Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
[MUSIC]
>> I WONDERER WHAT GLORIOUS THING COULD BE MADE
FROM RUINS. HOW DO YOU APPROACH SOMETHING
THAT IS IN ASHES OR IN RUINS IF YOU'RE REALLY BELIEVING TO SEE
IT COME TO LIFE? IS THERE ANY AREA OF YOUR LIFE
THAT IS IN RUINS WHERE YOU COULD BELIEVE GOD TO MAKE IT GLORIOUS?
IN OUR LIVES, OFTENTIMES, THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE IN RUIN
BUT WHAT GOD CAN DO WITH RUINS IS SUPERNATURAL.
WELL, I'M SPEAKING TODAY ABOUT GLORIOUS RUINS, ABOUT GOD
WHO CAN MAKE RUINS COME TO LIFE, THAT'S A SONG WE'VE BEEN SINGING
IN OUR CHURCH. I BELIEVE THIS MESSAGE CAN
REALLY SPEAK LIFE INTO YOU AND INTO YOUR WORLD.
>> "WHEN THE MOUNTAINS FALL AND THE TEMPEST ROARS,
YOU ARE WITH ME." THIS IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN SINGING
AT HILLSONG CHURCH THIS MORNING. "WHEN CREATION FOLDS, STILL MY
SOUL WILL SOAR ON YOUR MERCY. I WILL WALK THROUGH THE FIRE
WITH MY HEAD LIFTED HIGH AND MY SPIRIT REVIVED IN YOUR STORY.
AND I'LL LOOK TO THE CROSS AS MY FAILURE IS LOST IN THE LIGHT OF
YOUR GLORIOUS GRACE. WHEN THE WORLD COMES IN,
STILL MY HOPE WILL CLING TO YOUR PROMISE."
POWERFUL WORDS. "WHEN MY COURAGE ENDS,
LET MY HEART FIND STRENGTH IN YOUR PRESENCE.
LET THE RUINS COME TO LIFE." "GLORIOUS RUINS" IS WHAT THIS
SONG IS CALLED. AND YOU KNOW GLORIOUS RUINS IS
EXACTLY WHAT WE CONSIDER TODAY. JESUS, WHO LEFT BEHIND
GOD'S GLORY TO TASTE DEATH FOR YOU AND I BECAME
RUINED GLORY, BUT THANK GOD THAT DEATH COULDN'T HOLD HIM
AND RATHER THAN JUST CONTINUE TO BE RUINED GLORY,
JESUS BECAME GLORIOUS RUINS. GLORIOUS RUINS, IT SPEAKS
LITERALLY OF THE PHYSICAL TEMPLE, THE GLORIOUS,
PHYSICAL TEMPLE OF GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
IN JERUSALEM THAT WAS OVERTHROWN BY NEBUCHADNEZZAR
AND BURNED TO THE GROUND AND WAS LEFT SMOKING ASHES, CHARRED
AND RUINED. IT CAN BE SPEAKING OF HUMANITY,
CORPORATELY, WHO ARE ALL IN THE SAME PLIGHT AS IN WHAT GOD
CREATED WAS GLORIOUS. WHEN GOD MADE YOU, HE MADE
SOMETHING GLORIOUS. YOU WERE MADE IN THE IMAGE
OF GOD. AND DAVID, HE SAID ABOUT
HIMSELF, "I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE;
MARVELOUS ARE YOUR WORKS, O LORD, AND THAT MY SOUL
KNOWS VERY WELL." I NEEDED THAT THIS MORNING.
WHEN I GOT UP FIRST THING, EARLY, EARLY TO GET READY
FOR CHURCH, WHEN IT WAS WELL STILL DARK,
I WENT TO THE COFFEE MACHINE WE HAVE AT HOME AND WAITED
WHILE IT WAS HEATING UP. AND THEN FINALLY, WHEN IT WAS
ABOUT THE RIGHT TIME FOR IT TO GIVE ME MY MORNING COFFEE,
IT CAME UP WITH "FAULT 10, GO TO THE MANUAL."
