The Transformation of Peter (Acts 3:13-26)
Here’s a summary of this week’s sermon:
In this talk, John Farrington explores the transformation of Peter as recorded in Acts 3:13-26.
He begins by asking the audience to imagine a better version of themselves and then goes on to explain how Peter's transformation was made possible by the Holy Spirit.
John highlights the importance of repentance and the need to acknowledge our own sinfulness in order to receive forgiveness and be transformed by God.
He also emphasizes that true transformation cannot be achieved through our own efforts, but only through the work of the Holy Spirit.
In the end, John encourages the audience to invite the Holy Spirit into their lives and experience the transformation that comes with it.
💬 CONVERSATION STREET --
Matt + Rach discuss:
What do you understand by “transformation”? What is your transformation story?
Spiritual transformation requires an effort from us as well. Is it easy?
What is repentance? What does it mean “without repentance there is no transformation?
What would a better version of you look like? Where do you think your answers come from - the Holy Spirit or your desire to be a bit more of what the society expects you to look like?
How is spiritual transformation different from behaviour modification/improvement?
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John: Hello Crowd Church. It's great to be here at headquarters. And, um, my name is John Farrington. Today we are looking at the transformation of Peter. And before I get into the passage, I want to start by asking you a question.
So, what would make you better than you are right now? If you were to imagine a better version of yourself? What would it look like? Hold that thought. So here's a little context to today's passage. A physically disabled man unable to walk since birth and known as a beggar by those who frequent the temple is healed after an encounter with Peter and John.
The man gets up and starts following Peter and John around the temple. And because everyone knows who this guy is, they're all amazed to see him walking. So he's creating quite a scene, and at this point, Peter sees what's going on. So he decides to speak in front of the crowd that's gathered.
So here's the passage. When Peter saw this, he said to them, fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness, we made this man walk. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? The God of our fathers has glorified his servant. Jesus. You handed him over to be killed and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.
You disowned the holy and righteous one and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him as you can all see.
Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance as did your leaders, but this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets saying that his Messiah would suffer, repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out. That times of refreshing may come from the Lord and that he may send the Messiah who has been appointed for you, even Jesus.
Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything as he had promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me. From among your own people, you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.
Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days and you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant. God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, through your offspring, all peoples on earth will be blessed. When God raised up his servant. He sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.
So what's Peter on about eh? Well, firstly, he says to this group, why are you so amazed? Do you think this was us? This wasn't me. This was God. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did this. And then the second thing he does is he rebukes them. He says, do you remember the man Jesus, who you had sentenced to death?
He was the holy one. You know, the author of life, aka God in human form, and you killed him. In fact, you had him swapped out for a murderer. But God raised him from the dead, and it is by faith in his name that he's healed this lame bagger. Last week, uh, Matt spoke about power of the name of Jesus, and um, you can check out that video here as well.
After this, Peter then tells them to repent. He calls them to ask for forgiveness. And I'll, I'll get into this more shortly. The fourth thing that he points out is about Jesus's identity as a Jew. And I'm not gonna get into this into too much detail today, so feel free to dig into this more on Conversation Street or in your own time.
So there's quite a lot going on here, isn't there? And I will get into some of it in a bit more detail, but I really want to zoom in on Peter for a second. So this is the second of three addresses or short little preaches that Peter gives at the beginning of Acts. They're very significant because they demonstrate an extreme transformation that has taken place in him.
It's a transformation that has happened all because he received the Holy Spirit. Peter was a fisherman, he was uneducated. His only knowledge of scripture would've been through cultural osmosis, or from the two years he spent following Jesus around, he was a hotheaded coward. He spoke before he thought, in fact, it was only a couple of months before this that he swore he would lay down his life for Jesus only to later deny knowing him three times.
But now he's speaking with authority, boldness, and understanding. How has this happened? Well, Peter has clearly had a life-changing encounter. He's a different person now. He has been transformed. He's been filled with the Holy Spirit by the grace of God, the one Jesus promised he would send after he had left the disciples.
And the Spirit is now living in Peter and working through him, giving him the words to say and the boldness with which to speak them. So when I was looking for definitions of transformation online, I, I found this, it said a transformational change is dramatic and irreversible, reinventing itself to fulfill a new purpose.
It's like the, the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly or a, a tadpole to a frog. Peter's transformation is a dramatic change. He's unrecognizable from the guy who followed Jesus around in the gospels. He's no longer thinking about saving his own bacon like he was during Jesus' trial. He's thinking about giving God the glory where it is due and speaking the truth to those in front of him regardless of the consequences.
