Matthew Blewett – Heaven and Earth – Class 5 – Reality in Relationship

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This is day five of the 2024
Idlewild Bible School.

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Our third period teacher is
Brother Matthew Blewett.

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His general topic is Heaven and
Earth.

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His topic for today is Reality
in Relationship for the Matthew.

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Good morning, everyone.
Just before we start, I know

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it’s a significant day hearing
the loss of our brother Ken

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Somerville.
Just wanted to share a little

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short memory.
We came here first in 2001.

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I was very young, not sure what
I was doing here.

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And I did a series on David and
I was just 31.

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So now you can work at our order
now.

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And I remember the most
terrifying thing about actually

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coming to our world, never mind
having to do these talks, was

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the Q&A session, which you may
remember used to have brother

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Ken.
Ken at that time was running it

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and I guess the idea was that
perhaps the speakers would be

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the font of all knowledge.
And, and I was most terrified.

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And when Brother Ken told me
about it and I, you know, and

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just the way he, he dealt with
me through that process, he

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would come and whisper in my
ear, he’s collecting my

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questions and secretly giving
them to me.

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And so it was just his manner of
dealing with me that I still

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remember all these years later,
his gentleness, even though he

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looked like he could be quite a
question master.

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There was underneath that an
incredible gentleness.

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And it’s just a beautiful little
memory I wanted to share that

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goes back a long time.
And I’m sure you’ve got way more

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memories.
And I think that’s a good

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introduction to to what we’re
going to be talking about today.

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Because, you know, the real
eternal thing, the real eternal

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connection we have with anybody
is not them themselves, but the

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memory and the relationship that
we have with someone.

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That’s where the eternity lies.
And we’re going to be talking

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this morning to bring everything
I hope to to where it should be.

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The fact that true reality is
found in relationship.

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We ended our talk or or
yesterday.

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We focused on worship, we
focused on the idea that really

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what worship is, is a journey,
an intentional journey that

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we’re taking whenever we choose
to worship.

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And I just want to say that, you
know, worship can happen

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anywhere.
It doesn’t have to just be in,

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in, in an ecclesial environment
on a Sunday or even in our

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routine at home.
It could be anywhere where we

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can decide that we intentionally
want to have a moment to, to, to

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bring heaven and earth together.
And, and that’s something we

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should be awake to, as we’ve
seen many examples in the

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scripture.
And it’s that journey we’re

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taking that, that, that journey
up the mountain towards heaven

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that we saw was the template of
worship.

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And we looked at the, at the,
the, the way of worship that is

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established in the Tabernacle
that prepare the sacrifice and

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offer the receive.
And where we ended was the point

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of coming to the Holy of Holies,
where ultimately we come to meet

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with our God to connect.
The power of connection is

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really what the pattern of
heaven and earth is all about.

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And so I thought before we
actually get into some of the

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detail of what we mean by
relationship and connection, I

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thought we might go back to
fractals, go back to part one

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and show you how patterns in
fact and meaning is essentially

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all about connection.
So I’m going to attempt to show

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you about a 1 1/2 two-minute
video.

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Hopefully you can see it well
and try read the writing because

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it expresses, I think some
beautiful ideas in relation to

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fractals.
By the way, this is a piece of

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art.
I didn’t develop it, but it’s

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developed in a, a, a software
package called Mandol 3D.

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So it’s using Mandelbrot,
Mandelbrot fractals in a 3D

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format.
So let’s try and get that

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working.
The

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music?
None music.

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I’m prone to hypnotism, so I
always get a bit worried about

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that last scene.
It just sort of does this to me.

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But I think I’m with you, all
right.

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So I think we can, we can see
this, this essential importance

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of connections and, and the
stuff in between, the

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relationships between things.
And that’s what we want to focus

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on.
This is the end in the heaven

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and earth pattern.
And as we said, this is what we

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have when we get to Exodus 25
and we enter into the holiest of

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all, we read.
And there I will meet with you

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and I will speak with you from
above the mercy seat from

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between the two Caribbean, which
are on the ark of the testimony.

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This idea that the two are made
one, the two Caribbean, the

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place in between.
That’s the the place where where

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God wants to meet.
And the word of God establishes

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this as a pattern.
You know, as we reading, we, we,

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we see over and over again, it’s
all going to happen in the

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middle.
It’s going to happen in between

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and this is a very powerful
message.

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I’m going to share a slide to
try and summarise it so that I

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can do it quite fast.
But in the end of the day, you

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might not be able to read it.
So let me go through it.

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So just, and I’m sure you’ve got
many, many more examples, when

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you start looking out for words
like between, in the middle, in

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the midst, all over Scripture,
we see this idea from the

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beginning.
In the garden of Genesis, we

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have the tree of life.
In the midst of the garden,

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something’s happening in the
centre that’s really

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significant.
And so the steam plays itself

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out.
For example, when Genesis 15,

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when Abraham was beginning to
make covenant with God, he set

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up all the altars and put the
animals on the altars.

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And the way that God’s presence
was revealed is that the Spirit

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of God as a flaming fire came.
It says in between the pieces,

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Genesis 15, verse 17.
And then of course we know the

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story we’ve already spoken about
when God revealed himself to

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Moses, not only was he the
burning Bush, he was in the

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midst of the burning Bush, in
the centre of the Bush.

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God said when when he was going
to dwell with the children of

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Israel, when they were going
through the Exodus journey, that

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he would do that through the
Tabernacle.

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And we read in, in, in Numbers
that he says you will dwell in

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your camps and I will dwell in
the midst in, in the camps, in

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the midst of which I dwell.
So there’s another emphasis of

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the centre.
We we’ve referred to Exodus 25.

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And then in Deuteronomy, it also
talks about the fact that when

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they were at Mount Sinai and God
revealed himself, that he

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revealed himself, Moses says,
spoke to you out of the midst of

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the fire.
And so this theme, and there are

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many, many other examples.
It’s grabbing our attention to.

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There’s that, that place in
between in the centre where,

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where, where the significance
is.

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And of course, what’s so
beautiful about it is we know,

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as we’ve already been saying all
the time, that that and that

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joining that middle is, is, is
ultimately fulfilled in Jesus

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Christ.
And so it’s not a coincidence

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that that in that pivotal scene
that we can imagine in our minds

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where where the atonement is
being realized, that Jesus is

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described as being in between.
We read in John 19, there they

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crucified him and with him two
others, one on each side and

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Jesus in the middle.
And it’s later on that Paul is

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going to pull from that idea and
we’ll, we’ll refer to the

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passage of it later on and show
how Jesus is the one that is in

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the middle of the two.
He’s the one that, that, that,

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that brings the two together.
So that’s a beautiful example of

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that.
But here’s a passage also that

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expresses the same idea.
And we, we, we often quote this

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passage from Matthew chapter 18
for where two or three are

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gathered together in my name, I
am there in the midst of them.

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It’s interesting.
I think we often misuse that

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passage, or perhaps we don’t use
it to its highest intentional

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level of, of importance.
In other words, we often quote

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that passage when we gather
together to say that Jesus is

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here with us because there are
two or three or more of us.

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But the problem with using it in
that respect is that Jesus can

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be with you when you’re on your
own.

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Jesus doesn’t need to be with
you because they’re two or

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three.
So what?