WELL, I DECIDED IT'S RESURRECTION SUNDAY, I WAS GONNA
BELIEVE FOR GOD TO RESURRECT MY COFFEE MACHINE.
AND SO I OPENED IT AND SHUT IT AND STARTED IT AGAIN,
AND THE GOOD NEWS IS "FAULT 10" DIDN'T COME UP.
IT CAME UP WITH "FAULT 17," SO I HAD TO START THE DAY
WITHOUT MY COFFEE. AND THEN YOU'RE NOT GONNA
BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED. I GOT MY SUIT ON, GOT READY.
IT'S EASTER SUNDAY, I MEAN YOU'VE GOTTA LOOK YOUR
SUNDAY BEST FOR EASTER SUNDAY. I GOT TO CHURCH FOR THE CHAPEL
SERVICE, RIGHT ON TIME EARLY FOR THE 8 A.M. SERVICE
HERE AT HILLS. AND I PUT ON MY SUIT JACKET
AND WALKED AWAY FROM MY CAR FOR THE FIRST PERSON
TO SEE ME TO TELL ME THAT I HAD A DIFFERENT SUIT JACKET
ON THAN SUIT TROUSERS. THEY WEREN'T EVEN CLOSE
TO THE SAME. THEY DIDN'T EVEN MATCH SO I HAD
TO BACK IN MY CAR, DRIVE HOME, GET THE RIGHT JACKET, DRIVE
ALL THE WAY BACK, JUST IN TIME TO HEAR THEM IN THIS
CHAPEL SINGING, "CHRIST IS ENOUGH FOR ME."
PRAISE GOD. BUT I AM FEARFULLY
AND WONDERFULLY MADE, MARVELOUS ARE YOUR WORKS.
WHAT GOD CREATED WAS GLORIOUS BUT LIKE ALL HUMANITY, THROUGH
SIN AND THROUGH THE FALL, THEN WHAT WAS GLORIOUS WAS LEFT
IN RUINS. YOU KNOW, IT'S ALSO TRUE FOR YOU
PERSONALLY IN THAT MAYBE ALL OF THAT POTENTIAL THAT GOD HAS
GIVEN YOU AND ALL THAT GOD-GIVEN PURPOSE, THROUGH FAILINGS OR
WEAKNESSES OR MISTAKES OR WHATEVER ELSE IN LIFE, SOMETIMES
WE CAN FIND IT LIKE THOSE CHARRED RUINS OF A TEMPLE,
WHICH HAS BEEN LEFT IN RUINS. DO YOU KNOW IF YOU'RE TALKING IN
TODAY'S TERMS ABOUT RUINS, WE USE THE WORD "RUIN"
WHEN IT COMES TO FINANCES, A PERSON IS RUINED.
AND I'M SURE THERE WOULD BE PEOPLE WHO ARE LISTENING TO ME
WHO MAYBE THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE ON THE EDGE OF, FINANCIAL RUIN OR
PERHAPS SOMETHING YOU'VE ALREADY ENCOUNTERED OR EXPERIENCED.
WHEN IT COMES TO A REPUTATION, YOU COULD TALK ABOUT A RUINED
REPUTATION, SOMEBODY HAS RUINED YOUR REPUTATION.
WHEN IT COMES TO RELATIONSHIPS, A RELATIONSHIP IN RUINS
AND, OF COURSE, IT CAN SPEAK OF A DREAM,
IT CAN SPEAK OF A VISION. IT CAN SPEAK OF SO
MANY DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT THE POWERFUL THING IS
THE MESSAGE THAT WE CELEBRATE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST
IS THAT THE RUINS COME TO LIFE, IN THE GLORY OF HIS NAME,
RISING UP FROM THE ASHES. "GOD, FOREVER YOU REIGN AND MY
SOUL WILL FIND REFUGE IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS.
I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER AND FOREVER I WILL SING."
HOW COULD YOU NOT BUT WANT TO SING ON THIS SUNDAY MORNING?
HOW COULD YOU NOT BUT WANT TO SING?