He's gone from being a, a cowardly lion to acting like the king of the forest. The New Testament has actually quite a lot to say about transformation, and it can mainly be split into two parts. . So firstly, when we confess our sin and accept Jesus as our savior, our identity is immediately transformed. We are given a new purpose.
We are no longer dead in our sin, but we are alive in Christ. We are no longer enemies or strangers of God, but we are adopted into his family. Now, at the same time as this, we begin a process of transformation. This means that we are not the finished product yet, but through the work of the Spirit in us, we are transformed day by day into looking more and more like Jesus.
2 Corinthians 3 verse 18 says this, and we all with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord, who is the spirit. So with that in mind, let's return to the passage. So the first thing Peter says to the people is that the healing of this disabled man has nothing to do with himself.
It was all to do with God. He takes away all the credit from Peter and John, but Peter has spent long enough with Jesus to know that a miracle or a sign or wonder is not enough to see someone saved. They need to hear the truth in order for them to believe it. Romans 10, verse 14 says this, how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?
And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? Verse 13. So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. So that's why Peter doesn't stop there. He then does two things. Like I said before, he rebukes them and then he tells them to repent.
In other words, um, he makes them aware of the fact that they're in the wrong by reminding them of their involvement in Jesus's sentencing and crucifixion, which by the way would have been a huge deal in their culture. To be told that you were guilty of putting to death a man who had been prophesied about for the last however many years as the savior of the Jewish nation and the rest of the world.
That would've been a big deal. There probably wasn't a worse crime you could have committed than being responsible for the death of the Messiah. So this seems like a pretty heavy thing for Peter to bring up, but I think the Holy Spirit shows us something through it. So let's revisit that question I started with for a moment.
How could you be better than you are right now? If you were to imagine a better version of yourself? What would it look like? I might say a better version of myself would be more organized, um, maybe less forgetful. Maybe I'd work out more. Maybe I'd be less sensitive. Maybe I'd be funnier. Speak another language.
I don't know. Essentially, I would take all the things that I think are weaknesses in myself and I would try to strengthen them. They're not necessarily bad things to want to do, but what I would realize by doing so is I would be embarking on an endless journey of self-improvement. The result of it would be probably one of two things.
Um, it would be insufferable pride or devastating inadequacy. If I was successful, I would become more and more proud of what a good person I was becoming, or if I failed, it would make me even more aware of my insufficiency. Two sides of the same coin. After all, either my pride or my inadequacy would show me I could still be better again.
I would never see transformation like Peter has seen. Why? Because that way of living presumes that the ability to be good or better, or the ability to improve myself comes from within myself. But without God, none of me is good to begin with. Romans 3, verse 10 and verse 12, say, no one is righteous, not one.
No one does good. Not even one. So only God is good, and only God can transform me into something good. Therefore, transformation cannot happen without the work of the Holy Spirit in me. Peter was a man who had been rebuked more bluntly by Jesus than any other disciple. in one gospel account, Jesus says to Peter, get behind me
satan. Peter's denial of Jesus was another example of really screwing up and sticking his foot in it. He knew what it felt like to be made aware of his own faults, but I believe it was these humbling moments that caused Peter to realize his need for Jesus. So it sort of seems fitting that Peter should be the one to say to these people in the temple, you are responsible for the death of the author of life.
It's, it's almost like he's saying, look, just because you are here, praying in the temple, uh, doesn't make you clean. It doesn't make you good and, and it doesn't excuse you from what you've done. You need to hear this so that you can repent and see, receive forgiveness. I think that's why he rebukes them cuz you see without repentance.
We cannot be saved and without us knowing or acknowledging what we have done wrong, we, we can't say sorry or repent. In verse 17, Peter kind of, uh, preempt the people's rebuttal by saying, and now brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance. He's kind of saying, guys, I know you didn't realize what you were doing.
I know you didn't realize you were actually killing the Messiah, the anointed one, but I hate to tell you what happened to him was written about by the prophets a few hundred years ago, and now it's happened and you made it happen. So you really need to do something about this because if you do admit what you have done and ask for forgiveness, you won't just have your sins forgiven.
But there's so much more to look forward to. The same prophets who wrote about Jesus' suffering death and resurrection, and were right by the way, talked about something else as well. They said that one day Jesus would return and all those who put their faith in him would be united with him and live with him forever.
