear about a woman of God? Sometimes women have felt like they've been pushed down and not listened to. Listen to Rahab.

  She talks to the spies who are supposed to be the representatives of the Israelite people. And she speaks more faith than them. And in actual fact, you know what happens? They take her words and they speak them to Joshua and they become the words that the Israelite people use to say. This is what God's saying.

  Have a listen to what she says. Joshua 2, verse 8. Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof. She's protecting them and saving their lives. She went up on the roof and said to them, I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us.

  So that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, you, for you. When you came out of Egypt and what you did to see on an og the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan. When you completely. Whom you completely destroyed, when we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed because of you.

  For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. What a great statement of faith. What a great statement of courage. She had more faith, faith in their God than they did. And she declared it and spoke it out.

  And then she said, you know what? Because of that, because I believe your God, I'm going to protect you. And I'm going to say, and all I ask when I protect you is that you spare me. I'm going to help you conquer this nation. She risked her own life.

  She risked everyone she knew because she believed in her heart, she had faith in God. I want to ask you, you. What actions are you taking because of your faith? What kind of nation will we live in if Christians lived what they believed? That if you were known in your workplace as a man or woman of integrity, as a man or woman who was proud of their relationship with Jesus, not a Bible basher.

  I've been there telling everyone they're gonna go to hell. The mark of the beast is coming.

  I think I've told this story, that story before. Year 8 in school, and I was on my school bus and I told them the story about the mark of the beast from Revelation. They were year 12, sitting in the back, and I'm loud, and I got very excited. My Italian Passion got. And the whole bus, he turned off the music because Adrian was preaching his sermon on the school bus in the morning.

  And it was all about, the mark of the beast is coming. If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's all right. Forget about it, all right, for the moment. The mark of the beast is coming. Jesus is coming back.

  And they laughed their heads off at me. They laughed their heads off at me. And I said to them as they were laughing at me, the year 12s to year, little year 8 kid on the bus. And I looked at them and I. I was like, don't you laugh at me. Said, what I'm saying is true.

  And I said, I'll still remember. I said, you remember this day? Remember this day when I said, they're still waiting for the day, but it's going to come one day. One day they're going to remember it. Go, that little punk kid yelling at us on the bus anyway, you don't need to Bible bash people, but you do need to be a person of action in your faith.

  What steps can you take to say, I stand for this? You know what? When other people are swearing, carrying on, laughing at all this gear, and you go, hey, that doesn't feel right. You don't need to join in with it. When people take actions that aren't right, when other people go, well, everyone else is doing it, so I'll do it as well.

  Young people, make a stand for righteousness and don't be ashamed. Say, I'm proud of who I am. Be proud of your church. Be proud of your relationship with Jesus. Be a person of action.

  Take courageous steps. If more people in this world did it, then our Christianity and our faith in this world would be shown to more people. They're waiting. They're watching, they're saying, do you really believe what you say? Do you believe that Christ is actually real?

  It takes courage. It's scary. You'll get rejected sometimes. You'll feel like an idiot, but Right Ahab was a woman. Remember her?

  I want to read you this scripture in James because he says it better than all of us. James 2 is talking about faith without action is dead. Listen to this and say, God, am I living this in my life? How can I live it more? Because we're all doing it.

  The fact you're here, you're living out your faith. But how can I do this more in my life and my family? James 2:14. What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?

  Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, goodbye and have a good day. Stay warm and eat well. But then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn't enough.

  Unless it produces good deeds. It is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, some people have faith and others have good deeds. But I say, how can you show me, your father faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.

  You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you. Bit of Aussie sarcasm thrown in here. You say you have faith, for you believe there's one good good on you, mate. Even the demons believe this and they tremble in terror.

  How foolish. Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless? Don't you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith in his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.

  And so it happened. Just as the scriptures say, Abraham believed God and counted him as righteous because of his faith. He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. Rahab the prostitute is another example.

  She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them away safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. Interestingly, it's not saying that good works save you. It's not saying that your faith in Christ and His work saves you. But faith in Christ, that doesn't.

  Show action and doesn't have action and a life transformed as a part of it isn't faith is what he's saying. You know, you have faith, faith. If you are acting because of that faith, you can say that. You're not scared of something. You'll go, I don't care about this.

  I'm gonna do it. But when push comes to shove, you back off. You didn't really believe, did you? And so he's saying, our faith, if it's real, will show in our actions. Just like in Rahab's life, she showed it by her actions.

  We were in the States when this event happened that has shocked the world when Charlie Kirk was killed. And it was a shocking act, and it's a tragedy in a number of ways. But what's interesting to me is one of the things that was interesting is hearing Erica, his wife, speak afterwards. And, you know, people have tried to politicize and all the stuff and all the turmoil going on with all of that gear and people agreeing, disagreeing. That's not what moved me.

  That's not what I got caught up in, you know, what I got caught with and moved by. And I think many of us were the same that when his wife spoke, she spoke about her and his relationship with Jesus Christ and how real it was and how much it impacted their lives and how much it drove their way of living. And watched her in that moment of tragedy and deep, inexplicable pain. She spoke with courage, and she's talked about forgiveness for a murderer. And you know what I saw, I went, that's real.

  That's going to change people's lives. That's going to impact. You know, there are people that are coming to our church today, over the last few weeks because they were so moved by that. I met someone this week. They heard her speech and they said, I need that in my life.

  What she's able, what she's pushed through and the courage she's shown and what's real to her relationship with Jesus. I need that. I need Jesus. That's what courage will do.

  I encourage you, if you haven't, to listen to how she spoke because it came from a heart that was real and shows she's been redeemed. Redeemed. People take courageous steps. And I want to tell you this, courage is not just shown when you feel excited and courageous. Courage is shown in the darkest moments of your life.

  Some of you know what I'm talking about. When you've still stood up for Jesus, when it's been the hardest time when you're going through grief, when you're feeling depressed, when something's been taken from you. Said, I'm still coming to church. I'm still going to serve God. I'm still going to go and love someone.