DO YOU KNOW THE ONLY RELIGIONS THAT REALLY SING IN THEIR
WORSHIP ARE JUDEO-CHRISTIANITY. WORSHIP, THANK GOD WE'VE GOT
SOMETHING AND SOMEONE TO SING ABOUT
BECAUSE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS. IT CAN BE SPEAKING OF
THE PHYSICAL TEMPLE. IT CAN BE SPEAKING OF HUMANITY
OVERALL OR YOU PERSONALLY, BUT, OF COURSE, THE MOST POWERFUL
EXAMPLE OF GLORIOUS RUINS IS CHRIST.
AND THE MESSAGE OF EASTER IS THAT JESUS LEFT HIS POSITION
OF GLORY. HE EMPTIED HIMSELF WITH
THE GLORY OF THE FATHER AND HE CHOSE TO ALLOW
HIS BODY TO BE RUINED AND TO DESTROYED ON THE CROSS.
THANK GOD, THANK GOD THAT THE RUINS CAME TO LIFE.
CAN ANYONE SAY, "THANK GOD THAT THE RUINS CAME TO LIFE"?
IN JESUS' NAME. I LOVE IT.
DO YOU KNOW RUINS, IF YOU LOOK AT THEM NATURALLY, IF YOU THINK
OF SOME OF THE GREAT RUINS OF THE WORLD, THEY SPEAK OF
GLORY DAYS. THE RUINS IN ROME SPEAK OF
THE GLORY OF ROME, AND THE TRUTH IS THAT RUINS REPRESENT
BETTER DAYS, GLORY DAYS. RUINS, THEY OFTEN REFLECT FORMER
BATTLES OR MAYBE FORMER DISASTER OR FORMER NEGLECT AND OUT OF
NEGLECT COMES RUINS. THAT CAN HAPPEN TO A PERSON'S
SPIRITUAL WALK IF WE NEGLECT IT, IT CAN LIE IN RUINS IF IT'S JUST
AN EASTER THING, THEN YOU WILL BE LIVING IN THE RUINS OF
A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, WHICH IS NOT, OF COURSE,
WHAT GOD INTENDS. IT COULD SPEAK RUINS, THAT IS,
OF CRUSHING DEFEAT. OFTENTIMES THE RUINS ARE JUST
THE LEFTOVER OF SOME PAST CRUSHING DEFEAT, OR PERHAPS OF
SOMETHING ABANDONED BUT THE GOOD NEWS TODAY IS THAT THE RUINS
COME TO LIFE. WHAT OFTENTIMES HAS BEEN FORMER
GLORY LEFT IN RUINS, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, WHAT WE LOOK AT IS
RUINS THAT BECOME GLORIOUS OR GLORIOUS RUINS.
IN EZRA CHAPTER 9, WHEN IT TALKS ABOUT THAT OLD TESTAMENT TEMPLE,
IT TALKS ABOUT SOMETHING THAT GOD'S EYE WAS ON AND HIS HEART
WAS IN, THAT'S WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS.
AND IN EZRA CHAPTER 9, VERSE 8, SPEAKING OF THAT OLD TESTAMENT
TEMPLE. IN THESE VERSES,
VERSE 8 AND VERSE 9, THERE'S A MESSAGE OF RELEASE.
THERE'S A MESSAGE OF REVIVE, REPAIR, AND REBUILD.
IT'S A MESSAGE OF RESTORATION. IT'S GOD BRINGING
SOMETHING GLORIOUS BACK TO WHAT WAS LEFT IN RUINS.
IT SAYS IN VERSE 8, "AND NOW FOR A LITTLE WHILE GRACE HAS BEEN
SHOWN US FROM THE LORD OUR GOD, TO LEAVE US A REMNANT TO ESCAPE,
AND TO GIVE US A PEG IN HIS HOLY PLACE, THAT OUR EYES
MAY BE ENLIGHTENED." LISTEN TO IT.