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What is he really saying?
He’s saying when there’s more

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than one of you and there’s two
and there’s three and there’s

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four, there is a need for
relationship.

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I am the connection.
I am the one who’s in the midst.

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I am the one that connects you
to you, to you.

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I am the and for all of you, and
I think that’s that’s another

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example of Jesus as the valve,
Jesus as the nail, Jesus as the

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connector.
And so all of these examples are

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just so powerful in bringing us
to this point where where it

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doesn’t matter what conversation
we have, I believe if it doesn’t

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bring us back to the Lord Jesus
Christ.

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As Jesus said, you study the
Scriptures and you think they’re

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in his life, but they speak of
me.

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And if we can’t bring our
attention at the end to the one

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who provides life to us, our
living Saviour, Christ in you

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the hope of glory.
And so we do read in Ephesians,

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as I mentioned, two and at verse
14.

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For he himself is our peace, He
who has made both one and has

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broken down the middle wall of
separation.

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He’s the connector for all
duality.

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And then that beautiful verse
which we will just keep quoting

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so that we remember it,
Ephesians one, verse 10, that in

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the dispensation of the fullness
of times, he will gather

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together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven

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and which are on earth in him,
Jesus Christ, the great

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connector.
So this makes us think even more

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pragmatically about our own
relationships and how we view

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things.
Because do we view the world as

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a bunch of objects and things, a
whole bunch of people sitting in

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this room, a whole bunch of
objects out there?

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Or is our focus on the
relationship that we have with

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that object or the relationship
that we have with that person?

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Because if that’s where the true
reality is, then that is very

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significant.
And the truth is, I think we do

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live in a world where actually
we do focus a lot on objects.

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It’s partly because it’s easy to
do that the objects are the

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visible things.
They are the things that we can

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use our senses to detect this,
this place in between.

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It’s, it’s not tangible.
It’s the heaven part of our

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world.
And so it’s sometimes difficult

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for us to live life in that way.
In a sense, the the part that

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connects us, the relationship is
the eternal invisible that Paul

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refers to.
Because all visible things

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eventually in that sense,
especially in the old world and

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the old earth and the old
heavens pass away, but the

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relationship is able to remain.
But you know, even in the

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material world, it is true that
actually we understand.

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It’s the relationship that’s the
reality.

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You know, when when a guy like
Isaac Newton began to make a

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breakthrough in science, it was
really his ability to see that

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the way that we need to
understand objects is in

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relation to others.
And I’m not going to give you a

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full science lesson, like a math
lesson we had in part one.

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But I know that you all learnt
Newton’s first three laws.

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And Newton’s laws are trying to
express how one object relates

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to another object, how an apple
doesn’t exist on it’s own.

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It has a relationship to the
Earth and we call that gravity.

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And once as, as as humans, we
could understand that actually

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it’s the relationship between
objects that’s really important.

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Well, that’s when science began
to really start developing.

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And even Isaac Newton hadn’t
really understood how important

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relationships were because along
came Albert Einstein.

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He said, my friend, you’ve only
just scratched the tip of the

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iceberg.
Because when we look at, at at

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the relationships between things
at the universal scale and at

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the micro scale, we have
relativity and impact at all

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levels.
And so we have Einstein’s theory

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of relativity.
So, so even within the material

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world, everything is laid up
such that nothing is, is real in

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and of itself, but rather in
terms of its relationship.

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And you know, I think one of the
great ways to also demonstrate

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this and get us thinking about
it is with music.

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You know, you might think, well,
music is a whole bunch of notes,

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each note in a way representing
a thing.

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But we know that music well,
we’re told by the the famous

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French composer that music is
actually really made by the

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00:16:21,000 –> 00:16:24,360
space between the notes and I
would add the relationship

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00:16:24,360 –> 00:16:27,920
between the notes and the
chords, because it’s, it’s when

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those spaces and those, those
relationships are correct that

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we get the kind of harmony and
peace that really matters.

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But when they’re not working
well, then we get dissonance and

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we get noise.
And that’s really the

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00:16:41,680 –> 00:16:44,200
difference.
The space between notes allow

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them to resonate, reverberate
and reach their full measure of

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expression.
Without the space, noise and

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00:16:51,840 –> 00:16:56,080
cacophony would result.
And I think there’s a lot of

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ideas just to think about there
because it’s going to help us as

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00:16:58,840 –> 00:17:02,600
we think about the spaces and
the relationships that we have

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with everyone around us and
indeed with the physical things

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00:17:05,920 –> 00:17:08,720
of this world.
Because we need to be focused on

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00:17:08,720 –> 00:17:13,560
those spaces and and exactly
what kind of space do we have

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between the things that we
engage with in the world today?

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00:17:18,560 –> 00:17:22,079
You know, if the world was just
about understanding an object as

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best and, and, and not worrying
about the relationship.

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00:17:25,119 –> 00:17:27,440
Well, that’s what the scientific
world of today has really done a

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00:17:27,440 –> 00:17:29,840
good job of doing.
We, we study a particular

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object, we learn everything we
can about it.

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00:17:31,720 –> 00:17:33,280
We try and get the most we can
out of it.

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00:17:33,520 –> 00:17:36,320
So we can use a metal to the
best best of its ability.

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00:17:36,560 –> 00:17:41,080
We can use any particular
created item to the to the best

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of its ability, But we have gone
nowhere in trying to understand

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00:17:45,240 –> 00:17:47,000
how all of those things relate
together.

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00:17:47,520 –> 00:17:51,880
Because if we had, we would live
in a world that has peace and

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00:17:51,880 –> 00:17:55,320
happiness and contentment.
And we’ve got no closer to that

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00:17:55,840 –> 00:18:00,640
because we haven’t really
naturally come to deal with the

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true reality where it is found
in relationship.

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00:18:06,120 –> 00:18:10,720
So when we think about that
space between US and another

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00:18:10,720 –> 00:18:14,200
person, that relationship that’s
so essential where where in fact

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00:18:14,200 –> 00:18:17,680
the reality of the two of us is
found, let’s just talk and we’re

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00:18:17,680 –> 00:18:19,040
going to come back to the word
of God.

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00:18:19,040 –> 00:18:22,640
But let’s just think about how
that operates in in our world.

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And I want to think about our
consciousness first of all.

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00:18:27,200 –> 00:18:30,200
So Can you imagine that there’s
the blue dot, which represents

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you and the orange dot, which
represents another person.

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00:18:33,280 –> 00:18:36,360
And a great way to think about
it is that the space between you

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00:18:36,360 –> 00:18:39,280
and the other person, which
we’ll call your relationship, is

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00:18:39,280 –> 00:18:42,800
like a big pup.
That’s the opportunity of, of

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the information that can move
between you and the other thing

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00:18:46,520 –> 00:18:49,840
or person.
The reality is at any point in

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00:18:49,840 –> 00:18:54,480
time, you’re filtering out most
of what can come from that

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00:18:54,480 –> 00:18:57,080
object to yourself, from that
person to yourself.

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00:18:57,400 –> 00:18:59,720
We talked about the importance
of pattern matching.