It's what Peter's referring to when he talks about the restoration of all things. The Book of Revelation describes these times of refreshing like this. It says, behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning. No crying, no pain anymore for the former things have passed away. So what Peter's saying is, is I know I'm being heavy, but there are big things at stake here. Don't miss out on this. It's not just about this life, but the one to come too. And I'm gonna hedge my bets and say that these prophets who were right about Jesus' first coming will be right about his second coming.
In essence, Peter is giving these people the gospel message, but it's tailored to their, their current understanding and, and situation. If you read slightly further ahead in this chapter, you'll find out that many people in this crowd gave their lives to Jesus after hearing Peter speak this message. So clearly what he said stuck and the Holy Spirit used him through that. Peter's transformation is quite remarkable.
To go from a, a fisherman to a, an eloquent advocate of the gospel is amazing. and transformation should, by definition change us completely. We are given new purpose and new identity when it takes place. So I guess the question is, how can we see this transformation in our lives today? You know, you might be thinking, I've tried this before.
I've tried to change and it doesn't work. But true transformation can only happen through the work of the Holy Spirit. It isn't something we can force through our own effort. The Bible refers to it as the gift of the Spirit, and you can't force a gift. I think we'd probably call that something else. Only once we acknowledge our sinfulness, asking God for forgiveness and accepting Jesus as our savior, can we receive that gift.
The Holy Spirit. But maybe you've done that already and you've never invited the Holy Spirit to live in you. You know there are, there are actually several times in the Book of Acts where the apostles or church leaders would come to pray for those who had given their lives to Jesus to then receive the Holy Spirit.
I would encourage you to ask someone to pray with you. Invite the Holy Spirit to transform your life. When you do these things, you'll never be the same.
Matt: Coming up, we have Conversation Street, but before we get into that, here's a clip from our podcast. What's the story which you can subscribe to on all your favorite podcast apps?
Al: Because I think as guys certainly within Western society, and I think we're supposed to have the answers, and that is my feeling sometimes that I'm supposed to have the answer. I am supposed to figure it out and sometimes I actually can't. Yeah. And being honest and vulnerable enough to be able to say, I'm struggling with this or this is how I'm feeling at the moment, was something that I felt very early on that was important to actually sort to try and liberate male society to be that vulnerable.
Matt: Welcome back to Conversation Street. Great that you are here. Uh, I'm sorry. I'm just finished typing. There we go. It's in the comments is Al's talk. Welcome back Rach. That was a fab talk, wasn't it? And actually it's probably worth saying, uh, before we get into John Farrington's talk, the man that we've just seen, the beautiful Al Marshall, uh, is in fact your husband. And it's not a coincidence that you have the same surname.
Rach: No, it's not. Yeah, we are married. 20 years Matt now. 20 years.
Matt: 20 years. That's a long old time, isn't it? That's a long, long old time.
Rach: Yeah. Yeah. Ups, ups and downs and all the middle bits as well. So yeah.
Matt: Well, you see, it's interesting you talk about this because, um mm-hmm.
and when John was talking and he was talking about the two stages of transformation, he was talking about the day that, um, cuz we're talking about spiritual transformation and we'll get into that, but he talked about the day you become a Christian, you, you get transformed. But there is this ongoing process of transformation, which sounds a bit cockeyed in a lot of ways.
And the only way I know how to describe it, uh, in a way that makes sense to my brain is to use marriage. Right? So you guys have been married 20 years. Mm-hmm. , which is great. Mm-hmm. , the thing about your marriage is you are not more married now than you were 20 years ago, right? No. You are just as married.
Yeah. You see what I mean? Mm-hmm. . But your marriage has got stronger. You have perfected your marriage. There has been a transformation of you both during those last 20 years, but it doesn't make you more married. And this is the thing, right? With, with Christianity, you become a Christian from day one. You can't become more of a Christian or less, less of a Christian you're in, right?
Mm-hmm. , it's just, it is what it is. Mm-hmm. . But there is this process of transformation that you go through. Mm-hmm. or perfecting or strengthening or maturing. Mm-hmm. of your, of your faith. Does that make sense?
Rach: Yeah, totally. And I think, um, it, uh, reading some of the comments as well. You know, people have been really honest.
You know, you can feel, um, almost like you wonder if anything's ever gonna change over certain issues or whatever. Yeah. But God is so gracious and kind, and I think we, in the West especially, we have like this hurried view of, I've gotta get to the end and I've got to be perfect. And God's like, I'll journey with you and we'll go through, we'll face these things together and I will transform you along the way.