"FOR WE WERE SLAVES. YET OUR GOD DID NOT FORSAKE US
IN OUR BONDAGE," BUT IT GOES ON AND SAYS, "BUT HE EXTENDED MERCY
TO US IN THE SIGHT OF THE KINGS OF PERSIA, TO REVIVE US,
TO REPAIR THE HOUSE OF OUR GOD," HERE IT IS,
"TO REBUILD ITS RUINS." I LOVE THE WAY THAT GOD CAN
REPAIR RUINS. DO YOU KNOW TALKING OF LEBANON
AND THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH CHAPTER 11,
IT TALKS THERE OF WHAT ONCE WAS GLORIOUS,
THESE GREAT CEDARS OF LEBANON AND THE FOLIAGE IN LEBANON.
IT WAS CALLED THE PRIDE OF THE JORDAN AND, YOU KNOW,
WHAT IT SAYS HERE IN VERSE 3, TOWARD THE END OF THE VERSE IS
THAT THEIR GLORY WAS IN RUINS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT
REPRESENTS IN YOUR LIFE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT PAST PART OF
YOUR LIFE MAYBE WAS GREATER THAN THE ASHES OF WHAT YOU SEE TODAY,
BUT I DO BELIEVE THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST IS A MESSAGE OF NEW LIFE
AND THAT GOD CAN MAKE SOMETHING GLORIOUS OUT OF SOMETHING
THAT IS RUINED, WHETHER IT'S PHYSICAL,
WHETHER IT'S SPIRITUAL, WHETHER IT'S YOUR
INTERNAL BEING, WELL-BEING OR WHETHER IT IS SOMETHING,
YOU KNOW, ELSE THAN THAT. ALL I KNOW IS GOD CAN CAUSE
THE RUINS TO COME TO LIFE, IN JESUS' NAME.
AND I'D ENCOURAGE YOU TO HAVE THAT KIND OF FAITH TO LIVE
THE KIND OF LIFE WHERE WHAT IS AHEAD OF YOU
IS GREATER THAN WHAT IS BEHIND YOU, WHERE INDEED
THE BEST IS YET TO COME. DO YOU KNOW THIS BOOK OF EZRA,
IT'S A POWERFUL BOOK BECAUSE IT SPEAKS OF GOD DOING SOMETHING
GREAT OUT OF WHAT WAS DESTROYED AND RUINED, AND IT'S SO
BEAUTIFUL AND IT'S SO POWERFUL. AND I LOOK AT THAT BOOK AND I
CAN SEE VARIOUS THINGS IN WHICH THAT AWESOME TRUTH THAT GLORIOUS
RUINS CAN REFLECT THE GREATNESS OF GOD.
I CAN SEE DIFFERENT FOUNDATIONS IT'S BUILT ON.
I BELIEVE THAT RESURRECTION LIFE IS BUILT ON PRAISE POWER.
THAT OLD TESTAMENT TEMPLE, IT WAS IN RUINS.
I MEAN LITERALLY IT WAS JUST A RUIN OF SOMETHING THAT WAS
PREVIOUSLY GLORIOUS. AND WHEN THEY WAS JUST
REBUILDING THAT TEMPLE, ON A WORD FROM THE LORD, IT
TELLS US HOW THEY'D ONLY GOT TO THE FOUNDATION STAGE.
YOU KNOW WHAT THEY STARTED TO DO WHEN ONLY THE FOUNDATIONS WERE
THERE, THE TEMPLE WAS NOT YET GLORIOUS.
IT WAS JUST THE START, BUT THEY STARTED TO PRAISE GOD.
THAT'S WHERE PRAISE WORKS BEST, AT THE BEGINNING.
THAT'S WHY WE START OUR SERVICES WITH PRAISE.
THAT'S WHY I'D ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE HERE AS EARLY AS YOU CAN
IN A SERVICE AND TO GET IN THE PART, FIRST PART,
OF THE SERVICE 'CAUSE IT'S NOT JUST THE SONGS BEFORE
THE MAIN COURSE, YOU KNOW? IT'S NOT JUST THE APPETIZER,
IT'S PRAISE AND GREAT THINGS HAPPEN THROUGH PRAISE
AND YOU ENTER HIS THANKSGIVING THROUGH PRAISE.