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00:19:00,360 –> 00:19:03,720
Right now, all of you are
sitting there very passively,

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00:19:03,880 –> 00:19:07,320
but hopefully you’re listening.
Even though you are passive

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00:19:07,320 –> 00:19:10,960
right now, your bodies are
receiving millions of data

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00:19:10,960 –> 00:19:15,320
points through your eyes,
through your ears, through your

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00:19:15,320 –> 00:19:18,920
touch, through your smell, and
some people might be chewing gum

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00:19:18,920 –> 00:19:22,600
through your taste.
Millions of data points are

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00:19:22,600 –> 00:19:26,080
coming into your body.
The reality is what your brain

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00:19:26,080 –> 00:19:27,840
has to do is immediately filter
that.

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00:19:28,000 –> 00:19:30,000
It can’t deal.
It doesn’t have the capacity,

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00:19:30,320 –> 00:19:33,920
and so it immediately filters
all of that information.

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00:19:34,960 –> 00:19:38,240
And in addition to that, in
respect of your consciousness,

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00:19:38,240 –> 00:19:41,160
in order for you to make logical
sense of what’s happening around

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00:19:41,160 –> 00:19:43,280
you, which is a part of the way
we understand your

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00:19:43,280 –> 00:19:46,240
consciousness, It converts it
into thoughts that are based on

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00:19:46,240 –> 00:19:49,680
words.
And most of you, if you’re like

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00:19:49,680 –> 00:19:52,600
me, only have about 2000 words
that you’re thinking.

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00:19:53,080 –> 00:19:56,600
So you’re taking millions of
data points and you’re reducing

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00:19:56,600 –> 00:20:01,280
it finally to 2000 words.
And so we actually understand

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00:20:01,280 –> 00:20:04,000
that we live in a world which is
sometimes referred to as the

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00:20:04,000 –> 00:20:07,480
user illusion.
In other words, we construct

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00:20:07,480 –> 00:20:09,600
reality.
When we look, we construct

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00:20:09,600 –> 00:20:13,560
reality, we construct reality.
And obviously that works for us.

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00:20:13,560 –> 00:20:16,120
And we’ve spoken about how
important it is to patent match,

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00:20:16,120 –> 00:20:18,560
otherwise we wouldn’t be able to
exist with millions of data

295
00:20:18,560 –> 00:20:21,960
points.
But at the same time, we begin

296
00:20:21,960 –> 00:20:25,400
to understand that this can be a
limitation.

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00:20:25,800 –> 00:20:28,400
In terms of our relationship
with other people and in terms

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00:20:28,400 –> 00:20:32,000
of how we view things, we can be
stuck in the wrong patterns.

299
00:20:32,360 –> 00:20:36,360
We can not allow other people to
reveal themselves completely to

300
00:20:36,360 –> 00:20:39,840
us because what we do is we go
around categorising people.

301
00:20:40,280 –> 00:20:42,440
You know, I haven’t had the
opportunity to really explore

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00:20:42,440 –> 00:20:44,960
the part between the 300 or so
other people here.

303
00:20:45,400 –> 00:20:47,560
We just unfortunately haven’t
had the time.

304
00:20:47,960 –> 00:20:50,400
And so I can look around this
room and just use my

305
00:20:50,400 –> 00:20:53,760
categorization to say, oh, I
think I know what that person’s

306
00:20:53,760 –> 00:20:54,840
like.
I think I know what that

307
00:20:54,840 –> 00:20:58,520
person’s like.
I have no idea because there’s

308
00:20:58,520 –> 00:21:02,800
an opportunity of relationship
between each and every one of

309
00:21:02,800 –> 00:21:04,960
us.
We’re told that we probably

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00:21:04,960 –> 00:21:10,040
filter out about 95% when we
construct that conscious

311
00:21:10,040 –> 00:21:12,880
reality.
And the second point is this of

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00:21:12,880 –> 00:21:16,640
the 95% that’s ultimately
filtered out into our conscious

313
00:21:16,640 –> 00:21:19,920
reality, and a lot of that still
may remains present in our

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00:21:19,920 –> 00:21:22,600
subconscious.
And This is why we’ve also been

315
00:21:22,720 –> 00:21:27,640
stressing through these series
of talks that our experience

316
00:21:27,800 –> 00:21:31,560
with the spiritual and with one
another is not just the things

317
00:21:31,560 –> 00:21:34,520
we can reduce to words.
It’s not just the things that we

318
00:21:34,520 –> 00:21:38,240
are consciously aware of.
And that is why not becoming

319
00:21:38,240 –> 00:21:43,120
abstracted and disconnected from
our body and virtual, that is

320
00:21:43,120 –> 00:21:48,040
the risk in our spiritual
participation, in our

321
00:21:48,040 –> 00:21:50,280
discipleship.
We need to become activated

322
00:21:50,480 –> 00:21:52,680
because all of that’s building
up who we are.

323
00:21:53,120 –> 00:21:55,240
And the same is true in our
relationships.

324
00:21:55,680 –> 00:21:57,440
It’s a great risk for our young
people.

325
00:21:57,800 –> 00:22:00,000
They’re living in a world that’s
becoming more and more

326
00:22:00,000 –> 00:22:03,200
abstracted and virtual.
They think friends are virtual

327
00:22:03,200 –> 00:22:05,000
people on Facebook and Twitter
and TikTok.

328
00:22:06,400 –> 00:22:09,360
Those aren’t friends.
They’re not spending time with

329
00:22:09,360 –> 00:22:12,120
that space.
That pipeline between them can

330
00:22:12,120 –> 00:22:15,000
truly be developed.
So these are the risks that we

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00:22:15,000 –> 00:22:17,800
face in the, in the world that
we’re living in today.

332
00:22:18,480 –> 00:22:22,440
And The thing is this, when you
understand that the space

333
00:22:22,440 –> 00:22:27,680
between you and the other person
can be so much bigger that that,

334
00:22:27,680 –> 00:22:30,120
that you, you retrain yourself.
And we’ve been talking about

335
00:22:30,120 –> 00:22:35,440
this to truly look clearly, try
and try and reset your vision on

336
00:22:35,440 –> 00:22:38,480
something.
Try and reframe it that the way

337
00:22:38,480 –> 00:22:41,360
you look at things changes the
way those things present

338
00:22:41,360 –> 00:22:44,440
themselves to you.
And this is particularly true of

339
00:22:44,440 –> 00:22:47,960
people we know well, like our
wives and our husbands and our

340
00:22:47,960 –> 00:22:50,920
parents and our siblings and our
brothers and friends we have in

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00:22:50,920 –> 00:22:54,280
the meeting because they’re the
ones we’ve put into a box,

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00:22:54,280 –> 00:22:55,680
because we think we’ve worked
them out.

343
00:22:56,640 –> 00:23:00,680
And it’s difficult to to go back
to that pub and say, you know,

344
00:23:00,760 –> 00:23:03,880
what is it that I can still
explore about that person?

345
00:23:03,880 –> 00:23:07,000
What potential do they have
that, that, that, that, that,

346
00:23:07,000 –> 00:23:09,680
that I can bring out of them and
that they can bring out of me?

347
00:23:10,800 –> 00:23:13,400
And just as a demonstration of
this, this is the second time

348
00:23:13,400 –> 00:23:16,000
I’ve done, I’m doing this in my
life and it worked the first

349
00:23:16,000 –> 00:23:17,880
time.
So we’re going to demonstrate to

350
00:23:17,880 –> 00:23:20,320
you why relationship is so
important.