And I thought his talk was amazing. I thought it was absolutely brilliant. Really he's very good, isn't he?
Matt: He's very, very good, isn't he? And he just seems, he just seems so casual, just sort of sat back in the chair. And know chatting away. Like Yeah. Like you're talking to him in a coffee shop or something. And it was, it was wonderful actually.
I, I thought it was really lovely to see.
Rach: Just as an aside, Matt, I think, um, Al, my Al and John, they must have bought their tops from the same shop. Cause Miriam noticed that as well. They're both wearing their like zip up hoodie thingies, aren't they? And yeah, they're
Matt: They are yeah. . Yeah. That's really funny.
Yeah, they actually are. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, which amuses me, uh, yeah. It, and they do look very, maybe they went shopping together. I don't know. I don't know. You never know. You never know. You never know. So let's get into some of the comments. Let's get into some of these thoughts. Um, on transformation. The thing that I loved about John's talk, and the thing that I think we, we are gonna end up focusing on is this whole idea of self-improvement versus spiritual transformation.
Mm-hmm. self-improvement versus spiritual transformation, and I know from my experience, I have often confused the two. Mm-hmm. in my Christian faith that sometimes my Christian faith has become about self-improvement. Mm-hmm. . But it's not about self-improvement, it's about spiritual transformation. Right?
Mm-hmm. . So let's dig into that a little bit because I think this is a really important thing to understand, um mm-hmm , when you are, you know, when you are sort of journeying with Christ, um, that it's not about behavior modification, which we talked about this morning at Frontline. Actually, it's not about behavior modification, it is about spiritual transformation.
Right. So what you understand by this phrase, transformation, I guess, what's your transformation story?
Rach: Mine Matt, do you wanna know my transformation story?
Matt: Yeah, yeah. Why I asked the question? Yeah, I do.
Rach: Yeah. Well, I, I think it's, there's been times in my life where I feel like there has been, um, powerful transformation, um, And a lot of it is actually to do with me realizing how much God loves me, right.
And also taking the Bible seriously. Um, and I think that's what came across in, in the talk, you know, like when Peter was challenging the people he was talking to, that has now been written down and that's in the Bible. And so I think sometimes we can read stuff in the Bible and it can literally make us just go, oh my goodness.
You know? And it can be like really challenging. And it's when I've actually sat down quite often on my own and said, okay, God, you are saying this in your word. And it's almost like it has affected me and my attitudes particularly Yeah. That I've seen transformation and um, In the Bible, it talks about what it says, like the word of God as being a living powerful thing.
And that I still can't quite understand that really. Um, it's hard to put that into words and I'm sure, um, our theologians and church leaders will be able to really help us with that. But I think it's when I've really taken what God says seriously, and it's almost like shone a light on what's going on in my head and in my heart.
And then I'm like, oh God, you've actually got a different way Yeah. Of living and help me. And quite often then it does mean that I've said sorry to God or I've stopped, or, or I've just said, come and help me change here. And then he does. And that isn't self effort. Yeah.
It's very, very different. Yeah,
Matt: It is. But it still requires effort from you. Do you know what I mean? Like, um, I mean, Sharon will, she's put here in the, in the comments, um, in fact, I can add it to the broadcast if I do this. Look at this, check that out. Ooh, I experienced transformation when I got desperate for God. He used other people to challenge me about the anger, bitterness, and other darkness inside of me that I blamed other people for.
So, I mean, that's quite a, a, an incredible statement really. Yeah. Um, so when she got desperate for God or serious about God, or serious about his Bible, saying similar sort of words to what you're saying, really? Yeah. There is a, there is a point with the spiritual transformation where you go, holy Spirit, you need to help me.
Yeah. And actually I've got to make the decision to go with God's way. But that's not always easy, right? No.
Rach: No. Yeah. And I think God is so gracious and so kind, and he knows our frailty and he knows that we're gonna slip up and we're gonna make mistakes and we're gonna get it wrong and, Actually, you know, when Jesus said to Peter, you're gonna deny me three times, I sometimes I try to imagine, what was the look in his eyes?
What was the tone of his voice? You know, was, was it like really harsh and telling him off? Or was it full of compassion and love and almost like, yeah, you're gonna deny me, but later on, then he restored him. Mm. Three times. Yeah. Um, so, yeah.
Matt: Yeah. It's an interesting one, isn't it? And I, I, I, I've got the Holy Spirit living inside me. I've got the compassion of Christ compelling me. Mm-hmm. , I have the verses of the Bible. Um, and I have to make a decision whether to follow that or not. Right. And when you, when you align yourself, I think with the things of God like that. It's when you start to see the incredible incredibleness sort of manifest, isn't it really?
