Lord, thank you that we worship a King who is alive. Lord, we come to you this morning knowing that you are alive, knowing that you are seated on the throne. We come knowing that you are King of Kings, Lord over all, Lord of heaven and earth. God, you rule and reign and we come to you this morning, bringing our worship, bringing our adoration. We come to the King and yet we also come to our Heavenly Father as well. At the same moment you are king and you are also father, ruler and carer, full of majesty and full of love, thank you Lord. Thank you, father, thank you Jesus!

As we were singing our last song a little while ago, about running out of the darkness into the glorious light I felt God speaking to me. I was reminded that for those of us who have accepted Jesus into our hearts, that is our truth. However, yesterday we went on a day trip to some caves and we went into the cave and it was so dark and gloomy. We had been down there for a little while and then as we were coming up, I said to my son “what do you think it’s going to be like when we come out, is it going to be sunny?” And he said “yeah!” But someone else said “actually no”.  So, as we got back up to the surface sure enough it was all grey and dreary. It could have been bright sunshine but it wasn’t.

As we were worshipping this morning, I felt God speaking to me through this. I wonder may there is someone, or some people here who have known God’s light, they are, you know that you are saved, you know God but the reality is that at the moment it’s just got a bit gloomy, you are sort of surrounded, there’s darkness around you and it’s not feeling great.

I felt God remind me, that it’s OK to feel like that and actually we’re here today and if you’re feeling like that, can I just encourage you as the song says to raise a hallelujah? So yeah, if you are feeling in that place, I just really encourage you to raise a hallelujah this morning!

If I say surely the darkness will hide me and the light become like night around me, even the darkness won’t be dark to you. Even if the night is like the darkness of the depths of the sea, it can’t hide me from you because darkness is as light to you. That’s why I raise my hallelujah, because even in the midst of my darkness, you were able to shine bright, you were able to call me out. That’s why I raise a hallelujah, because around you there is nothing, there is nothing that can seem dark and nothing that can cover me. You brighten it all up, you light it all up, so it all can be seen. That’s why I raise my hallelujah to you Jesus. How good you are, how great is your love, that there is no time to waste out in the shadows, for you have done it all.

God is alive and I really feel that some people need to hear that! Sometimes God feels so far away, that he just feels like a concept, an idea! But He's alive, He's living, He's breathing, He’s all powerful. So, take courage this morning, that the God that you've been praying to is alive and real and tangible and he's heard every prayer, he's seen every tear and he's heard every cry of the heart and he's coming. He's coming to bring breakthrough, He's coming to break in, He's coming to tear down what needs tearing down! He's coming to pour out his love on you this morning so don't doubt what God can do. Don't doubt what we mean to Him this morning, because you are precious in His sight and he's just itching to pour out his blessing on you this morning!

A couple of weeks ago, we dedicated Joanna and, in the run up to that as we were thinking about all that God has done for us, God reminded me of what life was like a year before she was born.  I was quite broken, we'd waited so long, it was so hard and I was broken! I had no faith. I knew in my head that God could bring us another daughter, another child, because we already had Elizabeth but, in my heart, I just wasn't in a place where I believed that. What I was reminded of was this, that God has put us in community where we get to share with one another and cry a lot with one another and pray with one another. As we did the 40 days of prayer series, we did a lot of those things, a lot of crying, a lot of sharing, a lot of praying and our lovely group did have faith that God would break in and we saw that happen and here we have Joanna! 

As we came to dedicate her, I just felt God speaking about those of us here who are breaking with the things that we're still praying for right now. I don't know what it is for you, whether it's a job or finance or children or what it is. But I felt God reminding me that we're in community together and that's why he’s put us in community together. It’s for those times when we are broken and have no faith and know in our head, perhaps, what God can do, but actually our heart is 1,000,000 miles away from that. That's why God put us in community and that's why we have community groups and that's why we go out when we prefer to stay in and watch telly (maybe that’s just me!). That's why we are to love one another like that! I just felt like God was saying that actually, He's got breakthrough for us, He's got breakthrough for us and I just want to really urge you and encourage you, if you're not in a group already, get in one, because that's what they're there for! We are in the Mickleover one on a Tuesday and would love some people to come and join us! But if you are in a place where you are needing God for breakthrough or something, can I urge you this week to get to your group? Open your mouth, share that thing, pray together and watch God breakthrough!

"Father, we thank you for this testimony of your goodness. We thank you for the testimony of you not letting them down. Lord, we know that you don’t let us down. You couldn’t, it’s not in your nature to do so! So, father, this morning we want to pray for anyone, who, to use Kat’s words, feels broken and may be are crying out to you for something. There’s just this sense of you needing to move in this person's life. God, we pray this morning that fresh hope would be birthed, that fresh faith would rise, that you can move and that indeed you will move!”

If that is you this morning, if you feel you need a touch of God, just raise your hands where you are and I’m just going to pray for you. Lift your hands to the Lord. “Father, I want to pray right now for any who are crying out to you, be it for healing for themselves, or for a family member. Maybe they’re praying for breakthrough for a situation that seems to have got stuck, for restoration of relationships. Father, we pray that you would move and that you would bring fresh faith, in Jesus’ name because you are good. Thank you, Lord, Amen.

I’ve got two quick things to share. As we were worshipping earlier, I really felt God speak to me through this verse in Ecclesiastes about two being better than one, because they will have a good reward for their toil. If they fall, one will lift up his fellow but woe to Him who is alone when he falls and has not another one to lift him up. Again, if two lie down together, they keep warm but how can one keep warm alone? Though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him but a threefold cord is not quickly broken. I really felt that perhaps there are people, may be someone that has taken on the lie that things would be simpler if they were alone, that actually this is all a lot of hard work and actually maybe I’d be better off, may be things would actually be easier if I was on my own. I really felt, that this verse actually says no, that two are better than one, and that a threefold cord is not quickly broken! Lots of people use this verse in the marriage service, don’t they? They talk about the three cords of God, the husband and the wife. Really, I felt this morning that if this is you, that it is a lie! It’s not better, it’s clearly said in scripture that two are better than one and what God has brought together, let no one pull it apart, put it asunder. So, I really felt that firstly.

And then the other one, I’m so glad that Kat brought her word earlier because, when we were singing the song earlier, it said “out of the ashes, hope will arise” and I really felt that actually when you’re going through hard times, it’s very easy to get lost in the dark, (which fits beautifully with another word that was brought earlier). Actually, out of the ashes, hope will arise and it’s out of these testimonies of how God has come through for other people, hope is birthed! So, if you’ve been struggling trying for children, if you’ve been struggling with finances, if you’ve been struggling with forgiving and starting again and trying to work through that, I really feel that there is hope in the Lord. Obviously, there is hope in the Lord, but there’s also hope in getting alongside someone else that has lived through that before. There is a great West Wing quote that someone falls down a hole and then another person jumps in and the first says “now we’re both stuck down this hole” but the other person says “no, but I’ve been in this hole before and I know the way out” and I just really felt that if that’s something you’ve struggled with, if any of those things has been something you’ve struggled with, there is hope that comes from getting alongside another couple and praying through that and praying into that. Praying it through because I don’t know about you but my spirit rises when I hear someone say “well, we went through there, we prayed and it might take them 12 years or eight years…” and you think, oh, please don’t let it take 12 or 8 years, but actually you’ve come through, that God has come through and that God can do it for you too, in your situation, yes God can do it even for me!