351
00:23:20,320 –> 00:23:23,520
Why it is because at the end of
the day, and I’ve, I’ve used

352
00:23:23,520 –> 00:23:26,760
this term over and over again,
It’s in that, that the sense

353
00:23:26,760 –> 00:23:29,360
that there’s so much more to
discover in the other person

354
00:23:29,640 –> 00:23:33,760
that surprise and beauty lies.
And, and there seems to be this

355
00:23:33,760 –> 00:23:37,240
essential relationship with,
between beauty and goodness,

356
00:23:37,400 –> 00:23:40,360
these things that we, we find so
difficult to describe and

357
00:23:40,360 –> 00:23:43,160
surprise.
So let, let, let me try and

358
00:23:43,160 –> 00:23:45,320
demonstrate this to you.
We’re going to do 2 exercises

359
00:23:45,320 –> 00:23:47,000
here.
Each is going to be 30 seconds

360
00:23:47,000 –> 00:23:49,240
long.
I hope you can all be activated

361
00:23:49,400 –> 00:23:51,960
and participate.
I’m getting my stopwatch ready.

362
00:23:52,360 –> 00:23:57,240
So the first is very simple,
where you are in your seats, no

363
00:23:57,240 –> 00:24:01,360
dancing required.
You have 30 seconds to from when

364
00:24:01,360 –> 00:24:04,320
I say go to tickle yourself.
Now you can tick yourself

365
00:24:04,320 –> 00:24:05,760
wherever you know you might be
ticklish.

366
00:24:05,760 –> 00:24:07,600
Maybe it’s under your feet.
Maybe it’s under your arms.

367
00:24:07,600 –> 00:24:09,440
Sometimes some people are ticky.
My wife is.

368
00:24:09,440 –> 00:24:11,360
She’s not chess.
She’s ticklish by her ears.

369
00:24:12,040 –> 00:24:14,080
Only you.
You must tickle yourself.

370
00:24:14,120 –> 00:24:16,440
Next 30 seconds.
We’ve begun.

371
00:24:21,400 –> 00:24:23,880
Only yourself.
No talking.

372
00:24:23,880 –> 00:24:32,720
Focus on your tickling.
You’ve got 10 seconds more to

373
00:24:32,720 –> 00:24:34,400
go.
I see some have given up

374
00:24:34,400 –> 00:24:36,240
tickling themselves.
Try tickle yourself.

375
00:24:39,840 –> 00:24:41,880
You’re obviously not very well
practiced at this.

376
00:24:42,840 –> 00:24:45,040
I’m very disappointed in your
tickling skills.

377
00:24:46,160 –> 00:24:48,360
Not very good.
The alarm is up, so that’s

378
00:24:48,360 –> 00:24:53,480
finished now.
Second phase, second, 30

379
00:24:53,480 –> 00:24:56,000
seconds.
Everybody must participate.

380
00:24:56,480 –> 00:24:59,560
Now you have 30 seconds to
tickle the person next to you.

381
00:24:59,880 –> 00:25:01,280
Let’s start.
Go.

382
00:25:02,320 –> 00:25:04,840
Tickle them wherever you can.
Tickle them.

383
00:25:05,640 –> 00:25:07,240
Under their feet, under their
arms.

384
00:25:07,240 –> 00:25:11,600
Tickle them.
Tickle.

385
00:25:14,840 –> 00:25:17,880
You still got 10 seconds left.
Tickle.

386
00:25:19,520 –> 00:25:21,680
Look for someone not being
tickled and tickle them

387
00:25:33,400 –> 00:25:35,640
all, right?
Time up, time up, time up, time

388
00:25:35,640 –> 00:25:42,680
up.
Well, what’s the difference?

389
00:25:43,880 –> 00:25:47,600
The first time you all know your
body so well, you had an

390
00:25:47,600 –> 00:25:49,560
opportunity to tickle yourself
and you’re all sitting there

391
00:25:49,560 –> 00:25:52,960
stoically as if there was
nothing to be happy about.

392
00:25:53,520 –> 00:25:57,320
Suddenly somebody else there is
opportunity to tickle you.

393
00:25:57,320 –> 00:25:59,640
And the whole room’s senses were
lifted.

394
00:25:59,840 –> 00:26:02,960
They were shrinking and howling
and happiness and some sadness

395
00:26:02,960 –> 00:26:07,400
perhaps.
And you know, we laugh at this.

396
00:26:07,400 –> 00:26:11,040
This particular experiment has
been conducted and psychiatrists

397
00:26:11,040 –> 00:26:13,280
have written academic papers
trying to understand why this

398
00:26:13,280 –> 00:26:16,400
difference should exist.
And, and one of the, the

399
00:26:16,400 –> 00:26:19,840
powerful conclusions that many
of these psychiatrists have come

400
00:26:19,840 –> 00:26:24,720
to is that what’s going on is
when the other person gets the

401
00:26:24,720 –> 00:26:28,360
opportunity to tickle you, it’s
the surprise that’s really

402
00:26:28,360 –> 00:26:31,240
heartening your senses.
It’s like, you know where you

403
00:26:31,240 –> 00:26:33,120
should be ticklish, but maybe
they’re going to go somewhere

404
00:26:33,120 –> 00:26:35,200
else or maybe they’re going to
go just to the spot where you

405
00:26:35,200 –> 00:26:36,720
will be ticklish.
So all of that’s going through

406
00:26:36,720 –> 00:26:40,440
your mind and suddenly heightens
your skin sense and everything

407
00:26:40,440 –> 00:26:42,600
gets heightened.
And I think that’s just an

408
00:26:42,880 –> 00:26:47,480
incredibly beautiful analogy for
us to realize that surprise and

409
00:26:47,480 –> 00:26:51,480
beauty is only possible because
you can have relationship.

410
00:26:52,440 –> 00:26:56,280
And how much will we invest in
opening up that relationship?

411
00:26:57,560 –> 00:27:00,480
Just one last bit of of science
before we bring it back to the

412
00:27:00,480 –> 00:27:02,960
scripture.
I’m sure many of you have been

413
00:27:02,960 –> 00:27:05,720
exposed to the idea of left and
right brain.

414
00:27:05,920 –> 00:27:07,600
And I think it’s kind of been
overused.

415
00:27:07,840 –> 00:27:10,920
If you’re in in business like
me, you’ll often get some sort

416
00:27:10,920 –> 00:27:13,400
of management consultant talking
about how we need right brain

417
00:27:13,400 –> 00:27:15,240
people and left brain people.
And the right brain people are

418
00:27:15,240 –> 00:27:17,720
creative and the left brain
people are your accountants.

419
00:27:19,080 –> 00:27:21,480
And look, there’s, there’s,
there’s, there’s, there’s

420
00:27:21,480 –> 00:27:24,520
definitely some indirect value
in a lot of those comments.

421
00:27:24,520 –> 00:27:27,640
But I’ve I’ve been exposed.
And I think some of you may have

422
00:27:27,640 –> 00:27:30,680
read the work of Ian Mcgilchrist
to he’s probably one of the

423
00:27:30,680 –> 00:27:36,160
leading crossover psychologists,
biologists in the field of

424
00:27:36,160 –> 00:27:38,840
understanding our brain.
And he’s written a number of

425
00:27:38,840 –> 00:27:41,280
books, one called the Divided
brain, another called the matter

426
00:27:41,280 –> 00:27:43,840
with things, the other called
the Master and the emissary.