Yeah. And one of the things that John said, without repentance, there is no transformation. Yeah. Um, and it starts with repentance. So repentance such an interesting word. So repentance is just looking at your situation and going, my, this is, I'm going this way. I need to, but God's way is over here. And I think Andy talked about that in, in the comments here.
He said, I realized I'd missed God's standard by crazy amounts. And I experienced, in fact, let me do that. I experienced a transformation in my new path. So in other words, I was going this way and I'd missed it. And I turned around and I went this way. And that's what repentance is. It's changing of mind.
Changing of thinking. And you have to start there because you have to go. I'm, I'm not, I can self-improve. Yeah. And as John said, I love that comment. Uh, insufferable either be full of insufferable pride because I think I'm doing so well. Yeah. Or it'll be an incredible inadequacy because I'm, I never seem to be getting where it is I need to be, I always want more and more, more.
Yeah. So I, but at some point you go, yes, I now need to, cuz that's the way I think I need to repent it and I need to think a different way, which is actually, God, what do you say? Well you say I'm more than enough before I've even started, right?
Rach: Mm-hmm. . Yeah. And, and I think, um, God is so gracious with this as well. I think one of the massive gifts to us is his grace and his faith and his mercy. And um, it's how we view are we viewing God wanting us to be perfect all the time, or we, knowing that God's saying that his power is made perfect in us when we are weak. Mm-hmm. , you know, we're allowed to be weak and we're allowed to say to God, I haven't got the strength, but you give me your strength.
And then God's like, yep. Yeah, of course I will. You know, and he will help us. And even when stuff comes our way, that's massive temptation or wanting to pull us away from God. He promises he'll give us a way out. Yeah. You know, he, he is so for us, and he, he knows the beginning from the end, you know? Yeah. He knows. And so we can trust him. Yeah.
Matt: Mm-hmm. , it's an interesting one. It's an interest. So I, I want to go back to John's question. Mm-hmm. . Uh, cuz John said in the talk, imagine a better version of you. What, what would that look like? Now we've heard the talk, right. Um, but it's really interesting, some of the examples that he gave, he said, I'd probably go to the gym more, or I'd probably do this, I'd probably do that.
Mm-hmm. . Um, and I think everybody has these sort of, uh, unconscious answers to that question. Mm-hmm. in their head. Mm-hmm. . So what would you like to improve? What's your New Year's resolution? What would you like to be better at? All these sorts of questions. Do you know what I mean? It's one of those things.
So can I ask, what were the things that you thought about when he said, uh, what would a better version of you look like?
Rach: Yeah. So I put that I'd be more healthy with what I eat. Um, that I would do more exercise and I'd be more disciplined. So it's all about me putting in the effort for all of those, isn't it? Um, and me making the right choices and yeah, I totally got it when he was saying his stuff as well.
It's like I just wrote down on my notes. Yeah. It all takes my effort. .
Matt: Yeah. That's all from me, isn't it? Yeah. And it's interesting, so that, let's, can we dig into this a little bit because I think it's, this can take us to an interesting place. Why did you choose those things? So why, why exercise?
Rach: Well, I do enjoy exercising, but I have, in my head I should do more so,
Matt: but I, I'm curious, where does that come from?
Rach: Oh, um, well I think I used to do quite a lot of running and I can't do so much at the moment cuz I fell over and hurt my knees. So I do a lot of walking now instead. But yeah, I just, maybe I miss it Matt. Maybe that's what it is. Yeah.
Matt: It's 1,000,001 reasons, isn't it?
And I think it's this, the reason I'm digging into this, uh, is, is, is for no other reason other than to say, when we answer that question, what does a better version of me look like? We have to dig into where the answers that we come, that we, that we give, where is that coming from? Is it, is it from the Holy Spirit or is it from, um, our desire to conform or be a bit more like what society tells us we should be like.
Now, don't get me wrong, I think doing exercise is a good thing. I, I, I do exercise. I think eating healthy is a good thing and sometimes I eat healthy. Um, and it's not that those are bad things and they're not bad things that we should do, but I'm kind of curious as to where people, when people say that, what is it in their head?
What do they see and where has that image come from? So, um, yeah. Is, and I'm not saying this is true for you, but I, I know that a lot of people will say, well, I need to exercise and he eat healthier cuz I need to lose weight because I need to look a certain way. Mm-hmm. . So then my question is, well what does God say about exactly that and what does God say about you that's made you go down that road? Or has that decision to go that way come from another source? Does that make sense? Have I made that clear?
