¤ ¤
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Do ever feel like celebrating
spring? Well there's no better
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place to do it than Canberra.
I'm standing here surrounded by
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a sea of flowers, over one
million blooms. The colors,
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variety and shapes are
overwhelming. The sculptures and
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designs of the flower beds
are truly magnificent. It's a
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blaze of color and beauty.
Floriade, the name of this
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flowery extravaganza, is an
annual month long celebration
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of spring in the heart of
Australia's capitol. It's become
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Canberra's most iconic annual
tourism event. You'll find
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cultural celebrations,
horticultural workshops, market
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traders, artistic displays,
music, markets and food. But
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it's all centered around flowers
Flowers mean love, happiness,
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peace and beauty. But that's not
all. They also symbolize a very
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important flowery language.
They remind us of the power of
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beautiful words. When flowers
blossom the fragrance and beauty
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spreads. They permeate the
environment and make it a better
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place and the same is true of
kind and beautiful words. They
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spread, build people up and
change the world by making it a
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better place. So today we're
going to admire the beauty of
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flowers and discover
something about a very
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important flowery
and powerful language.
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¤ ¤
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Floriade is a flower and
entertainment festival held
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annually in Australia's capitol
city alongside Lake Burley
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Griffin in
Canberra's Commonwealth Park.
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This is Australia's biggest
celebration of spring. It's a
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stunning floral display
of exotic bulbs and annuals.
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I'm Andrew Forster. I'm the head
gardener at Floriade. I've been
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doing this for 23 years. I love
what I do. I have a great team
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of people who plant and
make Floriade happen. It's just
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a wonderful experience.
Floriade is a wonderful
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event for Bicentenary
and 75th Birthday of Canberra
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1988 and 32 years later it's
still going and it's a wonderful
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tourism event in Canberra.
Preparation starts in February.
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We mark out the
outline of the garden areas.
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We put down granite paths.
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We put drainage in. We put
bases of soil, mark out the
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pattern, plant the bulbs.
It takes us from February till
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about mid-June to finish
planting the million bulbs and
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annuals.
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Now there's something in gardens
that really strikes me and I
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think it will strike you as
well Taking in such rich lovely
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colors you start thinking about
what might create a rich lovely
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life. Wouldn't it be great
if our day to day existence
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blossomed too. Imagine a life
of color and beauty. Wouldn't it
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be great if real flowers could
be cultivated and came out in
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your life. Well, I'd like to
share with you one huge aspect
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of a good life. You know what it
is? Encouraging words. Don't you
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have memories that, someone who
told you something wonderful?
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Someone who brought out the best
in you, lifted you up. Someone
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who helped you see a much better
life. It's wonderful. It's a
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reminder of the power of words.
We have the power to change
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someone's life for the better
simply by the words we speak.
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But sadly it's pretty rare. It's
not that often that some words
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coming your way brighten things
up dramatically. However, I
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believe there's a great source
of encouraging words. There's a
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place where they grow.
What if you could become a great
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encourager? What if you
could cultivate beautiful words?
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Yes, like these beautiful
flowers growing up at Floriade.
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And here's the very best source
of great, encouraging words.
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Here's where they really come
from. The New Testament in the
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Bible. I'm going to share with
you how these gospels, these
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letters, actually can create
the best of words in your life,
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what you can share. Here's how
it starts. What do flowers grow
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out of? What do they blossom
from? Dirt of course, the ground
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Pretty basic, pretty simple.
But think about this. Plain,
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ordinary kind of ugly dirt
actually produces this amazing
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variety of flowers, so
beautiful from just plain, brown
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soil. Well the New Testament
shows us what can come out of
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just ordinary human beings. Yes,
we have our problems, we have
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our dirt, that's human nature.
We're far from perfect. But
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God's purpose is to make
beautiful things come out of our
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nature. And when we believe in
Christ, Christ believes in us.
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He has great promises. This is
what the apostle Paul said about
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this Messiah's gift. In
2 Corinthians chapter five
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and verse 17:...
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In other words, you don't
have to stay in the dirt, in the
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weakness of human nature. You
can bloom, rise up and blossom
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as a new creation. In fact, all
these flowers, all these colors,
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all these shapes reflect a
variety of qualities that can
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come out of dirt, out of
human nature. Here's Paul again
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writing to Galatians. In chapter
five he reminds people about the
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sad things that emerge from
sinful humanity. Everything from
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hatred to selfish ambition to
drunkenness. Then he says this
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in verse 22:...
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What grows out of the Spirit of
Christ? The fruit of the Spirit
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is all these great qualities.