427
00:27:44,320 –> 00:27:47,400
I encourage you to read them,
but they about this thick, so

428
00:27:47,400 –> 00:27:49,520
I’ll summarise it.
And one of the things that’s

429
00:27:49,520 –> 00:27:52,120
interesting is he says, you
know, in many ways we’ve

430
00:27:52,120 –> 00:27:54,920
actually been quite crude in the
way that we’ve actually

431
00:27:54,920 –> 00:27:57,360
understood the two hemispheres
of the brain.

432
00:27:57,720 –> 00:28:01,080
There are indeed two hemispheres
of the brain and they do indeed

433
00:28:01,080 –> 00:28:03,680
perform very different
functions.

434
00:28:04,160 –> 00:28:07,080
So the left hemisphere of the
brain, as you can see in the

435
00:28:07,080 –> 00:28:11,920
picture over there, is the part
of the brain that actually deals

436
00:28:11,920 –> 00:28:14,440
with what we’ve been talking a
lot about now, pattern

437
00:28:14,440 –> 00:28:19,360
recognition at a small level,
classifying objects, focusing on

438
00:28:19,360 –> 00:28:21,840
things.
So it’s that part of our brain

439
00:28:22,000 –> 00:28:26,200
that really is able to see
things, categorize them, keep

440
00:28:26,200 –> 00:28:28,320
things simple.
And it’s a very important part

441
00:28:28,320 –> 00:28:31,600
of our living because our left
brain is that part of our brain

442
00:28:31,600 –> 00:28:34,080
that acts quickly when we need
to act quickly.

443
00:28:34,360 –> 00:28:38,360
So it doesn’t ask any questions.
It just sees, Oh my word, that

444
00:28:38,360 –> 00:28:39,840
looks like a line I’ve got to
run.

445
00:28:40,200 –> 00:28:41,600
And that all happens quicker
than I said it.

446
00:28:41,920 –> 00:28:46,080
So your left brain is very
focused on things.

447
00:28:47,160 –> 00:28:50,960
The right brain is actually the
part of our brain that is

448
00:28:51,040 –> 00:28:53,320
integrated.
It looks at the big picture.

449
00:28:53,480 –> 00:28:57,600
It tries to to understand how
all the things relate to each

450
00:28:57,600 –> 00:28:59,440
other.
It’s the part of our brain that

451
00:28:59,440 –> 00:29:03,440
actually deals with
relationships, how things relate

452
00:29:03,720 –> 00:29:06,240
together.
It’s interesting what Ian

453
00:29:06,240 –> 00:29:11,200
Mcgilchrist says is that if you
look at culture and society over

454
00:29:11,200 –> 00:29:15,640
the last few 100 years, we’ve
actually become a dominated left

455
00:29:15,680 –> 00:29:19,040
brain society.
As a result, as we were saying

456
00:29:19,040 –> 00:29:22,560
of science, as a result of our
obsession of things and the

457
00:29:22,560 –> 00:29:27,440
study of science, we’ve become a
society who actually focuses

458
00:29:27,440 –> 00:29:29,880
primarily on things using our
left brain.

459
00:29:30,400 –> 00:29:34,320
We spend less time using our
right brain and seeing how

460
00:29:34,320 –> 00:29:38,680
everything relates together, how
things relate to each other, how

461
00:29:38,680 –> 00:29:40,760
the relationships operate
together.

462
00:29:41,560 –> 00:29:43,320
I think that’s a very, very
powerful idea.

463
00:29:43,320 –> 00:29:47,400
In fact, his book called The
Master and the Mystery is

464
00:29:47,400 –> 00:29:49,960
basically saying we need both
parts of our brain.

465
00:29:49,960 –> 00:29:52,760
God wouldn’t have designed us
like that if it wasn’t true.

466
00:29:53,160 –> 00:29:56,600
But in actual fact, we need our
right brain to be our master.

467
00:29:57,360 –> 00:30:00,400
It’s the only part that can keep
all things together for us so

468
00:30:00,400 –> 00:30:04,920
that we can see the full pattern
as opposed to our left brain,

469
00:30:04,920 –> 00:30:09,080
which we need as a servant at
the direction of our right

470
00:30:09,080 –> 00:30:11,640
brain.
So all of these ideas are are

471
00:30:11,720 –> 00:30:16,840
hope helping you to see how
important it is for us to focus

472
00:30:16,840 –> 00:30:20,840
on the reality of relationship
and to put our energy into that

473
00:30:20,840 –> 00:30:25,960
space and our focus.
So I want to now draw your

474
00:30:25,960 –> 00:30:29,960
attention to Genesis.
We keep going back to this

475
00:30:29,960 –> 00:30:33,800
record of Genesis and, and
seeing in this record of Genesis

476
00:30:34,160 –> 00:30:37,560
the pattern as we saw of heaven
and earth and so many other

477
00:30:37,560 –> 00:30:39,280
ideas.
And I just love going back to

478
00:30:39,280 –> 00:30:41,360
Genesis one and two because
every time I go there with a

479
00:30:41,360 –> 00:30:44,120
different lens, I find something
that I’ve never seen before.

480
00:30:44,320 –> 00:30:47,440
And I want to show you that
right back in the creation

481
00:30:47,440 –> 00:30:50,520
record of Genesis relationship
is highlighted.

482
00:30:51,360 –> 00:30:53,200
So let me let me try and
illustrate that to you.

483
00:30:53,200 –> 00:30:54,640
So you don’t need to turn up
there.

484
00:30:54,880 –> 00:30:57,920
Here is the first creative act
of Genesis.

485
00:30:57,920 –> 00:31:01,240
We’ve already spoken about it
and we’ve seen that everything

486
00:31:01,240 –> 00:31:03,840
that God created started with
words.

487
00:31:04,000 –> 00:31:06,320
We call that heaven, the pattern
of heaven.

488
00:31:06,560 –> 00:31:08,600
And so the first thing we
noticed when we read the the

489
00:31:08,600 –> 00:31:11,880
creation record in Genesis is
that it always starts with God

490
00:31:11,880 –> 00:31:15,040
saying something.
For example, God said, let there

491
00:31:15,040 –> 00:31:17,320
be light.
So that that is the heaven.

492
00:31:17,440 –> 00:31:21,440
That is the idea.
And then there was light, the

493
00:31:21,440 –> 00:31:24,120
physical light that we can see
and we can actually measure its

494
00:31:24,120 –> 00:31:26,960
speed and the photons, etcetera,
etcetera.

495
00:31:27,120 –> 00:31:30,560
And so that’s the earth, the
material, and then there was

496
00:31:30,560 –> 00:31:32,960
light.
But here’s the next interesting

497
00:31:32,960 –> 00:31:35,040
point because you’ve got to be
curious.

498
00:31:35,480 –> 00:31:37,240
It could have just finished
there and then he could have

499
00:31:37,240 –> 00:31:38,720
moved on to the next day and the
next day.

500
00:31:38,720 –> 00:31:40,640
But it doesn’t.
What does it say?

501
00:31:41,320 –> 00:31:45,080
It said and God saw the light
that it was good.

502
00:31:45,640 –> 00:31:49,680
And that word saw means to
observe and perceive.