Rach: It does completely. And I think that's when being really honest before God about what we're thinking and our motivation for stuff's really important. Mm-hmm. because, um, God, it says in the Bible, God doesn't look at the outward appearance.
God looks at the heart actually. And so, and I'm really thankful for that because, um, God isn't looking at the shiny, glossy version of me and how I look on Instagram and or whatever you go on. He, he cares about my motives and what makes me tick. And He, he wants, he wants us to know a, a really deep level, that we are accepted and loved by him because of what Jesus has done for us, and that we are so, so precious to him.
And, and I think when that goes deep into our lives, then our motivation can change. Cuz we know that we're loved beyond anything. Yeah. So, yeah, so true.
Matt: So true. It's interesting, isn't it? So Sharon's put here in the comments that, uh, I eat healthily between snacking on cake and chocolate. Thank, thank, thank God for our wives to, to keep us, you know, on the straight and narrow and, and, and, and grounded in truth and reality. Um.
Rach: All your meals are really healthy, aren't they, Matt? All your main meals are really healthy.
Matt: As long as I'm not left to create those meals, they tend to be healthy. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. . Uh, so it's interesting, isn't it? So Nicola's put here, um, I'd just be happier than I am. And that's an interesting one, isn't it?
Because, um, again, you've got to sort of question where does that come from? Does that come from the Holy Spirit or does that come from a desire to live a certain way? To be a certain way and to have certain things that in theory should make you happier? So, um, and I'm not saying either way for Nicola, I'm just saying this is for me what I would be doing.
I'd like you say, what's my motivation here? What's driving this? Mm-hmm. Why do I feel like I need to be happier? What's missing? And actually for me, I, when you drill down to it, happiness usually comes from joy or should come from joy. If it's from the Holy Spirit, if it comes from the stuff that we have, all the things that we do, maybe, maybe not.
Do you know what I mean? There's, there's a few things that we can sort of get into there. Um, I think that's really interesting. So what's, andy put here, God showed me just how far I had missed his standard. I was low, down and my sins were weighing heavy on me, and he showed them to me. Yeah. That Andy actually is repentance.
Mm-hmm. That's, that's you going, yeah. I, I understood how far I'm away from God. Mm-hmm. And it's weighing me down. And in fact, the Bible says in, I wanna say Romans, maybe Hebrews, I can't actually remember the exact scripture. My wife will tell me, uh, let us lay aside every, uh, weight and every sin that easily corrupts.
And, um, scripture talks about it like a weight, and it talks about laying that aside so that we can run our race, um, that is set before us. . So it's a, it's a, it's a good, uh, analogy, uh, there, Andy, that's for sure. So, yeah. Any other thoughts on that?
Rach: Yeah, I was just thinking about Nicola's, um, really honest comment as well.
Um, I think there can be times in life where, you know, we are genuinely not that happy. Mm-hmm. And, you know, there might be really hard things going on. And the thing that I am learning more and more is that God wants us to bring everything to him. Um, and to be really, really honest before him. Um, and then see what he does , because I think, I know for me it's been sometimes in the darkest moments and the heavy.
You know, the things when you just feel like you're wading through mud or, you know, life can be hard. It's like then God in his goodness meets me in a way that I find quite surprising. Mm-hmm. . But equally, sometimes we can go through stuff, you know, maybe it is mental health related and you know, it, it's a hard season and it's a hard time and I just love that the Bible is full of people's stories where they've been that honest before God.
Mm. And um, God hasn't tried to correct them and say, well, you should just be jolly well, happy by now. That isn't what God does, but God restores our souls. And sometimes that can be quite quickly and other times it can take time. But God's in the restoration business in our lives. It is what he does And, um, love that. Yeah.
Matt: Yeah. God's in the restoration business in our lives. He totally is. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So Nicola wrote, before I was a Christian, I was lost, uh, so unhappy and not a very nice person to be around. And the transformation was not a big bang, boom. Love that phrase. Uh, it wasn't a big bang boom.
That should be the title of your book, Nicola. Um, uh, it was not a big bang, boom, but it's been a long walk and she put in brackets, often a crawl. Uh, I feel, yeah. Um, and sometimes it can feel like that, right?
Rach: Yeah. Yeah. And that's okay. . Um, God understands our humanity. Jesus lived a human life. He gets it. Um, I do think in Jesus' days, he had like my 10 years worth of life condensed into one day sometimes.