  I'm going to show forgiveness to someone who's wronged me, my friends. That's courage. Courage is shown when it costs you. And I want to commend so many of us in this place because I'm surrounded. Narelle and I were away, and we kept saying we love living where we are, and I love being part of the church and the people that I'm part of, because I see so many courageous people redeemed for a reason.

  Reason.

  What courageous steps is the Lord Jesus calling you to take in your life today? The third thing.

  Redeemed people, they consider others before themselves.

  Rahab the prostitute puts her life at risk to save these spies so that they can enter and help defeat Jericho and take the land of Canaan. But she says to the spy, she says, I want you to protect my parents and my family as well. She didn't just think of herself. She said, will you save my family? And they said, anyone who comes into your house when we come and conquer the land will be protected.

  I love that about Rahab. She wasn't thinking of herself. She was thinking about all of her family and those around her. And we don't know how many people she brought in, but it says her whole household. It was a whole household of people that she brought in.

  She probably crammed as many people that she could into that house because she was considering others before herself. Do you know what makes Christianity unique?

  It is a faith and a belief that has its heart. Sacrifice.

  Deep within its heart is this idea that you give up your life for someone else.

  And Jesus is the epitome of that, isn't it? And that's why we love him and that's why we follow him. When you're thinking about, does someone care for me? Does someone be, I think about, Jesus gave up his life for me. He surrendered greater love.

  Has no one than this to give up his life for a friend. But Christ died for us while I was still. While we were still sinners. The Bible says, while we were people that didn't even know him or care about him, Christ gave up his life for us. That's the ultimate.

  And do you know what's amazing about humanity and history? If you look through history, about different cultures, religion, religions, civilizations, they all have this idea of making heroes of the people who sacrifice for others, we give the Medal of Honor or America gives the Medal of Honor to people that have given up their life or risked their life for others at great cost to themselves. We look at those people and you don't go, oh, that person's a loser. Every time you hear of someone who sacrificed, there was no benefit for them for someone else, you think of that person as amazing, don't you? We've got stories about them, we've got movies and books, and we talk about these characters that are just amazing people because we know deep within our God's put within us that is the greatest thing you can do to love someone beyond yourself.

  Redeemed people think of others before themselves. And you know what the greatest tragedy is? If you live your life thinking of yourself before others, it's the worst life you can ever live.

  And I hope because we live in a society that oftentimes gets caught up with ourselves, it's human nature. I want to be first or what is in it for me? What about this kids going, what about my piece of cake? They're not wanting to give the piece of cake to someone else. They're like, no, give me the lollies.

  And if they give a lolly away, we're like, wow, that's the most generous act I've ever seen. Seen because we think about ourselves. We think we have to protect ourselves. But do you know what being redeemed means? It means you can let go of selfishness.

  It's a freedom. Let it go and think of others. Who knows this? The more you think about yourself, the worse your life is. It's not fair on me.

  What about this and what about this and all the reasons? And I go, when I think about helping others, it sets me free. Some of the greatest tragedies in the world are people who've lived a selfish life. And you know when they get to the end of their life, what's left? If you live a selfish life, what's left at the end of your life?

  Absolutely nothing.

  You should think on that and reflect on that. If you live for yourself, you literally what you've done is take taken you've made a negative impact on the world. Because when you're gone, you're gone. And if you live for yourself, there's nothing left behind now.

  And all of us know that at heart. But we need to live it out. Redeemed people know the reason they exist is to be a blessing to others, is to pour into others, is to live and consider others and the more you do that, the more free and beautiful your life is.

  So how can you do that? How can God help you? We see it, these great characters and famous stories, Schindler's List, the movie, and he made a decision to save Jewish people. He didn't have to. He risked his life.

  And at the end of that poignant movie, he's left there thinking, I could have this bit of money here. I could have saved one more. I could have saved someone else. I could have. I could have.

  Because he risked. Realize my life has meaning as I help others, as I save others. This money doesn't have meaning. This stuff I've accumulated that my accomplishments, my popularity doesn't have meaning.

  Consider others before yourself. Rahab did, and this is what happened to him. We're going to finish up the fourth thing, give you a reminder. Redeemed people are not constrained by their past. They're not constrained.

  Whatever your past is, it doesn't need to hold you back. They take courageous steps. They consider others before themselves. And the last thing that happens, because they do all those things, is they change destinies. They change destinies.

  Rahab is an interesting person, and I've told you already, James introduces her. Hebrews, the Great hall of faith introduces her, Rahab, the prostitute. And we know why, because it's trying to show us that God can take your life from one thing and turn it around into something else. You can be redeemed and changed and not constrained, strained. But there's another place where Rahab's mentioned in the New Testament.

  There's one more place where she's mentioned, and I think it's a powerful idea of what God wants to do in our lives. It's in Matthew, chapter one, verse five. And some of you have skipped this because it's a genealogy, it's a list of names. And you just skip over it because it's boring to read a list of names that don't make any sense. But sometimes you've got to go back in and you've got to delve a bit deeper because there's great meaning and great truth behind some of these things.

  And in Matthew 1, verse 5, the whole first chapter is a genealogy from Adam all the way through to Jesus. It says in verse five, it's talking about listing of these. This ancestry. And it says, salmon was the father of Boaz, and then in brackets, whose mother was Rahab. And Boaz was the father of Obed, whose mother was.

  Was Ruth. And Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of King David.

  So if you look, notice, Rahab's not Rahab the prostitute.

  Rahab's name is mentioned there. And do you know what he's saying there if you've picked it up? Rahab was the great, great grandmother, King David. That Rahab's line. Her family ended up with King David, King Solomon.

  And then it goes on. And a few verses go on. And we get to verse 16. The same family, Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. That from the family of Rahab, Rahab, King David came and Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was born.

  So what does that mean? Rahab started a royal dynasty that will last forever. Rahab is included in the direct family of Jesus Christ. She's not Rahab the prostitute anymore. She's Rahab, the great, great grandmother of King David.