503
00:31:50,400 –> 00:31:54,120
So, so it’s like you, you, you,
you make something, you speak,

504
00:31:54,120 –> 00:31:56,760
you design, you make it.
You don’t just walk away, you

505
00:31:56,760 –> 00:31:59,920
come back and you perceive and
you observe it.

506
00:32:00,280 –> 00:32:03,000
This is the concept, the, the
original concept of

507
00:32:03,000 –> 00:32:05,680
relationship.
And having observed having

508
00:32:05,680 –> 00:32:09,880
related to the thing that he has
made, he then says it is good.

509
00:32:10,720 –> 00:32:14,200
And so we learned two things.
We learned that relationship is

510
00:32:14,520 –> 00:32:18,600
essentially in the creation, and
secondly, that goodness,

511
00:32:19,280 –> 00:32:24,040
whatever that might be, this
beautiful idea of to do good was

512
00:32:24,040 –> 00:32:26,800
one of the phrases that was
emphasized by John in his talks.

513
00:32:27,000 –> 00:32:31,640
This idea of goodness is found
in our relationship with the

514
00:32:31,640 –> 00:32:34,120
thing.
And so I don’t need to go

515
00:32:34,120 –> 00:32:36,520
through the rest of the record.
You’ll see that that pattern

516
00:32:36,520 –> 00:32:40,320
keeps flowing, but interestingly
enough, it actually gets deeper,

517
00:32:40,720 –> 00:32:45,280
especially when he gets to
creating the most important part

518
00:32:45,280 –> 00:32:50,360
of His creation, you and I.
And so he says, let us make man

519
00:32:50,360 –> 00:32:54,720
in our image a special part of
creation, a part of creation

520
00:32:55,080 –> 00:32:58,840
that I will be able to relate to
in a way like no other part of

521
00:32:58,840 –> 00:33:01,280
creation.
And what does he do?

522
00:33:01,520 –> 00:33:06,280
He creates man, heaven, earth.
And then not only does it say

523
00:33:06,280 –> 00:33:10,120
that he comes back and looks,
but he enters into conversation

524
00:33:11,080 –> 00:33:14,600
because now he has a creation
that has his image and that has

525
00:33:14,600 –> 00:33:17,720
the word and can understand.
And so he says be fruitful and

526
00:33:17,720 –> 00:33:21,360
multiply and many other things.
He enters into relationship.

527
00:33:21,800 –> 00:33:25,080
And I always love the way that
once that has happened, he turns

528
00:33:25,080 –> 00:33:26,880
around and says it was very
good.

529
00:33:27,640 –> 00:33:31,640
It’s like there’s another layer
of goodness now that this new

530
00:33:31,640 –> 00:33:34,280
relationship has been set up.
And that is the first

531
00:33:34,440 –> 00:33:38,720
relationship involving man.
It’s God and man, the key

532
00:33:38,720 –> 00:33:41,960
relationship of Genesis 1.
And then what’s really

533
00:33:41,960 –> 00:33:45,720
interesting is that we get
another relationship in Genesis

534
00:33:45,720 –> 00:33:48,760
2.
And at verse 18 God said it is

535
00:33:48,760 –> 00:33:51,560
not good that Adam should be
alone.

536
00:33:52,080 –> 00:33:55,120
I will make him a help meet for
him.

537
00:33:55,640 –> 00:33:59,960
And so we now have the second
relationship, Genesis 1, the

538
00:33:59,960 –> 00:34:04,480
relationship between God and
Adam or man or human beings and

539
00:34:04,480 –> 00:34:07,400
Genesis 2, the relationship
between man and woman.

540
00:34:07,400 –> 00:34:10,440
And I love the terminology.
I will make him a help meet

541
00:34:10,639 –> 00:34:14,199
again, this idea of the
connection, the help meet, the

542
00:34:14,199 –> 00:34:18,639
coming together.
So we can see that relationship

543
00:34:19,320 –> 00:34:21,840
is at the centre.
We’ve seen those passages.

544
00:34:21,960 –> 00:34:24,280
We can see that it’s there in
Genesis.

545
00:34:24,800 –> 00:34:29,639
And so it it cannot be a
surprise to us that when all the

546
00:34:29,639 –> 00:34:35,440
clever men, the scribes and the
Pharisees came to Jesus with

547
00:34:35,440 –> 00:34:39,159
essentially this question, if I
might paraphrase, what is the

548
00:34:39,159 –> 00:34:42,159
most important thing in all
creation?

549
00:34:43,520 –> 00:34:47,320
And they came because they were
men and women that loved to

550
00:34:47,320 –> 00:34:50,600
focus on things.
They loved to focus on specific

551
00:34:50,600 –> 00:34:53,440
commandments and how certain
things looked and how they

552
00:34:53,440 –> 00:34:55,199
appeared.
And they had their list of

553
00:34:55,199 –> 00:34:58,520
commandments and they wanted to
trick Jesus to choose one of the

554
00:34:58,520 –> 00:35:00,840
objects over the other objects
so that they could then tell him

555
00:35:00,840 –> 00:35:05,800
he was wrong.
They said, Master tell us of all

556
00:35:05,800 –> 00:35:09,240
the myriad of commandments,
which is the greatest and I want

557
00:35:09,240 –> 00:35:14,280
to show you how Jesus moves in
on relationship.

558
00:35:15,160 –> 00:35:17,560
We read if you want to go to it.
You know the passage well, I

559
00:35:17,560 –> 00:35:21,840
guess Matthew chapter 22,
Matthew 22.

560
00:35:22,240 –> 00:35:27,320
Jesus replied verse 34.
Love the Lord your God with all

561
00:35:27,320 –> 00:35:31,720
your heart, with all your soul,
with all your mind.

562
00:35:31,720 –> 00:35:34,920
By the way, if that isn’t an
activated disciple, that’s whole

563
00:35:34,920 –> 00:35:37,440
worship.
This is the first and greatest

564
00:35:37,440 –> 00:35:39,640
commandment and the 2nd is like
it.

565
00:35:39,840 –> 00:35:43,560
Love your neighbour as yourself.
Love.

566
00:35:44,320 –> 00:35:48,320
Love is abundant relationship
oriented to the good.

567
00:35:48,880 –> 00:35:53,000
That’s a great way of seeing it.
Love is the Bible word for

568
00:35:53,000 –> 00:35:56,600
relationship.
Relationship that is oriented

569
00:35:56,760 –> 00:35:59,840
towards God.
We are developing those

570
00:35:59,840 –> 00:36:02,640
relationships this week.
We developed them throughout our

571
00:36:02,640 –> 00:36:06,280
life and there are two vital
ones says Jesus.

572
00:36:06,560 –> 00:36:10,400
Your relationship essentially
between earth and heaven and

573
00:36:10,400 –> 00:36:12,560
your relationship with one
another.

574
00:36:13,920 –> 00:36:18,360
And Jesus is saying, not only is
this actually what reality is,

575
00:36:19,080 –> 00:36:24,080
this is what I have come to do
because he says in verse 40, all

576
00:36:24,080 –> 00:36:27,880
the law and the prophets hang on
these two commandments.

577
00:36:28,040 –> 00:36:30,280
And every word in the Bible is
always important.

578
00:36:30,400 –> 00:36:33,040
So you always got to look with
their curiosity and say, why

579
00:36:33,040 –> 00:36:35,160
didn’t he just say, well, that’s
the summary of the law and the

580
00:36:35,160 –> 00:36:37,680
prophets or that’s it, or some
other thing.

581
00:36:37,680 –> 00:36:39,600
No, he uses a very specific
word.

582
00:36:39,760 –> 00:36:43,880
He says all the law and the
prophets hang on these two

583
00:36:43,880 –> 00:36:45,400
commandments.
We always think he had a coat

584
00:36:45,400 –> 00:36:47,840
hanger.
No, he wasn’t talking about a

585
00:36:47,840 –> 00:36:51,920
coat hanger.
Acts chapter 5, verse 30, The

586
00:36:51,920 –> 00:36:55,600
God of our ancestors raised
Jesus from the dead, whom you

587
00:36:55,600 –> 00:37:01,480
killed by Hainium on a cross.
You see, the day is coming where

588
00:37:01,480 –> 00:37:05,600
you are going to see the reality
of relationship in love, and

589
00:37:05,600 –> 00:37:10,160
you’ll see a man on a cross, and
that man will demonstrate in

590
00:37:10,160 –> 00:37:14,400
that act the love of God and the
love of neighbour.

591
00:37:15,280 –> 00:37:19,040
He’ll look down upon all those
people who are railing him, who

592
00:37:19,040 –> 00:37:21,200
are cursing him.
We were beating him.

593
00:37:21,200 –> 00:37:26,160
And he will say, Father, forgive
them for they know not what they

594
00:37:26,160 –> 00:37:28,680
do.
And he will look up to his

595
00:37:28,680 –> 00:37:35,160
Father and say, Father, into
your hands I commit my spirit.

596
00:37:36,160 –> 00:37:41,400
And so the Lord Jesus Christ is
that perfect example of the

597
00:37:41,400 –> 00:37:44,880
relationship, the reality that
we are cultivating.

598
00:37:45,160 –> 00:37:49,040
And not only is he the example,
He is the love that we seek.

599
00:37:49,920 –> 00:37:52,440
Jesus has opened the way and he
is the way.

600
00:37:53,320 –> 00:37:58,120
He is the one who can develop
that agape love in each and

601
00:37:58,120 –> 00:38:01,680
every one of us.
And so as we look around this

602
00:38:01,680 –> 00:38:06,080
room and we bring our attention
to the relationship that we have

603
00:38:06,080 –> 00:38:09,320
with each and every one of us,
just just what does that

604
00:38:09,520 –> 00:38:12,280
connection look like?
How can we make it more

605
00:38:12,280 –> 00:38:15,200
abundant?
How is it that I can draw out

606
00:38:15,600 –> 00:38:18,480
the the potential of my
neighbour?

607
00:38:18,880 –> 00:38:22,520
How is it that I can make them
be the best that they can be in

608
00:38:22,520 –> 00:38:26,480
orientation towards God?
We get lots of advice from the

609
00:38:26,480 –> 00:38:30,440
word of God.
Poor says in Philippians, Let

610
00:38:30,440 –> 00:38:33,720
nothing be done through selfish
ambition or conceit, but in

611
00:38:33,720 –> 00:38:37,040
loneliness of mind.
Let each esteem others better

612
00:38:37,040 –> 00:38:39,840
than himself.
Let each of you look not only

613
00:38:39,840 –> 00:38:42,800
for your own interest but for
the interests of others.

614
00:38:43,200 –> 00:38:45,720
Imagine if we could truly walk
around imagining these.

615
00:38:46,080 –> 00:38:48,480
I always imagine pup connections
between people.

616
00:38:48,600 –> 00:38:51,520
And when we make connection with
them, the first thing we do is

617
00:38:51,520 –> 00:38:54,760
we listen because we don’t want
to fool the pup up with

618
00:38:54,760 –> 00:38:57,200
ourselves.
And secondly, we don’t just make

619
00:38:57,200 –> 00:38:59,080
assumptions.
We truly listen to what they’re

620
00:38:59,080 –> 00:39:01,720
saying.
Is there some surprise that we

621
00:39:01,720 –> 00:39:04,040
haven’t heard before?
Something new that we can help

622
00:39:04,040 –> 00:39:07,320
to cultivate, to make them as
beautiful as they can be?

623
00:39:09,000 –> 00:39:12,760
Paul says in Romans 12, don’t
just pretend to love others.

624
00:39:12,960 –> 00:39:16,200
Verse nine Really.
Love them, hate what is wrong,

625
00:39:16,200 –> 00:39:19,400
hold tightly to what is good.
Love each other with genuine

626
00:39:19,400 –> 00:39:23,320
affection, taking delight in
honouring each other.

627
00:39:25,200 –> 00:39:27,760
Husbands and wives, isn’t that
something to work on?

628
00:39:28,600 –> 00:39:33,400
Find out that beauty in your
partner and honour her for it.

629
00:39:33,760 –> 00:39:35,480
Bring it out.
That’s your job.

630
00:39:36,040 –> 00:39:38,840
It’s like the heaven and earth.
You’re there to cultivate that

631
00:39:38,840 –> 00:39:42,160
potential out of them, to make
them all that they can be.

632
00:39:42,760 –> 00:39:45,360
That’s what love is.
That’s that abundant

633
00:39:45,360 –> 00:39:49,320
relationship opening our eyes to
those spaces between.

634
00:39:50,120 –> 00:39:54,080
In Colossians 3, we read this
beautiful passage.

635
00:39:54,640 –> 00:39:59,400
Therefore, as the elect of God,
holy and beloved, put on tender

636
00:39:59,400 –> 00:40:04,160
mercies, kindness, humility,
meekness, long-suffering,

637
00:40:04,160 –> 00:40:06,480
bearing with one another, and
forgiving one another.

638
00:40:06,720 –> 00:40:09,400
If anyone has a complaint
against another, even as Christ

639
00:40:09,400 –> 00:40:11,680
forgave you, so you also must
do.

640
00:40:12,320 –> 00:40:18,160
But above all these things, put
on love, which is the bond of

641
00:40:18,160 –> 00:40:21,960
perfection.
We have come full circle.

642
00:40:22,560 –> 00:40:28,280
We have come to the vath, the
nail, the thing that bonds

643
00:40:28,280 –> 00:40:30,520
heaven and earth together.
Love.

644
00:40:31,320 –> 00:40:35,400
The perfect love as found in
Jesus, The perfect love that we

645
00:40:35,400 –> 00:40:39,000
are asked to practice and
develop in our discipleship.

646
00:40:39,640 –> 00:40:43,920
And that is really what bonds
heaven and earth together.

647
00:40:45,440 –> 00:40:48,120
If you’d bear with me, I thought
I would just try and summarise

648
00:40:48,120 –> 00:40:50,560
some of the things I know that
we have gone through so much in

649
00:40:50,560 –> 00:40:52,960
these classes.
I really appreciate your

650
00:40:52,960 –> 00:40:55,120
patience.
As I said, this has been quite

651
00:40:55,120 –> 00:40:57,440
difficult for me to try and
share all these ideas.

652
00:40:57,640 –> 00:40:59,760
And it’s a journey.
Many people have given me

653
00:40:59,760 –> 00:41:01,520
feedback, which has been
amazing.

654
00:41:02,120 –> 00:41:04,880
And so I thought I’d just try
and summarise some of the the

655
00:41:04,880 –> 00:41:06,960
highlights and the points that
I’d like to leave you with.