PSALM 100, VERSE 4 SAYS, "WE ENTER HIS GATES WITH
THANKSGIVING IN MY HEART." WELL, HERE THEY'VE ONLY JUST
LAID THE FOUNDATIONS AND IT TELLS US IN EZRA CHAPTER 3,
VERSE 10 THAT "WHEN THE BUILDERS LAID THE FOUNDATION
OF THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD, THE PRIESTS STOOD IN THEIR
APPAREL WITH TRUMPETS." [MIMICKING A TRUMPET SOUND]
THAT SOUNDED MORE LIKE A ROOSTER.
BUT I'LL PUT ON YOU SPIRITUAL IMAGINATION
AND IMAGINE TRUMPETS. "AND THE LEVITES,
THE SONS OF ASAPH, WITH CYMBALS, TO PRAISE
THE LORD, ACCORDING TO THE ORDINANCE OF
DAVID KING OF ISRAEL." LISTEN TO IT, IT'S POWERFUL.
"THEY SANG RESPONSIVELY." THAT'S THE KIND OF SINGING
I LIKE TO BE AROUND. "THEY SANG RESPONSIVELY,
PRAISING AND GIVING THANKS TO THE LORD."
OH, MAN, ISN'T IT GREAT THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH
RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES WHERE OUR SINGING HAS NO LIFE TO IT, WHERE
WE'RE JUST GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS, BUT WE CAN SING,
"RESPONSIVELY, PRAISING AND GIVING THANKS
TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD, FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES
FOREVER TOWARD ISRAEL," THE SCRIPTURE SAYS.
"THEN ALL THE PEOPLE SHOUTED WITH A GREAT SHOUT, WHEN THEY
PRAISED THE LORD, BECAUSE THE FOUNDATION--"
THEY'RE ONLY PRAISING GOD ABOUT THE FOUNDATION,
THE BEGINNING POINT. WHAT IS IT IN YOUR LIFE WHERE
MAYBE YOU'RE TRUSTING GOD FOR RUINS TO COME TO LIFE?
YOU'RE TRUSTING GOD TO SEE NEW LIFE TO A DEAD THING.
THERE IS NOTHING GREATER YOU CAN DO IN THAT SITUATION THAN
PRAISE GOD. I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE
PRAISING PEOPLE, NOT JUST IN CHURCH ON SUNDAYS, CERTAINLY
NOT JUST AT EASTER TIME, BUT AS A WAY OF LIFE.
KNOW THE POWER OF PRAISE. MOSES, HE DIDN'T WAIT UNTIL
THE RED SEA HAD PARTED AND GOD DELIVERED THEM TO START
PRAISING. NOW, THE PEOPLE, WHEN
THE RED SEA WAS IN FRONT OF THEM AND WHERE PHARAOH AND HIS ARMIES
WERE COMING IN ON THEM, THEY WERE COMPLAINING,
CRITICIZING, WHINGING. MOSES, WHEN THEY WERE
STILL COMPLAINING, HE WAS PRAISING GOD.
HE SAYS, "GOD WILL DO THE FIGHTING FOR US."
HE WAS PRAISING GOD. SURE ENOUGH, THROUGH HIS PRAYER
AND THROUGH HIS BELIEF AND THROUGH HIS COMMAND, ON THE WORD
OF THE LORD, THE SEAS OPENED, THEY WERE ABLE TO WALK THROUGH
TO THE OTHER SIDE. AND THEN THE SEAS CLOSED
AND THEY'VE DROWNED ALL OF THOSE OPPOSITION
AND ON THE OTHER SIDE, THE PEOPLE STARTED TO SING.
THEY'RE SINGING, "THE LORD HAS TRIUMPHED GLORIOUSLY!
THE HORSE AND ITS RIDER HAS BEEN THROWN INTO THE SEA!"
IT'S EASY TO PRAISE GOD AFTER THE EVENT.