  David, an ancestor of Jesus Christ. She's Rahab, the one who helped the Israelite people conquer the promised land. She's Rahab, the mighty woman of faith who spoke the very words that Joshua declared to his people as they went into the promised land. She's Rahab, who said, you, God is the one true God. She's Rahab, who was included and saved her own family and included in the Israelite people and the family of God.

  She's Rahab, who had a son, who had another son, who had a king.

  From her faith and her life, the world was transformed, redeemed for a reason. Brothers and sisters, I encourage you to go and study the person of Rahab and remind yourself, if God can use her, an outsider, in prostitution, to be this mighty hero of faith who changed the world. What can he do through my life?

  What can you do through your life? We're taught, sadly, we're taught as we get older, that you can't make much of a difference. Just survive. Just be comfortable. Little kids don't start off that way, do they?

  Go ask a little kid what they want to be. They want to be a hero. I want to be an astronaut. I want to be a pop star. Whatever they see that's made a big difference.

  They think they can change the world.

  And then little by little, we get caught up in the big scheme of things and we realize we're one of millions, one of billions. And then people treat us like we're not that important. We have some setbacks and we just settle.

  I don't know about you, but every time I go into the presence of God and every time the Lord speaks into my heart, he Takes those ideas about my idea, and he says, adrian, are you going to settle? You know, I called you for a reason. Are you going to believe that you can make a difference? Are you going to believe that you can change lives? Are you going to believe that you can settle?

  Yes. You're going to have. Yes. Maybe you're not going to make as big a difference as your own. It's not about you.

  But maybe if you let me, maybe if you truly live the redeemed life I've called you to live, maybe you can change some destiny, changed some lives for eternity. That's what God wants to do through this church. I came here, Narelle, and I came here 10 years ago. Ten years ago, little old Frankston. You know, some people, they laughed at me when they heard that I was coming to Frankston.

  Why would you go there?

  Ah, don't go to the beach. Don't know what you're gonna step on.

  You've heard all the stuff.

  I came here because the Lord spoke into my heart. He said, everything I've called you to do, Adrian, will happen through this church. And I saw that God had a destiny for his people in this city, in this area, across the peninsula and beyond. And I said, lord, I'm going to do my bit to speak your life. I'm going to believe it in my own heart.

  I'm going to overcome the doubts and the fears, and we're going to speak. And you look at what God's doing, my brothers and sisters, look what God's doing. He's building his church. We're making a difference, and we're just getting started. And I want to tell you this.

  The more of us who rise up and say, I've been redeemed for a reason. I'm going to stand up. I'm not a forgotten nobody. I'm a chosen, chosen son and daughter of the most high God. And I'm gonna change some lives.

  I'm gonna step in faith in my family. I'm believing for some of you, believing for salvation in family members, in a spouse, in a partner. Don't give up. You can see a miracle. I'm still blown away.

  My dad's more on fire than all of us. Comes and keeps telling me, oh, I'm excited about this. And Connect Together's doing. And he's. Now we've got a band happening and Connect Together, and he's going out.

  We go, you know, with Helena and my dad and a team. We're going into nursing homes now, retirement communities on Tuesdays to go and run a church service for them.

  My dad was a completely backslidden Christian. Didn't want a bar of it. But if the redeemed realize they're called for a reason, you can step up and step into it. Some of you have got that story, and there's greater stories yet to be told. Come on, brothers and sisters, redeem for a reason.

  Redeem for a reason. Rahab was redeemed for a reason. She stepped into it and God used her. What does he want to do through you? Young, old, black, white?

  God doesn't care. In fact, he wants to use your uniqueness for such a time as this. Can we pray?

  Here's what we're going to do. We're going to do a couple more things in a minute, but I want us to stand if we can. You say, lord, I want to be counted. God, I want to be counted as redeemed for a reason. I'm not going to let my excuses hold me back.

  I'm not going to let my constraints hold me back. God, in your personal life, you can overcome.

  In your family life, you can make a difference. In your workplace, in your social or your friendship groups, you can be a person of faith and change. In your church, you can change people's lives. And in our society, our communities, watch what God does when his people rise up. Come on, let's close our eyes.

  And if you want to lift out your hands before the Lord, we're going to pray together. We're going to say, lord, we are redeemed. Not because we've got a nice message, but because, Jesus Christ, you've changed my life and you've called me for such a time as this. And I'm saying yes to your call. And I'm saying, here I am, Lord, I've been redeemed for a reason.

  I'm not going on a cruise ship through life. Lord Jesus, I'm stepping in in faith. God, what do you want me to do? What are you asking? Say, Lord, what have you called me?

  What do you want me to do? What's the next step? Lord, my answer is yes to you. My answer is yes. Lord, Give me courage, Holy Spirit.

  Give me faith, Holy Ghost. Give your people boldness to change destinies and change lives for eternity. There are people that God's called to be saved. This place is too small for what he wants to do because God's people are rising up, mighty men and women of God, from the front to the back and watching online. Holy Spirit, I pray that you would capture People with the spirit of the most High God.

  That says yes and amen. That says for such a time as this, that says, lord, we're taking back what the enemy has stolen. In Jesus name.

  We're stepping in, in faith, in God's name. The devil's tried to steal, kill and destroy. But we're gonna take it back. My brothers and sisters, I had another name for this message, but it was probably a bit too full on. But it's not for this bit.

  I was gonna call it Redeemed to wreak havoc on hell. We've been redeemed to wreak havoc on hell. Not to fight people, to love people, but to fight the devil.

  And we're gonna wait, win. We're gonna win. Jesus Christ has called us to win. Not with weapons of warfare, but with spiritual weapons of grace and love and his word and the spirit of the Most High God. And so, Lord, I pray for your people.

  Set us on fire. God. Redeemed for a reason. Redeemed for a reason. For such a time as this.

  God. There's. There's more. There's more, there's more. What's he doing through you?