656
00:41:07,240 –> 00:41:10,560
It’ll be three or four slides,
and then we’ll be at the end.

657
00:41:11,200 –> 00:41:14,920
Heaven and earth is the purpose
and pattern of all reality.

658
00:41:15,720 –> 00:41:18,680
Patterns help us make sense of
that reality.

659
00:41:19,400 –> 00:41:23,760
The Bible and all creation
reveals itself as a fractal

660
00:41:23,760 –> 00:41:26,600
pattern with microcosms and
macrocosms.

661
00:41:27,080 –> 00:41:30,480
Patterns reveal purpose and
connection.

662
00:41:31,440 –> 00:41:35,280
Pattern recognition helps us to
manage the balance between order

663
00:41:35,480 –> 00:41:38,480
and chaos, simplicity and
complexity.

664
00:41:39,440 –> 00:41:42,480
The patterns of heaven and earth
are deeply connected.

665
00:41:43,480 –> 00:41:46,680
Be careful not to become too
simplistic, either in your

666
00:41:46,680 –> 00:41:49,640
approach to the Bible, or laugh
by just seeing things on a

667
00:41:49,640 –> 00:41:52,760
linear basis.
Understanding the heaven and

668
00:41:52,760 –> 00:41:56,800
earth fractal encourages us to
actually be activated disciples,

669
00:41:57,000 –> 00:42:01,400
not to be disconnected from our
bodies, and to become abstracted

670
00:42:01,400 –> 00:42:04,720
and virtual.
We must align our patterns to

671
00:42:04,720 –> 00:42:07,120
the heavenly patterns of truth,
and we can discover those

672
00:42:07,120 –> 00:42:10,080
patterns by doing what we’ve
done this week, by opening up

673
00:42:10,080 –> 00:42:12,680
the Word of God and looking for
those patterns and then seeing

674
00:42:12,680 –> 00:42:15,680
them again in the world and
earth around us.

675
00:42:16,600 –> 00:42:19,400
Reality is, as we’ve said,
revealed in duality.

676
00:42:19,640 –> 00:42:22,400
Heaven and earth is that
foundational duality.

677
00:42:23,120 –> 00:42:26,320
The overall purpose is for
heaven and earth to be joined

678
00:42:26,320 –> 00:42:28,560
with earth, for heaven to be
joined with earth.

679
00:42:28,920 –> 00:42:31,560
That’s in the future, but it’s
something that we need to be

680
00:42:31,560 –> 00:42:35,960
doing every day and looking for
every opportunity to fulfil that

681
00:42:35,960 –> 00:42:39,200
purpose.
Heaven gives purpose and meaning

682
00:42:39,200 –> 00:42:42,120
to earth.
It anoints earth with purpose.

683
00:42:42,880 –> 00:42:45,400
Heaven draws out the potential
of earth.

684
00:42:46,400 –> 00:42:50,160
Earth multiplies and amplifies
the truth of heaven, helps us to

685
00:42:50,160 –> 00:42:54,480
understand heaven.
Earth allows us to experience

686
00:42:54,720 –> 00:42:59,200
heaven blessing, glory.
Transformation takes place when

687
00:42:59,200 –> 00:43:05,200
heaven is divinely joined with
earth and Jesus is the and the

688
00:43:05,200 –> 00:43:08,120
valve that binds all heaven and
earth.

689
00:43:09,400 –> 00:43:13,240
Worship and natural symbols
allow us to become activated.

690
00:43:13,880 –> 00:43:18,040
Symbols are things, times, and
practices, practices that

691
00:43:18,040 –> 00:43:22,320
connect heaven to earth.
A symbol is not just a visual

692
00:43:22,320 –> 00:43:25,200
aid or a metaphor.
It’s an opportunity that we have

693
00:43:25,200 –> 00:43:28,480
to participate and to have
transformative connection.

694
00:43:29,200 –> 00:43:33,440
We activate symbols when we are
intentional, present and

695
00:43:33,440 –> 00:43:37,440
curious.
Sunsets, rainbows, mountains,

696
00:43:37,800 –> 00:43:40,520
heaven and earth patterns are
everywhere.

697
00:43:41,480 –> 00:43:45,720
Activated disciples open their
eyes, open their ears to heaven

698
00:43:45,720 –> 00:43:49,000
and earth connections.
We don’t miss Beth thou if we

699
00:43:49,000 –> 00:43:53,040
can, or the burning Bush.
Be careful of thinking that the

700
00:43:53,040 –> 00:43:55,840
spiritual is only ideas,
thoughts.

701
00:43:56,240 –> 00:44:00,200
The binding of heaven and earth
is to experience the power of

702
00:44:00,200 –> 00:44:04,400
the spiritual.
Worship practice is not a work

703
00:44:04,800 –> 00:44:07,280
but a love response to draw near
to God.

704
00:44:07,800 –> 00:44:11,040
We don’t worship to be saved, we
worship to deepen our

705
00:44:11,040 –> 00:44:14,720
relationship with the Father and
Jesus Christ, which I believe is

706
00:44:14,720 –> 00:44:17,280
faith.
Worship is a journey up the

707
00:44:17,280 –> 00:44:21,800
mountain from earth to heaven.
Whole worship is activated

708
00:44:21,800 –> 00:44:25,600
worship using all our soul, all
our heart and our mind in

709
00:44:25,600 –> 00:44:28,640
worship.
Symbols help to activate that

710
00:44:28,640 –> 00:44:30,920
worship.
God has provided a way of

711
00:44:30,920 –> 00:44:33,960
worship, the Tabernacle template
that we can follow.

712
00:44:34,400 –> 00:44:39,720
Prepare, Empty yourself,
sacrifice, humility, receive,

713
00:44:40,080 –> 00:44:42,920
meet.
Worship begins with sacrifice,

714
00:44:43,120 –> 00:44:45,400
emptying ourselves so that we
can receive.

715
00:44:46,160 –> 00:44:50,040
And finally, the true
transformative power is in

716
00:44:50,040 –> 00:44:54,880
between, in the middle.
Jesus is our middle, our

717
00:44:54,880 –> 00:44:58,080
between.
He has opened the way and is the

718
00:44:58,080 –> 00:45:01,480
way.
Only through him can the two be

719
00:45:01,480 –> 00:45:05,240
made one.
All reality is in fact in the

720
00:45:05,240 –> 00:45:10,400
space between the relationship.
If we see only the thing and on

721
00:45:10,400 –> 00:45:13,360
our relationship with it, we
lose the opportunity for

722
00:45:13,360 –> 00:45:17,880
surprise and beauty.
Your consciousness is limited.

723
00:45:18,320 –> 00:45:21,480
Learn to open the space in
between and draw out the

724
00:45:21,480 –> 00:45:25,480
potential of the other.
See the whole and it’s

725
00:45:25,480 –> 00:45:29,720
relations, not just the parts.
Love is the abundant

726
00:45:29,720 –> 00:45:32,160
relationship oriented toward
heaven.

727
00:45:33,080 –> 00:45:39,360
So the summary, Love up, love
towards God, and love across

728
00:45:39,680 –> 00:45:42,440
love towards man.
The solution?

729
00:45:43,080 –> 00:45:45,960
Jesus, our bond of perfection.