Do you know what I mean? Jesus didn't have pack it into me in his life and in the gospels so much happened in an intense period, but, um, you know, we're hopefully gonna live for a very long time. Yeah. And God is committed to each and every day of our lives and, um, he wants us to know him every single day and to bring everything to him every single day.
Um, and I think, I always encourage people to write stuff down if they dunno how to pray it before God, write it down and write out what is going on in life and bring it to God and offer it up to him. And then be expectant cuz God will speak to you. Yeah. And he will bring people, people along your path and even like stuff might crop up on Facebook or whatever and you're like, God's speaking to me.
Yeah. God's got, God wants to tell me stuff. Um, I really love, I dunno, did you see the Oscars, Charlie McAfee won the Oscar for his, um, animation on, I'll get it wrong, is it The Boy, the Horse, the Fox and the Mole? So he, it is a, and basically a big theme of the book is kindness and Charlie McAfee's a Christian, but he's been very open as well about his struggles.
And he, um, so you could Google some of his stuff and that might encourage you, you know. Mm-hmm, God wants to encourage us on our journey and surprise us along the way.
Matt: Yeah. And that ties in actually with what, uh, Miriam said here in the comments. Um, She said she feels a lot better in life now having friends who really care.
Yeah. And that goes, that, that ties into that kindness. And one of the ways that God brings transformation is to put around as people who care. Um, yeah. And that walk through as, uh, Sharon, my beautiful wife, has put in the scripture reference that I mentioned. It was Hebrews, Hebrews 12:1. Um, and Matt crew wrote, thank you fount of all Matt's knowledge, Sharon, which is also true
Uh, so, um, everything I know I've learned from my wife. Um, no, that's, that's totally awesome.
Rach: Can I just share one more thing, Matt? Sorry. You know, you know, I'm like, sorry, but I, I, when I was reading some of the comments as well, then a verse came to mind and, um, it's talking about Jesus, but it's actually a prophecy.
Um, and it's from Isaiah and it says, um, about Jesus, a bruised reed he will not break. Mm-hmm. and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. And the way of Jesus is that he comes alongside us when we feel like we are really struggling or we're bruised. Yeah. And he gets alongside us and he comfort us and he heals us.
And I just love that about his nature.
Matt: Yeah, absolutely. Totally. Yeah. Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? Yeah. And it's worth saying again right here. Um, it's worth saying again at the, as we're drawing conversation straight to a close, ladies, gentlemen. Um, the, the gospel is not about behavior modification.
This is not about trying to change your behavior to try and get you to become perfect. Um, this is not what we're talking about. We're talking about spiritual transformation. The thing that happens when you become a Christian is you be, the Bible tells us that we become in Christ and that we get his righteousness, which means, if I'm honest with you, In God's sight.
Everything's perfect. So we're not trying to change our behavior to, to attain something like perfection. Do you see what I mean? Right. Yeah. That's not what we're doing at all. That's not where God's at. He, he puts us in this place in Christ. And because we are there, that transformation by the Holy Spirit starts to take place and we want to become more and more like the Christ that we are part of.
Um, and that's the bottom line. That's the gospel. You can't, it's like I said at the start, Rach, you can't be more married. I can't be more of a Christian. God can't love me more today than he did yesterday. Hmm. Um, but I can, I can strengthen my Christian faith. I can strengthen my walk with Christ. I can become more Christ-like.
Yeah. Um, as I go through it. Yeah. And that's a really important thing because when you don't feel like it, when you feel like life is not where it needs to be, it's good to remember. . I am in Christ and Christ is in me. Yeah. He died for me and he loves me. And as you talked about, having that revelation, you know, more and more revelation of God loves me.
Yeah. Uh, and taking the Bible seriously, I think is, it's the, it's the gospel. And that's the beautiful thing about the Christian message. And it's the beautiful thing about Christianity. I don't have to learn anything. No. But I, I do want to be like my Jesus.
Rach: Yeah. Yeah. And, and I think then no, letting that sink in, it's like it gives us energy and it gives us, um, hope.
And it gives us that sense of, yeah, I am gonna sit and pray today and talk to God. I am gonna read my Bible or listen to it. I love by Bible on audio. Mm. And play, you know, um, listening to the Bible being read on audio. Yeah. And, um, I am gonna ask God to help me with my daily living, you know. .