They are identified, they are
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made, just like garden flowers.
Now here's how all this relates
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to encouraging words. Here's
what's important about becoming
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an encourager. It's very easy
for human beings to just keep
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staring at the dirt. In other
words, we keep focused on the
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bad things out there; the
threats, the disappointments,
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someone who puts us down. We can
keep thinking about those dark
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words, those ugly words all day
long. We've all experienced them
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in some shape or form
whether you're 18 or 80. You can
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probably recall the pain of
someone's harsh words scolding
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your soul. Maybe you still
hear the message from years ago
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etched in your memory playing
an endless loop in your mind
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echoing inside you every day. If
you listen to your life, you can
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recall moments when you felt
the brutal sting of words; words
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like you'll never amount to
anything! You're nothing like
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your brother. I'm sick of you!
I never loved you. You'll never
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change! You're useless! When the
other kids called you fat. When
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that boy dumped you for no
reason. When your dad called you
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stupid. When you received that
letter of rejection. When your
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boss told you that you were
fired. Yes, you personally know
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the impact words can have. Words
can be devastating. They can cut
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to the bone and leave us
crippled. But you know what the
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New Testament tells us? Drop the
dirt. Let it go. That's not what
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real life is about. Instead
focus on good qualities, focus
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on flowers. Look for that
in your own life and in other
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people as well. As devastating,
as hurtful as words can be they
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can be offset by words of truth,
hope and love. Yes, we all have
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our troubles, we all have our
limitations. But God is working
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to bring out something beautiful
From the dirt beautiful flowers
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grow. Try to get a glimpse of
it. Try to see it blossom. Yes,
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so important. Don't just stare
at the dirt. Look at the flowers
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In fact, the New Testament
emphasizes the impact simple
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words of encouragement can have.
Everybody has moments when a
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kind word could make a big
difference. And that's why the
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New Testament takes the words
we utter very seriously. Jesus
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talked about casually cruel
words getting into judgment.
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We're advised to avoid hurtful
words and focus rather on
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positive, uplifting ones.
His apostles give us this advice
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over and over. Build up one
another, encourage one another.
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There's one piece of New
Testament advice that stands out
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We're asked to speak edifying
words to each other daily,
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regularly whenever we meet
together. So what's the secret
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to becoming a great encourager?
How can our words have great
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influence for good? Some of
us think we can't come up with a
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beautiful flowery language. Well
let me tell you about a man we
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once interviewed. This is about
a man who should have been tone
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deaf. Richard had a father
who was tyrannical and abusive.
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No good words were ever spoken
to him. It was all negative,
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depressing stuff. And so through
his teen years, Richard felt
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very isolated. Relationships
of any kind were a strain. This
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young man seemed to have very
little chance of experiencing
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normal life. And yet some years
later this same Richard actually
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became a wonderfully nurturing
father. People noticed how he
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calmly diffused quarrels between
his boy and girl. He had a
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wonderful way of dropping little
words of encouragement on his
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kids, telling Krista why she
would always be beautiful in his
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eyes, telling Samuel how he was
growing into a fine young man.
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This was a man adored by
his wife and children. What had
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happened to Richard? Well in
his 20s he collided unexpectedly
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with something called grace.
The unconditional love of a very
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different father finally
got through to him. He found
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acceptance in Jesus the beloved
Son. God began speaking to him
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in a wonderful new language that
penetrated his wounded soul.
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So Richard was passing on that
language, beautiful words, the
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language of grace. He was giving
his boy and girl a childhood
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immeasurably different from his
own. Yes, I do believe that any
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human being through God's
grace can become a wonderful
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encourager. Do you find yourself
looking for the right words?
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What should I say in this
situation or that situation?
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The New Testament
simply urges this...
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To speak encouraging words tap
into grace. Grace gives you the
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right answer. That's a life
changing promise. Here's a funny
00:13:49.36\00:13:54.10
line that I heard
recently that has a point...
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Ever thought of that? Well
here's the point. If you can't
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build people up stop and take
a good look. Look at the grace
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blossoming in the New Testament.
Yes, it's like a gorgeous public
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garden full of so many flowers,
full of such potential. Take a
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good look, take in grace that
rescues the undeserving. Take in
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God's terms of endearment that
come through in the epistles.
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Children of God. Beloved. The
chosen. The anointed. Vessels to
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be used for noble purposes.
Temples of the Holy Spirit.
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Trophies led by Christ in
triumphal procession. Have you
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really savored these nicknames?
They're not just theological
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categories to be dissected. They
are flowers you can hold in your
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hand. Look at grace, the
confluence in its beautiful
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language. It's the most powerful
language there is. It's how we
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speak to one another with psalms
hymns and spiritual songs. It's
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how we put a song in other
people's hearts. So let's look
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at two specific things about
that language. Here's something
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grace typically says: I believe
in you. Now that line is really
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a matter of passing on the faith
God has in us to others. If God
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can look through our sinfulness
and see citizens of the kingdom
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the we can adopt the same
perspective. We can afford to
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affirm. What kind of people did
Jesus believe in? Well there was
00:15:41.90\00:15:50.08
Simon the zealot, member of a
violent political group. There
00:15:50.11\00:15:54.38
was Matthew who'd been
collecting taxes from his own
00:15:54.42\00:15:58.19
people for their hated Roman
oppressors. Thomas was plagued
00:15:58.22\00:16:01.89
with doubts. James and John had
such violent tempers they were
00:16:01.92\00:16:06.96
called sons of thunder. And
their leader Simon Peter rarely
00:16:07.00\00:16:12.00
got his foot out of his mouth.
What was Jesus supposed to do
00:16:12.03\00:16:16.17
with this motley crew? How could
he get the best out of them?
00:16:16.20\00:16:20.08
Well here's how. Express great
faith in them. Show that he
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believed in them. You'll become
fishers of men and they ended up
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making a fishing pond of the
whole world. Saying I believe in
00:16:29.65\00:16:34.56
you is the opposite of judging.
That's one thing Jesus warned us
00:16:34.59\00:16:39.46
about very pointedly. To judge
our neighbor is to stand back
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and issue a verdict. Judging
is simply staring at the dirt,
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digging into the mound. Grace,
however, is about looking for
00:16:48.90\00:16:53.48
the blossoms. It's about
pointing to all the flowers out
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there. Grace is about being
genuinely involved in other
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lives. Think about the
difference our words can make.
00:17:02.62\00:17:05.65
Judging raises an eyebrow.
Grace raises expectation.
00:17:05.69\00:17:12.26
Judging assumes you owe me.
Grace proclaims our debt is paid
00:17:12.29\00:17:18.53
Now let me show you one more
essential factor of the language
00:17:18.57\00:17:23.34
of flowers. And Floriade
reflects this point too. Did you
00:17:23.37\00:17:28.51
know that each year in this
celebration of spring Floriade
00:17:28.54\00:17:33.98
comes out with a specific theme.
Each year all the flowers in
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this place circle around
something. Just a few years ago
00:17:38.15\00:17:42.89
the theme was "Embrace Passion:
Bringing Spring to Life in
00:17:42.92\00:17:47.56
Canberra." Before that in 2011
it was "A Feast for the Senses."
00:17:47.60\00:17:54.00
Taking music, taking special
food as you are surrounded by a
00:17:54.04\00:17:59.54
field of color. Well all
these nice themes suggest this:
00:17:59.57\00:18:05.31
Flowers are expressing something
Flowers are a gift, beautiful
00:18:05.35\00:18:10.32
gift. You can embrace them with
passion. They can be a feast for
00:18:10.35\00:18:14.02
your thinking. They can color
your world day and night. They
00:18:14.06\00:18:18.36
can lighten up your mind, body
and soul. And all those Floriade
00:18:18.39\00:18:24.70
themes suggest something about
encouraging words. They're also
00:18:24.73\00:18:29.00
about seeing a gift, seeing
a gift in other people, seeing
00:18:29.04\00:18:33.68
something special and unique
in them and expressing it. That
00:18:33.71\00:18:38.01
builds people up. And this
is what helps us see gifts, see
00:18:38.05\00:18:43.39
them as vastly as you see
a garden of flowers. The New
00:18:43.42\00:18:47.59
Testament emphasizes this: Every
person, every single personality
00:18:47.62\00:18:53.13
has an irreplaceable role.
Listen to what Romans chapter 12
00:18:53.16\00:18:58.10
and verse six says:...
00:18:58.13\00:19:05.94
And 1 Corinthians chapter 12
asks us to value a wide variety
00:19:05.97\00:19:11.51
of gifts. There the apostle Paul
uses the analogy of the human
00:19:11.55\00:19:16.32
body and all the different parts
of that body that are essential.
00:19:16.35\00:19:20.86
He says this in verses 21-23:...
00:19:20.89\00:19:46.58
That's what an encourager does.
You see gifts in people that may
00:19:46.61\00:19:51.72
seem plain, may seem ordinary.
But do you see how that gift can
00:19:51.75\00:19:56.42
be a contribution in life?
And that actually helps the gift
00:19:56.46\00:20:00.60
in other people to bloom. Yes,
it's like seeing how a little
00:20:00.63\00:20:05.87
seed in that soil, that dirt,
can rise up and blossom into a
00:20:05.90\00:20:10.81
colorful flower. Also, looking
for gifts in others neutralizes
00:20:10.84\00:20:16.75
a tendency a lot of us have.
It's easy to zero in on mistakes
00:20:16.78\00:20:22.25
to spotlight disappointment. Yes
just staring at the dirt. Plenty
00:20:22.28\00:20:28.16
of that around. Human beings
in general put something like
00:20:28.19\00:20:32.43
unfaithfulness, adultery, in the
headlines and an act of kindness
00:20:32.46\00:20:38.30
gets put in the footnotes.
Criticism. Pretty basic isn't it
00:20:38.33\00:20:43.87
pretty common. But this New
Testament grace that helps us
00:20:43.91\00:20:48.31
look for gifts in others,
that can replace the language of
00:20:48.34\00:20:52.31
criticism, replace the put down.
God's grace can definitely be
00:20:52.35\00:20:58.82
like a huge garden of flowers,
blossoming all kinds of colors
00:20:58.85\00:21:03.73
into the world. God's grace is
such a big antidote to chronic
00:21:03.76\00:21:09.20
criticism. Think of these
contrasts. The critical puts
00:21:09.23\00:21:14.50
people in their place. Grace
takes people to the throne of
00:21:14.54\00:21:18.61
mercy. The critical shoo a bunch
of noisy kids away. Grace says
00:21:18.64\00:21:24.91
you have to become like them to
enter my kingdom. The critical
00:21:24.95\00:21:29.72
take cheap shots. Grace makes
a portrait of possibilities. Big
00:21:29.75\00:21:36.29
contrast! We definitely
want to become encouragers.
00:21:36.32\00:21:41.16
We definitely want to absorb
those New Testament words of
00:21:41.20\00:21:45.73
grace. I believe each one of
us can become a great encourager
00:21:45.77\00:21:51.07
in any circumstances. Yes, grace
can seep in even in the darkest
00:21:51.11\00:21:58.68
hour. A teenager named Jeremy
had a great Christian father.
00:21:58.71\00:22:05.95
But he was going through some
rebellious days just finding
00:22:05.99\00:22:09.86
ways to goof around here and
there and one night he ended up
00:22:09.89\00:22:14.86
in jail because he'd grabbed a
few things he wasn't supposed to
00:22:14.90\00:22:18.90
at an empty golf course food
shop. Jeremy sat in the holding
00:22:18.93\00:22:23.34
cell a few hours frustrated.
And then he noticed another very
00:22:23.37\00:22:28.28
troubled young man behind the
same bars. Andrew. This one's
00:22:28.31\00:22:33.35
matted, greasy hair and dull
gray eyes spoke of years in and
00:22:33.38\00:22:38.55
out of jail. He began
talking about his troubles. But
00:22:38.59\00:22:43.12
sometimes insightful intelligent
phrases flashed through. Jeremy
00:22:43.16\00:22:49.10
got the distinct impression this
bloke could have made something
00:22:49.13\00:22:52.37
out of his life, but he just
kept blowing it. At one point
00:22:52.40\00:22:57.91
Andrew rambled a bit about the
possibility of God having a plan
00:22:57.94\00:23:02.24
for your life. Suddenly
Jeremy remembered a story of
00:23:02.28\00:23:06.75
footprints and he had to share
it. He was feeling for his cell
00:23:06.78\00:23:10.89
mate. He felt compassion for
him So he told him about a man
00:23:10.92\00:23:16.32
looking back over his life and
seeing two sets of footprints
00:23:16.36\00:23:20.46
traced along in the sand via
the tracks of God walking beside
00:23:20.50\00:23:25.60
this individual through his ups
and downs. At the very lowest
00:23:25.63\00:23:30.21
point, however, one set of
footprints disappears. The man
00:23:30.24\00:23:35.34
asked in dismay, God did you
desert me then? No, God replies.
00:23:35.38\00:23:42.28
That's when I was carrying
you. After Jeremy finished the
00:23:42.32\00:23:47.32
parable, Andrew's dull gray
eyes lit up and then to Jeremy's
00:23:47.36\00:23:53.06
astonishment he dropped from
the iron bench to his knees and
00:23:53.09\00:23:57.27
began praying out loud. He
poured his heart out to God for
00:23:57.30\00:24:01.94
20 minutes, sobbing
uncontrollably forehead to the
00:24:01.97\00:24:06.88
cold cement floor. Guards
took Andrew to another cell and
00:24:06.91\00:24:12.35
ushered in a new prisoner
who asked, what happened to him?
00:24:12.38\00:24:15.85
Jeremy, still in awe, could only
reply, he found God. And that's
00:24:15.88\00:24:22.92
when Jeremy almost hit the
ceiling. Why? Because he felt
00:24:22.96\00:24:27.90
now he had a life mission.
He had run face to face into the
00:24:27.93\00:24:33.27
awesome power of encouraging
words. It swept him up in a kind
00:24:33.30\00:24:38.31
of exhilaration he'd never felt
before. Yes, even behind bars,
00:24:38.34\00:24:44.25
even in a cell this teenager
could say very excitedly, God
00:24:44.28\00:24:50.99
where do you want me to go next?
That's just one example of those
00:24:51.02\00:24:55.99
words of grace making an
impact even in the darkest hour.
00:24:56.02\00:25:00.73
It's an example of flowers
coming up from bare, black dirt.
00:25:00.76\00:25:06.23
So I challenge you, become
an encourager. We speak on the
00:25:06.27\00:25:12.87
average somewhere between 10 and
20 thousand words a day. Just
00:25:12.91\00:25:17.91
think of what a difference we
could make at school, at home,
00:25:17.95\00:25:21.85
and at work, if we use those
words to encourage people and
00:25:21.88\00:25:26.99
build them up. It will help
things blossom all around you
00:25:27.02\00:25:31.13
and best of all it'll give you a
real boost as well. Flowers have
00:25:31.16\00:25:37.70
to be cultivated. It takes
care and effort to grow a great
00:25:37.73\00:25:42.60
garden. And we can do the same
with our words in the garden of
00:25:42.64\00:25:47.48
life. It just takes care and
effort. If you want your life
00:25:47.51\00:25:52.81
to blossom, if you want a
life of color, beauty, and
00:25:52.85\00:25:57.15
fulfillment if you want true
happiness and inner peace and
00:25:57.19\00:26:01.09
want to share that with others
through encouraging words then
00:26:01.12\00:26:05.16
I'd like to recommend a
free gift we have for all our
00:26:05.19\00:26:09.26
Incredible Journey viewers
today. It's the easy-to- read
booklet Superpower of Words
00:26:09.30\00:26:15.30
This small booklet will only
take you a few minutes to read
00:26:15.34\00:26:19.24
but it could help you find
the right words to be a real
00:26:19.27\00:26:23.38
blessing and encouragement to
others. This booklet is our gift
00:26:23.41\00:26:28.25
to you and is absolutely free.
I guarantee there are no costs
00:26:28.28\00:26:32.75
or obligations whatsoever.
So make sure you take this
00:26:32.79\00:26:36.76
wonderful opportunity to receive
the free gift we have for you
00:26:36.79\00:26:41.20
today.
00:26:41.23\00:26:43.30
Phone or text us at 0436-333-555
in Australia or 020-422-2042 in
00:26:43.33\00:26:52.67
New Zealand or visit our website
TiJ.tv to request today's free
00:26:52.71\00:26:58.71
offer and we'll send it to you
totally free of charge and with
00:26:58.75\00:27:02.45
no obligation. Write to us at:
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Don't delay. Call or text us now
00:27:16.93\00:27:20.04
If you've enjoyed our journey
to Canberra and Floriade and our
00:27:20.07\00:27:26.44
reflections on the power of
our words and the importance of
00:27:26.47\00:27:30.18
encouraging people, then be sure
to join us again next week when
00:27:30.21\00:27:35.12
we will share another of life's
journeys together. Until then
00:27:35.15\00:27:38.92
may your words reflect a
beautiful life. Let's pray.
00:27:38.95\00:27:44.59
Dear heavenly Father, thank
you so much for this flowery
00:27:44.63\00:27:49.10
language of grace that
comes through to us in the New
00:27:49.13\00:27:52.40
Testament. Thank you for your
forgiveness, your acceptance
00:27:52.43\00:27:56.91
that enables us to live in grace
So please enable us to take in
00:27:56.94\00:28:03.18
this language. Enable us to say
I believe in you and I see your
00:28:03.21\00:28:08.98
gift. Take us into
your blossoming world of
00:28:09.02\00:28:12.49
encouragement. In
Jesus' name, Amen.
00:28:12.52\00:28:16.49
¤ ¤
00:28:16.52\00:28:25.13