WHAT MADE MOSES A LEADER IS HE WAS PRAISING GOD
BEFORE THE MIRACLE. DO YOU KNOW THE BEST WAY TO LOOK
AT A DEAD THING IN YOUR LIFE IS TO DO IT WITH A SPIRIT
OF PRAISE. PRAISE GOD IN YOUR BEDROOM.
PRAISE GOD IN THE BATHROOM. PRAISE GOD IN THE LOO.
PRAISE GOD WHEREVER YOU NEED. PRAISE GOD IN YOUR CAR.
GET OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING, PRAISING GOD.
THAT'S THE WAY TO START YOUR DAY.
AND THE COFFEE MACHINE MIGHT LET YOU DOWN, MAYBE YOUR DRESS ISN'T
GOING TOO WELL, BUT THE TRUTH IS YOU START YOUR DAY WITH A SPIRIT
OF PRAISE AND YOU SPEAK INTO THE HEAVENLIES.
THAT'S HOW THEY APPROACHED THE BUILDING OF WHAT WAS ABOUT
TO BECOME GLORIOUS RUINS IN JESUS' NAME.
PRAISE HAS SO MUCH MORE POWER THAN WE REALIZE.
WHEN JESUS WAS CONFRONTED BY DEATH, WHEN IT WAS THE DEATH
OF HIS FRIEND, LAZARUS, THE SHORTEST YET MOST POIGNANT
VERSE ALMOST IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, "JESUS WEPT."
BUT THEN IT GOES ON AND TELLS US THAT WHILE LAZARUS WAS STILL
DEAD AND THE CROWD WOULD GATHER AROUND, THEY HAD HEARD THAT
JESUS WAS GONNA TRY TO RAISE THIS LAZARUS FROM THE DEAD.
EVERYBODY WAS THERE, CHANNEL 10 WAS THERE.
CHANNEL 9 WAS THERE. CHANNEL 7, SBS, ABC,
THEY ALL CAME. WE HAD SPORTS NEWS,
FOX NEWS, SKY NEWS. WE HAD CNN.
WE HAD EVERYBODY THERE. THE BBC EVEN TURNED UP, BUT THEY
WERE LATE, BUT THEY CAME. [LAUGHING]
YOU KNOW WHAT JESUS DOES? NOW KEEP IN MIND, LAZARUS IS
STILL STINKING DEAD. SEVERAL DAYS IN
THE MIDDLE EASTERN SUN, DEAD. SMELLING-STENCH DEAD.
THAT'S WHAT JESUS WAS CONFRONTED WITH.
AND IN JOHN 11, VERSE 41 IT SAYS, "THEY TOOK AWAY
THE STONE FROM THE PLACE WHERE THE DEAD MAN WAS LYING.
AND JESUS LIFTED UP HIS EYES," AND WHAT DID HE DO?
HE STARTED TO PRAISE GOD. IN THE FACE OF DEATH,
HE STARTED TO PRAISE GOD. HE SAID, "FATHER, I THANK YOU
THAT YOU HAVE HEARD ME." THEN HE SAYS,
"I KNOW THAT YOU ALWAYS HEAR ME, BUT BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE THAT
ARE STANDING BY I SAID THIS, THAT THEY MAY BELIEVE THAT
YOU SENT ME." HE SAID, "I KNOW YOU ALWAYS HEAR
ME, BUT I'M SAYING IT FOR ALL OF THESE PEOPLE'S SAKE SO THAT
THEY'LL KNOW THAT MY TRUST IS IN THE NAME OF THE LORD."
AND THEN IT GOES ON AND IT SAYS, "NOW WHEN HE HAD SAID THESE
THINGS, HE CRIED WITH A LOUD VOICE, 'LAZARUS, COME FORTH!
LAZARUS, COME FORTH!'" LAZARUS CAME FORTH.
PRAISE GOD. IT'S THE POWER OF PRAISE.
I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU, IF YOU BELIEVE FOR THE RUINS TO COME
ALIVE, KNOW THE POWER OF PRAISE. HIS NAME IS GREATER.