Matt: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, right. What a great conversation street and what a great talk, Mr. Farrington. Yeah. Absolute legend. And dear you, you can't see this, but on the screen next to me, uh, we have, cuz we always prep for these things, like what will we talk about in Conversation Street? There's seven questions. We haven't touched any of them, we just, we just got into it, which was awesome.
Uh, and the way it, uh, and, and that's the way it goes. So as Mr. Crew has reminded me, what's coming up next week, Rach, do you remember?
Rach: Uh, yes I do. Um, um, in terms of the talk, it's James Sloan, isn't it? So it is. Yeah. The fantastic James Sloan. Yeah. Who, um, CEO of imagine if, the trust that I work for, um, and just a big hearted, godly man, I have to say.
Matt: Yeah. Yeah. He's an absolute legend. Isn't he? Yeah. And, uh, as we said at the start, um, if you are actually watching this on Catchup, one of the things that we do is we cut out the start and we just jump straight in the talk, so you miss the welcome. Um, but here in the UK it is Mother's Day, happy Mother's Day to you.
Um, even, you know, just if you help, uh, mother, any, any kids, uh, just absolute legends, thank you so much for doing that. Mm-hmm. Um, but I, I did want to, I mean, you've mentioned imagine if, just tell the good folks, uh, what Safe Families is with Imagine if, how it ties into Mother's Day. Let's just do a quick plug.
Rach: Ah, yeah. So we get alongside families that, um, again, some often going through hard times and need some extra support, and we train amazing volunteers. To show love, compassion, help them belong, help them to feel that they're part of a community, which is really important. Mm-hmm. . And, um, quite often a lot of the families, um, the moms are solo parenting and they are incredible.
And do you know what? I learn so much from them and, um, I admire the mums so much and the dads that are doing, they're doing life. Um, and just need that something extra to help them along the journey. And it's a privilege actually. And yeah, so big shout out to the families that we support. Yeah.
Matt: Yeah. Absolute legends. Yeah. And there's a great talk actually, uh, in the Archives of Crowd if you wanna dig it out, called does Faith and Motherhood make a difference, something to listen to, uh, on Mother's Day. So a big shout out to that talk. Uh, if you would like to, uh, know more about Crowd Church, you can find out more information on our website.
The website is on the screen, www.crowd.church. You can reach out to us on social media at Crowd Church. We do have a community group which meets midweek on Zoom. Uh, if you would like to come along to that, do get in touch with us via website or via social media. We will send the Zoom link out to you. Uh, and you can come and join us.
It's on a Wednesday at 8:00 PM Uh, we would love to meet you love to connect with you. Uh, cuz there's just something about gathering together in community, uh, and, uh, and, and just praying with each other. Uh, love to everyone who's missing their mums this Mother's Day. Absolutely. Let me, uh, uh, let's, let me get rid of that website.
There we go. Absolutely. So, yeah, big shout out to anyone who's missing their mum today on Mother's Day. Big shout out to anyone who is yet to be a mum. Physically, but is a mum spiritually as well. Mm-hmm. You're absolute legends. All of you legends, legends. So, uh, , Rachel, anything else from you in closing my dear?
Rach: Um, I just think Crowd Church is amazing and just love all the comments that people have made and yeah, just, um, God is with us and he loves us and he will bring transformation. It's his promise, it's his Holy Spirit working in our lives and yeah, just, you can just open your hands to God's quietly in prayer and just ask the Holy Spirit to help you more. And he will. It's a promise.
Matt: And on that bombshell, I think it's time to end this week's live stream. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us this week on Crowd Church. Make sure if you haven't done so already, you hit that subscribe button, uh, and uh, the little bell notification so, you know, uh, whenever we're live, it's great to connect, great to be with you.
We're gonna play a little outro video now. Uh, so that's it from myself. That's it from Rachel. God bless you. Have a fantastic week wherever you are in the world, you are awesome. We'll see you next time. Bye for now.
Thank you so much for joining us here on Crowd Church. Now, if you are watching on YouTube, make sure you hit the subscribe button as well as that little tiny bell notification to get notified the next time we are live. And of course, If you are listening to the podcast, uh, the Livestream podcast, make sure you also hit the follow button. Now by smashing the like button on YouTube or writing a review on your podcast platform.
It helps us reach more people with the message that Jesus really does help us live a more meaningful and purposeful life. So if you haven't done so already, be sure to check out our website, www.crowd.church, where you can learn more about us as a church, more about the Christian faith, and also how to connect into our church community.
It has been awesome to connect with you, and you are awesome. It's just a burden you have to bear and hopefully we'll see you next time. That's it from us. God bless you. Bye for now.