  What are you going to step into? What are you going to do that no one else? It's up to you, brothers and sisters. It's up to you. It's up to you.

  Have courage.

  No one opened the door for Rahab. She stepped into it.

  Have courage to do what only God can do through your life.

  So I pray, Holy Spirit, help us, stir us up. Let us be the mighty men and women of God that do great and mighty exploits for you. We pray it in Jesus precious, mighty name. And maybe you're in this place and you say, lord, I need to be redeemed. I need to give my life to Christ.

  I've been far away from him. I've never done it before. But Jesus, I want you to be Lord and Saviour. We're going to say a prayer together. We're gonna all repeat it.

  And I want you to say this prayer to give your life to the Lord. Dear Lord Jesus, I want to be redeemed. I believe you're the Son of God and you died on the cross for my sin. And you rose again from the dead. So forgive me, Lord Jesus, be my Lord and my Savior.

  I will follow you. I've been redeemed. Redeemed for a reason. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

  Amen. Come on, let's give the Lord a shout and a thanks of praise in the house today. Amen Amen. All right, you can grab your seats for a sec.

  Go. That's exciting.

  God's got more in store. Hey. All right, here's what we're going to do. We've got a couple of things, and everything I'm about to talk about is because we're redeemed for a reason. We don't do programs for the sake of it.

  We do it to reach people with the love of Christ. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to come around our time of giving. If you're new with us, you can let this pass you by. But this is.

  We give because we've got a cause. We've got some changed lives to see. We got more to do and we're going to be talking about that in this month, more than we have for a long time. But if you need an envelope, just pop your hand in the air. We've got ways to give here.

  Every cent you give is helping us change lives and helping us be the church that God's called us to be. And I want to say a big thank you for your generosity because we've been amazing and everything you see is because of our generous hearts. And so why don't we pray and then we're going to give, Lord, as we give into your house today, Lord, I pray that you would make your name great and that more and more people would come to know you and be changed and saved and radically transformed by the love of Christ. Because we got a job to do, God. We are not here to be on a cruise ship, Lord God.

  Just sailing away in comfort, Lord God. We got a mandate, Lord God, to change the world, to change destinies, God, and we take it seriously. So help us, Holy Spirit, we pray. Bless your people as they give Jesus name. Amen.

  Amen. Why don't we pass the buckets along and thank you as you do that.

  Lots and lots of stuff going on. I said this Wednesday, Holy Spirit encounter night. We need the Holy Ghost and we're hungry. If you're hungry for God, come and let's together say God. I'm putting aside that night.

  I know it's a busy week, but I promise you, no one who comes to that night is ever disappointed. 7:00pm Till about 8:30, 8:45. And God's going to do great things. God's going to do great things. I don't think we have a kids program that night, but your kids are very welcome to come into the service with us and encounter the presence of God, like I did when I was a kid.

  So many meetings where God was moving, where I, the Holy Spirit filled my life when I was like 9, 10 years old or younger. And they're very welcome to come along. All right, we've got a Connect Together Service on Thursday, 10am God's doing great things there. And build Relationship Connect Youth is back on this Friday. God's doing amazing things through our teenagers, our youth.

  And so Harry and the team doing an awesome job.

  What else have we got? All right, a couple of things happening this thing. We've got growth nights happening and there's a flyer in your seat, you can sign up. So not this Wednesday, the following Wednesday, we're starting our growth nights for the last term. It's going to go for seven weeks or six weeks of courses.

  And you can do Alpha course, Alpha plus course. You can do the Bible course, which teaches you about the word of God and how it fits across from the Old Testament all the way through to revelation. Or you can do the culture course where we're going to talk about who God's called us to be. I teach that course and you'll get to know me a bit. You'll get to know a whole bunch of things about who we are as a church and who we are as Christians.

  We do a spiritual gift survey. It sets you up to serve God, to get ready for the next step. If you haven't done it, come and join me. If you've never done the Alpha course, sign up to that. It's small groups.

  We have a dinner. This is how at the moment, one of the ways you come in before you go into connect groups, you come and do these courses and you get to know people and it will impact you. And so sign up for those. And free dinner on Wednesday night for six weeks, starting on whatever date it is. 15th of October.

  Then we've got the business breakfast on the 18th. You'll get an email about that. If you're a business person or a professional person, if you're running your own business or a professional and you manage other staff, you're welcome to come along to that. I'm going to be talking about the vision and some steps we're about to take. It's really important and it's a free gourmet breakfast and it's brilliant.

  So that's going to be coming up on what date is it? The 18th of October at 8am right here. And we'd love you to be there. It's always awesome to get to know people and Then we have our connect women's high tea and women. So men, you just have to to wait for your turn later.

  But all of our women, we've got Lisa McInnis Smith coming back. She's always amazing and it's amazing. The food there is brilliant and you're gonna have a great time. So that's on the 25th at 9:30 on a Saturday. And yeah, come along to that.

  Invite some friends. It's a great opportunity to bring someone. And here's just a couple of very important things that we're going to be talking more about about in two weeks. Next week, Pastor Katrina is preaching. The week after that.

  I'm going to be coming and we're going to be having a vision, a vision. Sunday we're going to be launching something we're calling Expansion 26. Expansion 26 is going to be us launching our goals and our plans as we have them right now for the expansion of our churches. And so that's going to even involve our community service. It's going to involve missions.

  The primary thing it's going to involve is our plans to extend our building. And we're going to show you some plans for that. And who knows that we're running out of space and car park and so we need to get to the point. And so we've got some plans we're working on. We're going to present some of those to you.

  And then one of the things we're going to be doing is we're going to be opening up an expansion fund, expansion building fund for the next year, year for us to give into that. And I want to raise. It's a big faith goal, but we want to raise about a million dollars. It's going to cost us more than that to do everything we need to do. This church got built about 40 years ago, but it's time for the next season.

  And so we're going to be talking about that and we're going to be showing that in a couple of weeks time, just be praying and thinking about that. We'll have a booklet, all of those things. But it's going to be an exciting time as we launch that and then the week after that because we're running out of space. We're going to be launching on the 26th, we're going to be launching two morning services on Sunday and so you'll see that there. So we're going to have our Saturday night service at 5 o'.

  Clock. And what we're going to be doing is on October 26th we're going to be starting having two services, a 9 o' clock and a 10:30. And the reason for that is because this building now gets about 80% full, like minimum. And once you're at that level, you can't grow any further and you can't. It's hard for other people.

  And so people, you know, it's just, it doesn't grow past that. And so we've reached the point where our Saturday night service is going well, but our Sunday service, we've got too many and the foyer is jam packed. You know, you go out there and it's hard to hear people, just people everywhere. And so what we're going to do is we're going to create space so that we can keep growing. And so we'll have a 9 o' clock for the nice early risers.

  Who likes a nice early morning service? Three of you. I'm not coming to that one. No. Our pastors will be at all of them.

  I'll be here. It'll be the same service. The 9 o' clock will be a little bit shorter. It'll go for about an hour. And then our 10:30.

  And so that, what that means is it'll just be a half hour later and it'll be finished before 12. And so even volunteers, it won't be too much more. But we're doing that because God's building his church and we've got more people to reach. And so that's going to be happening on October 26th. We've got Pastor David Dowry, a friend of mine and a great preacher coming to speak that day.

  And we're getting ready for everything God's called us to do. And so redeemed for a reason. Faith without action is dead. And so I want you to know that your church is taking action and we're doing it together because God's called us to reach people. Is that cool?

  So I think that's everything. And you guys are amazing. Can I just say a big thank you to all of our team and all everyone who's volunteered in the month that I've been away. I've just heard rave reports about the load you've carried, about the heart you've had, about the friendliness, the passion and the heart. So I just want to say thank you.

  We love you. Why don't we give everyone who's been volunteering why don't give you a great hand and you guys are this church and it's been a real privilege and honor. This is the best place to live in the world. And this is the best church because you're a part of it. So love you guys.

  Lord, I pray for your people as we go to our days that you would be with us and you would stir us up to be the mighty men and women of God you called us to be. There is more. There is more. And you love us so dearly. And you're holding us, God, through everything we go through.

  Through, Lord, with love and grace and fire and faith and hope. Lord, I thank you for that. In Jesus precious name, Amen. Amen. God bless you guys.

  It's met with a heart of gratitude. And it's important that we understand serving it is more than just what you do in the house of the Lord. It's a decision you make where you say, I choose to serve God with my life. And I'm going to read to you a passage in Isaiah, Isaiah 42:1. And it says this.

  Look at my servant whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one who pleases me. I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring justice to all the nations.

  He will not shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put up the flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged. He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth, even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction. What a powerful passage.

  Powerful passage. Passage. And a description from God on the coming Messiah. The one that he sends, the one that he chooses, the one that he loves and he calls them. Look at my servant.

  And this is a time here, the people of Israel, they're in deep pain, injustice, beaten, exiled, uncertain. Everything was loud, violent and unjust. And in the middle of it, God doesn't promise a political warrior or a celebrity leader. He introduces his servant. A servant that has quiet strength but a steady faith.

  A servant that's not loud and screaming like clanging cymbals, but is patient with compassion and direction. And this morning, Church, I want to share with you what it means to be a servant of God and the title of my message. Look at my servant. Look at my servants. You know what, Church?

  My wife is here with my newborn baby.

  And as you're all aware, I've got three girls. Mom. And four girls. Sorry, my bad, my bad. Four girls.

  House of Queens. House of Queens, Right. And there was a time where Pastor Foa lived in his household and he was king of the castle. Some of you men here going, oh, those were the days. You can do whatever you want.

  No shouting, no screaming, no nothing. You can eat whatever you want. You can walk from one end to the other end. You can walk past the laundry room and not even hesitate and shut that door. I'll deal with that tomorrow.

  Having kids, my roles have changed. Church.

  I'm now a faithful servant. Yes, how may I help you? Right, that's my role now. Since when did my girls have a private chef? Since when did my household go from, hey, let's have a family dinner to hey, can we get spaghetti and bolognese and that?

  And the other one will go, how about a salad, feta cheese and a bit of balsamic? You know what? That. Maybe some garlic bread to go with that. How about that?

  Right, that's my role. My other role is the rubbish bin man. Hey, yeah, there's a few of you guys here, all right? No one's gonna do the rubbish. Go do it.

  That's our role. The Mr. Fix It Guy. The Mr. Fix It Guy that get the girls ready for school guy, right?

  I have mastered a high pony. I've mastered a hyper. It took me months, possibly years after hyponia. I'm going to challenge myself and go to a plat and see how I do that. I'm the colouring in Guy.

  Who's the colouring in Guy with the kids? Raise your hands. Yeah, only a few. You want to know why there's only a few? Let's be honest, parents.

  The kids don't know they're next door. How many of you guys actually like the drawings that your kids draw? Sure. Enough said. Enough said.

  Faithful servant is my household role. And if I can be real for a moment. It's not easy. Many of you know that serving God and serving your home and the chaos and the screaming and the challenges, it's not easy. And the last month has been absolutely challenging for me.

  But it hit me. This is servanthood. Since when did God call you by name and say, come and serve me. Look at my servant. Your life is going to be easy.

  When did God say, come and join me. I'm going to give you everything you've ever wanted and you don't even have to lift a finger.

  Better yet, I'll give you everything you want. You just say you're a servant, but you don't even have to go to church. Don't worry about that.

  In Isaiah, God describes a servant that serves people in such a gentle and a committed way, a faithful way, no matter how hard it gets. And if I'm being honest, church, that's been our challenge, hasn't it? Maybe some of you here, you want to serve, or maybe you have served and you've kind of fallen short because it's a bit too heavy. It's too much. I can't bear it.

  Can't carry it. So you withdraw yourself. But I want to challenge you. I want to challenge you with this. This morning.

  That being a faithful servant means to truly endure through all seasons. And we're going to look at a passage in Isaiah, and I'm going to give you three foundational keys on how we can be faithful servants through all seasons. Amen. All right, the first thing is this. Chosen by God.

  You, me, everyone else. Chosen by God. In verse one. Look at my servants. He is my chosen one.

  Not only is this servant strengthened by God, he is also chosen. Faithfully. Serving God's mission means standing firm in your identity as God's chosen servant. Even when it's hard. Even when it's hard.

  Church, you're not a mistake. You're not here by accident. You're not tolerated. You're not an afterthought. You're not something that he's just put together and go, here you go.

  Deal with it. You are chosen.

  Being chosen. And here's a challenge. Being chosen doesn't mean being spared from the pain. Being chosen does not mean you are spared from the pain. As a matter of fact, through the pain and through the challenges and the trials, that's when you really dig deep and you see what a chosen one looks like.

  I could be chosen. Everything's going well in my life. My job is great. My wife likes me, my kids laugh at me. All these things because I'm chosen.

  What happens when life hits? What happens when the persecution comes? What happens when the challenges come?

  Isaiah 53 paints this picture.

  But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. Jesus is the chosen one.

  Yet he was pierced, crushed, beaten and whipped. He was not chosen to escape suffering, but to endure it for the sake of others. The fulfillment of Isaiah and Jesus. He healed the sick. He welcomed the outcasts.

  He stood with the lowly. He didn't silence the flickering. He didn't crush the bruised.

  And ultimately, he bore their suffering all the way to the cross. But it doesn't stop with him. Church, now you and I are called. You and I are chosen. And do you believe that you're chosen?

  We can tell ourselves every single day, I'm chosen by God, but my actions speak differently.

  John 15:16 says this. You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit. The purpose of a chosen one.

  To bear fruit, to do the work of the Lord. Not to stop when it gets hard. Not to stop when someone says something bad about you. Not to stop at all. It's to keep going.

  Keep going, never giving up.

  Are you living out a chosen life this morning, Church?

  Do you feel chosen not just to feel blessed, but to be a blessing to others? That is the life of a chosen one. You may not be the first pick in the eyes of the world, but you're God's first choice to fulfill the purpose he has for you. Let the truth shape your self worth. You are chosen.

  And chosen people walk in confidence. Amen. That's the first foundational key. The second one we see here is strengthened by God. Strengthened by God.

  Serve in God's strength, not your own. Who's trying to serve the Lord in their own strength.

  Doesn't work, does it? How's that working, Alfie? I've been there. Trust me, I've been there.

  God never asked for a servant to be self sufficient. The strength to serve doesn't come from personality, talent or confidence. It comes from God.

  No one cares. He doesn't care what you look like. He doesn't care how well you can lead worship and how good you can play an instrument or how good are you making the room sound. He does not care about that. What he cares about is, are you connected to me?

  Is your strength from me, not from your position in power?

  And we see this in Isaiah again. Look at my servant. Look at him. Look at my servants whom I strengthen. Who the Lord strengthens.

  This is not a strength within, this is a strength from above.

  Whom I strengthen literally means to take hold, to support, to uphold. The new King James Version puts it this. Behold, behold my servant whom I uphold. Strength from the Lord. The connection keeps you steady, keeps you steady, Keeps you calm, Keeps you collective, Keeps you humble, Keeps you grounded.

  Keeps you grounded. Why is that? Because too many times position and power can get to your head. Then you think that you're it in a bit. We are nothing without Christ.

  Amen.

  That's what God does for his servant. He doesn't merely cheer him on from a distance. He takes hold of him. He carries him. He.

  He upholds him. The strength of a servant doesn't come from within himself. It comes from the one who sustains him.

  You don't grow strong by trying harder, Church. You grow strong by staying connected.

  Staying connected. How many of you here go to the gym? Who's the gym people? Put your hands up. Yeah, there's a few of us.

  I can see that. Keep it up. Guys, keep it up, keep it up.

  Let me say. See, trying to grow strong without staying connected is like going to the gym once a year and flexing in the mirror like you're training for the Olympics. You show up, you lift two dumbbells, drink a smoothie and wonder why you don't have abs by Tuesday.

  Many of you gym goers here and athletes, there's many of us here, we know what it means to keep going. My wife's laughing just a little bit too hard down here in the front. Bless her soul. Bless her after.

  We know what it takes to keep going, each and every one of us. You got careers, you got goals, got achievements. You keep going, right? You don't stop. You don't stop for nothing.

  You want that summer body? Yep, we're gymin it. We're all these things. I'm talking, like the slang, like I've been there. And every single part of our lives, we have things where we don't hesitate.

  We keep going, we keep driving, we keep. We keep pushing through. Where is that in your walk with God?

  You can have all the muscles in the world, but it's not going to help you, not in this fight.

  You can have all the salads you want, and you can have the diet that you want, and you can have all these dreams and aspirations and all these things, but it is not going to help you.

  The connection to the Father is what's going to help you. Connection to the Father. Seeking the Lord. Seeking the Lord. Look at the life of Jesus.

  When he served, he served. No matter what cost. It was right. He served. And what did he do?

  He had moments where he withdrew to spend time with the Lord. He seeked the Lord. In those quiet places. He left the multitudes who spend time with the Lord. Why?

  For renewed strength. Give me strength. Give me wisdom. Give me grace, Give me knowledge. And then from there you venture out in your communities, in your lives, and you go, here it is.

  Here is the word of God. That is the strength. That is the strength that God has promised here. Spiritual strength doesn't come from a single burst of energy. It comes from daily connection.

  Jesus says this in John 15, 5. Yes, I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them will produce much fruit. And this is it. Here, apart from me, you can do nothing without the strength of the Lord.

  It struggles out. Each and every single one of us here has been through something or is going through something now.

  But you're connecting. You're staying connected. You know, I was Talking via text message of one of. I wasn't going to share this. I'm not going to bring up this person's name.

  And this person is going through something pretty heavy. Pretty heavy, right? And I'm messaging this person and saying, look, if you need, we're going to be praying for you and stuff like that. But it's what this person responds back with that really starts to stir me up.

  Even what this person is going through. This person said, I'm already healed. In Jesus name.

  You know what that tells me? Connected to the Lord. You know what that tells me? Chosen for a purpose, Strengthened from the Lord.

  I was surprised. I was expecting Pastor Fu, please, I can't do this anymore. I can't carry on. I can't keep doing this. I can't this, I can't that.

  I can't that. No, I'm already healed. In Jesus name.

  He's already won.

  The picture of a servant is not self made or self sustained. Picture of a servant is a quiet strength and a steady heart.

  Just like a branch, it draws nourishment from the vine. So whether the servant is upheld or quietly serving in faithfulness, the source is the same. Abiding in the one who carries, empowers and never lets go.

  What about you here this morning, Church? Are you trying to serve God in your own strength? What does that look like for you and your family? What does that look like for you? What would you change to shift that?

  Are you worn out? Are you burnt out? Are you burnt out because you are doing the work? The kingdom work on empty.

  Receive his strength.

  His strength strengthens those who serve him. Amen. Amen. Amen. Here's my third and final point.

  Look at my servant. He is my chosen one. Look at my servant whom I strengthen. Look at my servant who pleases me.

  You are called to live a life that pleases the Lord. That pleases the Lord faithfully. Serving God's mission means living for God's pleasure above all else through obedience, perseverance and surrender. If I can get the team up, please.

  The new King James version says this. In whom my soul delights. In whom my soul delights. Don't we want that, Church? Don't we want to please the Lord?

  We all want it. I want it. You want it. We all want to do whatever we can to please the Lord. It's good for the soul.

  This is perhaps the most beautiful affirmation anyone could ever receive. He pleases me.

  God isn't impressed by our platforms, personalities or performance. He's drawn to the heart that is fully his.

  How does a servant please the Lord? How does a servant please the Lord? We're going to look at isaiah here. Verse 2. He will not shout or raise his voice in public.

  Don't we live in a time right now where everything is a shout, everything is yelling, everything is clanging cymbals.

  He would not shout or raise his voice in public.

  The servant isn't forceful or attention seeking. He doesn't demand a spotlight or strive to prove his purpose. His power is quiet, humble and steady, the kind that doesn't need to be loud because it's rooted in something deeper.

  Verse 3 He will not crush the weakest reed or put up the flickering candle. In verse three.

  This is the heart of the servant. Tender care for the vulnerable.

  How much do you love the person next to you?

  The weakest reed and the flickering candle. They represent people that are barely holding on, just hanging on. I've got not. There's not much left. I'm just holding on.

  And what God says when he sends a servant, look at my servant. He's not saying to them to crush them all. He sent them to go, it's okay, I got you.

  That's what God says to you. I got you.

  Verse 4 He would not falter or loose hat until justice prevails.

  He will not falter or lose heart.

  Look at my servant.

  He is my chosen one whom I strengthen, who pleases me, who will be quick to listen and slow to speak. He would be calm, gentle, compassionate.

  He would not shy away from loving those who really need it. He would not let those that are just hanging on fall off. He would grab hold and he would dwell. So much heart, this servant. His motivation isn't the applause of people.

  It's the pleasure of God. It's the to please God is to persevere. Persevere. It's hard. Obey when no one's watching and stay faithful until the very end.

  Jesus modeled this perfectly. John 8:29 says this and the one who sent me is with me. He has not deserted me, for I always do what pleases him not. I always do what pleases me, what pleases Him. Am I always going to feel comfortable doing the things that pleases God?

  No. Is it always going to be easy doing the things that please God? No. If it was easy to do this, we wouldn't be here. What would be our purpose?

  Pleasing God isn't about instant access. It's about enduring obedience. God's servant does not quit even when justice feels slow, when the world seems Indifferent or when the mission feels costly, he doesn't falter or lose heart. And that's what he's saying to you. Don't lose heart.

  Don't lose hope. Hold on, hold on. Keep going, keep going. Smile, laugh, eat, sing. Keep going.

  Praise his name. Exalt his name.

  What parts of your life are pleasing to God right now?

  Are there areas where you're more focused on pleasing people than pleasing the Lord?

  Is it people or is it the Lord?

  What will you change today? Church. In order to please the Lord, what would you shift? What would you change? Who would you speak to?

  Who would you listen to? Who would you pray for? Who would you intercede for? Who would you send a meal to? Who would you give a phone call to?

  You know, this thing about serving, serving God.

  It saddens me sometimes when I hear stories from people that have stopped serving the Lord.

  But many conversations over the years, a lot of time I'd ask, but why?

  It's just too hard. Life's too hard.

  Broken up a relationship, work's been busy. There's just so much happening in the world and the life and all that are just not in the right head space to serve the Lord. While for starters, serving the Lord is not a headspace, it's a heart moment.

  But here's the thing. Church. Why is it that the first thing we give up is serving God? Why is that the first thing? Why not give up something else?

  Why not give us something else? You know, one of the reasons why I left chefing, I was a chef for many years. Why I left that space is because I couldn't find a restaurant or work in the industry that will allow me to have Sundays off.

  So I changed careers. I left everything behind. Left my knives, my. My aprons, my tools, my whatever. Left it behind so I can be in the house of God.

  There's going to come a point in, in your life and if you're not already there, we have to be real with yourself and go. No more excuses, no more.

  I don't believe we serve a God that says, hey, listen, guys, I have chosen you, I have strengthened you, and you please me. Because you turn up at 10 o' clock on the dot every Sunday.

  That's not the servant that's here.

  It's more than just serving in your church walls, serving God with your life. What does that look like for you in community?

  What does that look like for you and your families and your sport teams and, you know, maybe you are going to the gym and who are you? Who are you speaking to about Jesus living your life?

  Isn't God greater than our challenges? Isn't he greater than our situations, our brokenness and our heartache? Is he greater?

  He's greater than that. And you know what he sees in each and every one of you? And I see it. This room is full house. And I can promise you, God is saying something to you right now.

  He didn't turn up for me. I hope he didn't. But if he turned up because God's stirring something in your heart to say, yeah, I want my hands to the plow. I want it now. I want to serve my lord.

  Matthew Matthew 12:18 quotes Isaiah 40:2. It shows that Jesus life and ministry perfectly fulfills God's description of the coming Messiah.

  Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah 42.

  Everything God said his servant would be. Jesus lived it perfectly.

  And it says this.

  Look at my servant whom I have chosen. He is my beloved who pleases me. I will put my spirit upon him. He will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public.

  He will not crush the weakest reed or pull out the flickering candle. Finally, he will cause justice to be victorious, and his name will be the hope of all the world.

  What kind of servant do you want to be?

  You want to be a servant where your name is on the roster and you turn up when Pastor Trevor texts you.

  You want to be a servant that picks and choose when the serving part comes?

  Or you want to be a servant? You want to be a servant where the Lord looks at you and he goes, look at my servant. Isn't he and she beautiful? Look at them go. You want to be a servant that says, oh, he has chosen me.

  He is my chosen one and whom I strengthen. You want to be a servant where the Lord says, he pleases me, he pleases me, he pleases me. A servant. A servant with a heart of compassion, a heart of love. Verse 3.

  He will not crush the weakest reed or pull out the flickering candle.

  A servant that's confident, humble, persevering, never giving up, never stopping. And one verse four. That he will not falter or lose heart.

  I sense this morning that many of you here are going through something. Or this week has just been one of those weeks.

  Can I tell you that you're not alone, that the servant that God sends, he's never left you? You know what it feels like when God's left you is that you're falling out of line with the Father. Your heart is.

  And I want to Encourage you here. This morning, I've actually got the team to lead us in worship.

  And I want to invite you to come to the front for prayer.

  Maybe.

  Maybe you've never given your heart to the Father and you want to do that this morning.

  I want to encourage you, come forward. I'm going to be standing down here. I'm going to be right beside you. I can see some of you here of tissues and weeping there. Don't leave it down there on the seat.

  Present it at his feet. And if you're here right now and there's been something stirring, you've been challenged by the word of God. Can I encourage you? Never too late. It's never too late to say, I choose to follow Christ.

  Look at my servant who strengthens me, My chosen one. That is for you, Church. So as the team leads us, I'm going to invite everyone to stand. I'm going to open up the front here. And can I just say one thing?

  I know how nerve wracking that is coming into the front. I've been there. I know how embarrassing it may look to walk in front of people and sit here and weep. I weep here. You know how long it took me to weep on platform?

  It took one simple moment of connecting with the Father to say, I'm not worried what people see, but I will do my best to reflect his heart. So why don't we stand? Can you stand with me?

  The team's just going to lead us. I'm going to be right here. Church.

  O Lord, my God When I in awe, in wonder Conceive you the world Thy hands have made I see the star I hear the rolling thunder Thy plow to round the universe display Come on, sing that. Ch.

  My son, my savior, God how great that how great thou art.

  MAN sings My soul, My savior, God to me how great how how great thou art and when I feel that God sent him to die I scarce can take you that on the cross my burden gladly Mary. He blessed My savior God to me how great how great how great the how great and when Christ sat down with shout of acclamation and take me home what joy shall fill my heart Then I shall bow in humble adoration Love dancing my love how great thou art how great Thou art My soul, my savior God to me how great I hope how great Now My soul, my savior God to the how great Thou art how great now come on, Church, let's just sing that.

  Lift our voices. Come on.

  How great, how great.

  Come on, let's lift our voices. Sing it one more time.

  My soul, my sake, how great thou art.

  My soul, my savior, God, to me, how great.

  We're gonna continue. We're going to close our service, so we're going to continue praying up here in the front. The team are going to continue to lead us in worship. But I want to leave you with this.

  There's more to you than what you see in yourself. What he sees in you is someone that's chosen something, someone that he strengthened by and a life that pleases the Lord. I encourage that over you family, encourage that. So I'm going to pray and then we're going to finish the service. You're more than welcome to head up for morning tea, but if you want prayer, we're going to keep the space, we're going to keep these lights down and we're going to stay in this moment.

  Father, we thank you, Lord, for this opportunity that we get to. We get to do life, we get to do connection connected to the vine. Heavenly Father and I pray for every single soul here this morning. Every single heart, every single soul, every single child, every single aura with wisdom. Heavenly Father, I pray that you would continue to call them chosen, that you continue to strengthen them, that you'll continue to paint a picture to say, yes, my good and faithful servant, well done.

  It's a life that pleases you, Lord. So we thank you, Father. We thank you, Lord, in all the churches. Amen. We're going to continue praying.

  Continue praying.

Related Bible Verses

Hebrews 11:31 (NLT)

It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Open Hebrews 11:31 on Bible.com

James 2:25–26 (NLT)

Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

Open James 2:25–26 on Bible.com

James 2:14–24 (NLT)

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well” but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

Open James 2:14–24 on Bible.com

Joshua 2:8–11 (NIV)

Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”

Open Joshua 2:8–11 on Bible.com

Joshua 2:18–19 (NLT)

When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members, your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives, must be here inside the house. If they go out into the street and are killed, it will not be our fault. But if anyone lays a hand on people inside this house, we will accept the responsibility for their death.

Open Joshua 2:18–19 on Bible.com

Exodus 12:7 (NLT)

They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal.

Open Exodus 12:7 on Bible.com

Exodus 12:13 (NLT)

But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Open Exodus 12:13 on Bible.com

John 15:13 (NIV)

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Open John 15:13 on Bible.com

Matthew 1:5–6 (NLT)

Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).

Open Matthew 1:5–6 on Bible.com

Matthew 1:16 (NLT)

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

Open Matthew 1:16 on Bible.com