HIS NAME IS HIGHER. ALL OUR HOPE IS IN HIM.
HIS WORD UNFAILING. HIS PROMISE UNCHANGING.
ALL OUR HOPE IS IN HIM. LET THE RUINS COME TO LIFE
IN THE GLORY OF HIS NAME, THE BEAUTY OF HIS NAME RISING UP
FROM THE ASHES. WHATEVER IS ONLY SMOKING ASHES,
A RELATIONSHIP, MAYBE ONE OF YOUR YOUNG CHILDREN OR
TEENAGER'S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, IT SEEMS TO BE IN RUINS.
MAYBE YOUR MARRIAGE OR A FAMILY CAN BE IN RUINS AND THE POWER
OF PRAISE SHOULD NEVER BE UNDERESTIMATED.
THERE ARE TIMES IN MY LIFE WHEN I'VE BEEN ABLE TO PRAISE MYSELF
HAPPY. I LOVE PREACHING BECAUSE THERE
ARE DAYS WHEN THE COFFEE MACHINE WOULDN'T WORK AND YOU CAN PREACH
YOURSELF HAPPY, IN JESUS' NAME. BUT THERE'S SOMETHING POWERFUL
ABOUT PRAISE AND YOU SHOULD NEVER UNDERESTIMATE IT.
>> I REMEMBER BEING IN ROME AND WALKING AROUND SOME OF
THOSE RUINS THAT REPRESENTED PAST GLORY, THE GLORY OF ROME.
I'VE BEEN IN POMPEII AND LOOKED AT THE RUINS WHERE, OF COURSE,
A CITY WAS DESTROYED BY MOUNT VESUVIUS,
AND IT REPRESENTS ALL SORTS OF PAST GLORY.
IN OUR LIVES, OFTENTIMES, THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE IN RUINS.
IT COULD BE OUR RELATIONSHIPS. IT COULD BE YOUR REPUTATION.
YOU MAY BE FACING OR HAVE FACED FINANCIAL RUIN, BUT WHAT GOD CAN
DO WITH RUINS IS SUPERNATURAL, AND THE RESURRECTION LIFE OF
JESUS IS GREAT PROOF TO THAT. JESUS HAD DIED SUCH A PAINFUL
DEATH AND THE DESTRUCTION AND THE RUIN WAS SO COMPLETE
THAT IT SEEMED LIKE HOPE HAD DIED.
IT SEEMS LIKE JESUS' CLAIMS TO BE THE SON OF GOD WERE DEAD.
SEEMS LIKE GOD'S PROMISES WERE DEAD, LIKE ETERNAL PURPOSE
WAS DEAD. IT SEEMED, IN FACT, LIKE ALL OF
OUR HOPES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH WERE DEAD.
BUT WHEN GOD SPEAKS LIFE, THE RUINS COME ALIVE, AND JESUS
ROSE FROM THE GRAVE SO THAT YOU AND I CAN KNOW LIFE.
TAKE THOSE AREAS IN YOUR LIFE THAT ARE IN RUINS AND PUT THEM
TOWARDS GOD AND PRAISE YOUR WAY INTO BELIEVING FOR THE RUINS
TO COME TO LIFE.
>> GROWING UP A TEENAGER IN SRI LANKA IN THE MIDST
OF CIVIL WAR, A WAR ZONE, WAS NOT EASY.
EVERY DAY WAS ANOTHER DAY FILLED WITH SHELLING,
BOMBING, AND HORROR, JUST ABSOLUTE HORROR.
ONE DAY YOU STAYED UNDER THE BUNKERS AND YOU COME OUT IN
THE MORNING AND IN FRONT OF OUR EYES, MY DAD GOT KILLED.
MY FATHER GOT KILLED AND ALONG WITH OUR NEIGHBORS
AND A FEW OTHER PEOPLE.
LIFE WAS HOPELESS. IT WAS ALL, ALL LIKE ASHES,
RUINED. BY THE GRACE OF GOD, WE WERE
ABLE TO GO TO U.K. AND THAT'S WHERE WE STARTED ALL OVER AGAIN.
IN ENGLAND, THAT'S WHERE I MET MARINO, MY HUSBAND.
WE DECIDED TO LEAVE ENGLAND AND MOVE TO SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.
I STARTED WORKING IN A CHILD CARE CENTER,
AND I REALLY THOUGHT THAT THAT COULD BE MY CAREER.
I THINK BY GRACE OF GOD, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET OUR
FIRST CHILD CARE CENTER. SINCE THAT TIME, GOD HAS BEEN SO
GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL, AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO BUILD ANOTHER
THREE CENTERS. WE THOUGHT, "OKAY,
WHAT WE GONNA DO NOW? WE ARE BLESSED AND HOW ARE WE
GONNA SOW BACK INTO OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES?"
THAT'S WHEN WE STARTED A PRESCHOOL IN SRI LANKA.
WE'VE SOWED NOW INTO FOUR CENTERS IN SRI LANKA
AND ALTOGETHER WE ARE ABOUT LOOKING AFTER 200 CHILDREN,
PROVIDING THEM WITH FREE EDUCATION AND MEALS.
WE CHOSE THIS PARTICULAR AREA IN SRI LANKA.
THIS IS WHERE THE FINAL WAR HAPPENED IN 2009.
THAT PLACE WAS IN RUINS, LIKE BASICALLY IT WAS DEAD.
THERE WAS NOTHING. BY THE GRACE OF GOD, WE ARE
DEFINITELY NOW SEEING LIVES CHANGED, RUINS COMING TO LIFE
AND PEOPLE FLOURISHING.
>>WHEN THE WORLD CAVES IN STILL MY HOPE WILL CLING
TO YOUR PROMISE
WHERE MY COURAGE ENDS LET MY HEART FIND STRENGTH
IN YOUR PRESENCE
I'LL WALK THROUGH THE FIRE WITH MY HEAD LIFTED HIGH
AND MY SPIRIT REVIVED IN YOUR STORY
AND I'LL LOOK TO THE CROSS AS MY FAILURE IS LOST
IN THE LIGHT OF YOUR GLORIOUS GRACE
LET THE RUINS COME TO LIFE IN THE BEAUTY OF YOUR NAME
RISING UP FROM THE ASHES GOD FOREVER YOU REIGN
AND MY SOUL WILL FIND REFUGE IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS
I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER AND FOREVER I'LL SING
LET THE RUINS COME TO LIFE IN THE BEAUTY OF YOUR NAME
RISING UP FROM THE ASHES GOD FOREVER YOU REIGN
AND MY SOUL WILL FIND REFUGE IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS
I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER AND FOREVER I'LL SING
WHOA, OH WHOA, OH
WHOA, OH WHOA, OH
LET THE RUINS COME TO LIFE IN THE BEAUTY OF YOUR NAME
RISING UP FROM THE ASHES GOD FOREVER YOU REIGN
AND MY SOUL WILL FIND REFUGE IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS
I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER AND FOREVER I'LL SING
LET THE RUINS COME TO LIFE IN THE BEAUTY OF YOUR NAME
RISING UP FROM THE ASHES GOD FOREVER YOU REIGN
AND MY SOUL WILL FIND REFUGE IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS
I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER AND FOREVER I'LL SING
LET THE RUINS COME TO LIFE IN THE BEAUTY OF YOUR NAME
RISING UP FROM THE ASHES GOD FOREVER YOU REIGN
AND MY SOUL WILL FIND REFUGE IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS
I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER
>> THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME.
IT MEANS A LOT TO ME, AND I REALLY WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO
TAKE THE WORD OF GOD AND TO LET IT APPLY TO YOUR LIFE.
KEEP PRAISING GOD IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE, AND LET'S BELIEVE
TO SEE GOD BRINGING MIRACULOUS TURNAROUND SEEING THE RUINS
COMING TO LIFE, RISING UP FROM THE ASHES SO THAT GOD WILL GET
ALL THE GLORY IN JESUS' NAME. GOD BLESS YA.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK.