WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: 2 Peter 1: Divine Nature Publishing Date: 2025-01-19T05:04:44-08:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/2-peter-1-divine-nature/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:14.000 Okay, guys, here comes the leader. We will go straight into the teaching right now and 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:25.000 then take a break later. Brandon, could I have my tea? If someone can get the table, it will 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:52.000 be fine. Yeah, you can get started. It can happen now. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:01:19.000 Sheldon, your phone is here, eh? 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:36.000 Yeah, can you? Yeah. What's up, Judah? Okay, today we continue with 2 Peter. So if you 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:42.000 want to turn to 2 Peter, we've been there for two weeks, we might be there for a while. 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:57.000 So we did 2 Peter 1, picking words from that. So we did promise and faith. And now today 00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:05.000 we will go back a verse and pick on divine nature. 2 Peter 1, starting at 3, I'll just 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:15.000 read 3 and 4 for now. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:21.000 through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these, 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:27.000 he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:33.000 in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. So it's 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:39.000 this idea of sharing in his nature, his divine nature. If you go to the NIRV, it puts it this way. 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:48.000 Same scripture, NIRV if you have it, otherwise I'll just read it. 2 Peter 2, it just simplifies it. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:56.000 It says, he has also given us his very great and valuable promises. He did it so you could share 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:02.000 in his nature. He also did it so you could escape from the evil in the world. He did it so you could 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:08.000 share in his nature. He also did it so you could escape from the evil in this world. So we'll focus on 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:17.000 this idea of his divine nature. And to look at his divine nature, let's go to Isaiah 6. 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:27.000 Isaiah 6. Isaiah 6. If you had to get the essence of god's nature, that's what we're trying to 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:35.000 extract. That's what we're trying to extract. So we're going to Isaiah's, thanks man. 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:44.000 We're going to Isaiah 6 and let's read 1 to 8. Isaiah 6, 1 to 8. Here's what it says. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:55.000 I pray God that we learn this scripture. In the year that King Uzziah died, 00:03:55.000 --> 00:04:04.000 I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:13.000 Above him were seraphs, so seraphim, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:21.000 with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling out to one another, 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:31.000 Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory. 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:42.000 At the sound of their voices, the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:49.000 Woe to me, I cried, I am ruined, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:58.000 and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty. Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:03.000 which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:09.000 See, this has touched your lips, your guilt has taken away and your sin atoned for. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:15.000 And then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:24.000 And I said, Here am I, send me. And then he gives Isaiah his commission and what he needs to say. 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:32.000 And so let me just read again from verse one to four. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:44.000 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, lifted high. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:51.000 And I saw his robe, the train of his robe fill the temple. 00:05:51.000 --> 00:06:00.000 And I saw a seraphim that had six wings, with two they covered their feet, with two they covered their eyes, and with two they flew. 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:12.000 And they kept crying out to one another. And they cried out, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord as in Adonai of hosts. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:21.000 The whole earth is filled with his glory. And as they began to cry to each other, the thresholds in the temple began to shake. 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:36.000 And the room was filled with incense. You know, of all the things that God is in his essence, the essence of God is holy. 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:45.000 Surprisingly, it's not love, it's not mercy, it's not justice. This is the word. 00:06:45.000 --> 00:07:03.000 Nowhere else in the Bible do you get this thing called the tri-hegios, is the Greek word for holy, tri-hegios, or the idea of holy, holy, holy. 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:14.000 Nowhere else. You don't hear mercy, mercy, mercy. You don't hear love, love, love. You don't hear justice, justice, justice. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:22.000 But the one thing you hear is holy, holy, holy. And it is his essence. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:29.000 And you hear it in the Old Testament in Isaiah 6. Then you go to Revelation 4 and you hear it again. 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:38.000 Revelation 4, verse 8 it says, and the four creatures before the throne began to cry out, saying, 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:48.000 Holy, holy, holy is the one who sits on the throne, who is, who was and is, and will be forevermore. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:59.000 Both the Old Testament and the New Testament have this idea of three times, holy, holy, holy. 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:12.000 Both were being spoken by creatures that were not human. And both were seen in a vision, one by Isaiah, the other by John. 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:20.000 Revealing to us the essence of his nature. So what's his love like? His love is holy love. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:27.000 What's his mercy like? His mercy is holy. And yet we haven't defined the word yet. 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:33.000 But it is put before everything. What is his justice like? Holy justice. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:39.000 This is why, what is his bride like? A holy people. 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:44.000 What is this nation that he is building called? A holy nation. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:49.000 What is his spirit called? Holy spirit. 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:55.000 And the other strange thing is, in Isaiah 6 you're talking about Yahweh, Adonai seated on a throne. 00:08:55.000 --> 00:09:02.000 In Revelation 4, verse 8 it shifts. Who are we talking about now? Christ, the risen one. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:12.000 Why? Because we know from John chapter 1 that in the beginning was a word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:18.000 Doesn't matter which way you look, the essence of his nature is holy. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:28.000 Until I find that out and begin to fathom it and understand it, everything will be blurry. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:37.000 Everything will be blurry. Because if you don't know the essence of the nature of someone, everything else, 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:43.000 you may understand but you won't understand it the way you need to understand it. 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:50.000 Any questions thus far? Any questions? 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:04.000 Yeah, that's the rest of the sermon. Thanks Mark. 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:13.000 Any other questions? No really, we talk about that. 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:20.000 We talk about what it means to say God is holy. Let's begin with that. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:26.000 Okay, so then let's try and define holiness because it's almost impossible to define 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:33.000 because it's the essence of the nature of the one who is creator and who created everything. 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:46.000 And so here are some words that might help. Holiness is God's, holiness is God's unique, 00:10:46.000 --> 00:11:01.000 transcendent as in out of this world, above everything, transcendent, infinite, pure essence, 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:08.000 or the core of his nature. 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:21.000 Here's what the word kadosh actually means. Kadosh means to cut off, to separate. 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:28.000 That's what it means, to separate. Separate from what? Separate from the common. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:46.000 Separate from the secular. That's what it means. It is distinct. It's devoted. It is otherness. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:50.000 So let's look at it this way. It's what makes him God. Nobody else has holy. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:55.000 Guys, when God made man in his image, when Adam was made in his image, 00:11:55.000 --> 00:12:01.000 we must understand that one of the attributes Adam did not have was holy. 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:07.000 Holy belongs only to one. 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:20.000 Yes. So holy, there's only one that is holy. In the entire universe, there's only one that is holy. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:28.000 Only one. Even Adam did not have this holy. This is a unique God thing. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:35.000 Nobody else has it. It makes him who he is. At the end of the day, the best explanation for holy is holy is God. 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:43.000 There is no other. Even when man was made in his image, he was made with certain intellectual capacities, 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:56.000 moral fiber, moral being, kindness, innocence. Yes. Pure. Yes. But holy, no. That belongs only to one. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:13:04.000 It is his otherness. He is distinct like that. There is nobody else. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:19.000 Now you see why he had to then come down to the earth and die and live so that he can indwell us, so that we may become like him. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:27.000 It's the only way. There's no other way around it. For some of us, this is a struggle. 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:34.000 Here's a question that I've heard. It's an old question. It's not a new question. If you think you came up with it, eh. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:43.000 Here's a question. Why should I adore and worship a God who keeps telling us who he is and says, 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:51.000 worship me because I need to tell you that I am this, I am that, I am this? If any human does that, it's self-exalting. 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:57.000 But the only one who can do that so that you begin to worship him and are satisfied inside is God. 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:07.000 Why do we worship? Why does he say, listen, I am holy, I am worthy, I am pure, I am kind, I am God, I am who I am? 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:18.000 Why does he say that? Because he created you. And the only way you will find deep satisfaction inside is when you connect to the one who created you. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:23.000 Anything else that you try has ended in failure, will continue ending in failure. 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:27.000 But the moment you and I begin to say, I am this or I am that, it's self-exalted. 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:35.000 But the highly exalted one must say that to you so that you can worship him. 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:43.000 So perish this question of why does he say it. That's like a question that was asked in Romans and so many other places. 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:53.000 And the reply from God to Job and to others was, hey, does the clay look at the potter and say, why did you make me? 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:59.000 He turns to Job and says, do you know how the deer gives birth? Have you wrapped up all the rain in your fist? 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:04.000 Have you sent lightning and thunder? Did you set the dimensions of the earth? 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:09.000 Did you know how you were created in the womb of your mother? 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:14.000 And Job says, I had heard about you, but now I know you. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:20.000 That's on the side so that you don't go down that road because it's easy to go down that road. 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:28.000 At the end of the day, man was made in the image of God, but this is one attribute that God is alone. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:34.000 And that is he is holy. He is so holy, guys, that even when he doesn't show up, 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:44.000 even when he doesn't show up physically, if you see him, it can blind you and knock you off your horse. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:52.000 That's what happens in Acts 9.13. God just doesn't even show up. 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:58.000 All it says in Acts 9.13 is, and then there was a brilliant light from heaven. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:04.000 And it blinded Paul and knocked him off his horse. 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:17.000 That's all it says. We can't even approach him. He's that kind of unapproachable light that he lives in, that kind of holiness. 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:22.000 In Acts 9.13, even when he doesn't show up physically, when he just shows up as light, 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:27.000 the light of his holiness is so brilliant that you can't stand it, 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:39.000 which is also why the seraphim cover their eyes as they fly and cry. 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:47.000 What do they cry? Holy, holy, holy. 00:16:53.000 --> 00:17:00.000 This kind of brilliance is unimaginable. It's not showing. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:08.000 I was wondering why people had a grin on their face. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:18.000 Just need your touch. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:26.000 To see your writing develop. 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:29.000 That didn't make it any better. Oh, it's lagging. Yeah. 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:34.000 Okay, guys, now you see why when God gave the law to Israel, why did he give the law? 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:40.000 The reason he gave the law was because he wanted to reveal his holiness and then say to mankind, 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:46.000 Listen, I am so holy that even if you kept all these rules, you wouldn't be able to attain it. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:52.000 That's why he gave the law. He gives the law to Israel. And why does he give the law to Israel? 00:17:52.000 --> 00:18:00.000 The law was given to reveal the holiness of God and to let mankind know that it's unattainable. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:08.000 And now you see the costly logic of his love, where Christ must die to live in me, that I may be holy, 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:12.000 that Christ must die to live in me, that I may be holy. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:26.000 So any questions before we go on? 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:39.000 So if God's holiness is his nature, if God's holiness is his nature, 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:56.000 then God's glory is the display of his holiness. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:03.000 If God's holiness is his nature, then God's glory is the display of his holiness. 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:09.000 Or in other words, it's God's holiness going public. God's holiness. 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:25.000 Glory is God's holiness gone public. 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:32.000 Think of that, eh? Everything that God is, is holy. It's an invisible attribute. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:36.000 We don't know his beginning. He's been from everlasting to everlasting. 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:43.000 Everything about him is, if there's one word that defines everything he does, everything he does, it is this word, holy. 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:54.000 It's like a plumb line. You cannot define it. You can only say, holy is God. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:20:02.000 Sorry? Christ's logic, it makes us understand the logic of Christ's love. 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:11.000 He knew that since he alone is holy and creation is not, that he would have to die for our sins, 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:17.000 rise up again and live in us for us to be holy. 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:22.000 There's no other way around this. There's logic to it. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:30.000 But think for a second. If holiness is the nature of God and it's invisible, it has been forever, 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:43.000 he calls himself that. He calls himself the holy one of Israel, the holy one who is the Lord of hosts. 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:46.000 He calls himself holy. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:53.000 If holiness is his invisible attribute since the beginning, then the display of holiness is his glory. 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:58.000 Every time he displays his holiness, we see it as glory. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:07.000 The idea of Shekinah was this idea of God's glory, God's holiness now on display. God's holiness on display. 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:15.000 When God's holiness is on display, it's called the glory of God. You read it in Leviticus 10 verse 2. 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:23.000 If you read the message, Leviticus 10 verse 2, and Remy was reading this verse last week and he mentioned it too yesterday. 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:32.000 It says, God is saying to Moses, tell them that I am holy and tell them that because I'm holy, I will show you my glory. 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:41.000 Holy and glory go together. Holy is the concealed glory of God. Glory is the revealed holiness of God. 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:49.000 It's not terribly complicated. The words seem big, but it's not. Holiness is the concealed glory of God. 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:59.000 Everything he does is that way. It's holy love, holy mercy, holy justice, holy truth, holy son of God, holy assembly, holy bride. 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:06.000 Everything he does comes out of just one thing that he is, holy. 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:17.000 And so holiness is the concealed glory of God and the glory of God is the revealed holiness of God, which means that you cannot have one without the other. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:23.000 Which means you cannot have one without the other. 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:33.000 If I do not understand the holiness of God, I will not partake in the glory of God. 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:40.000 I'll have occasional forays. I'll have occasional things where God breaks out for the sake of others. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:52.000 I'll have occasional times when during worship I might experience his manifest weight, splendour, substance, magnificence, power. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:54.000 I may experience it every so often. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:23:02.000 But that's passing. What we want is permanence. What he desires is permanence. 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:08.000 In coming into our lives, in coming into a group of people, he desires permanence. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:14.000 But for that permanence, what he wants is, hey, you want my glory to flow? 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:16.000 Here's the way to do it. 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:25.000 Build the invisible foundation of holiness in your midst and I will build the visible manifestation of glory through your midst. 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:36.000 Build the invisible foundation of holiness in your midst and I will build the visible manifestation of glory through your midst. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:38.000 It's a very simple equation. 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:45.000 One of the things I've been crying out to God as Father, you have to understand that you cannot have one without the other. 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:52.000 As Father, you had us talking about reviving 20s and 30s across the earth for the last two or three years. 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:57.000 You've told us for the last 16 years that there are wells of healing in this church. 00:23:57.000 --> 00:24:01.000 You've given us promises saying that you will manifest yourself. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:08.000 We have had an occasional taste of it, sometimes during worship, sometimes during worship night, sometimes during prayer. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:10.000 We've had an occasional taste of it. 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:16.000 There is a deep desire to see signs, miracles and wonders happen breaking through everybody in this church. 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:25.000 There is a desire to go to nations and ignite those nations and set 20s and 30s afloat on the grace of God that is about to pour on them. 00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:33.000 The question is, Father, if that is the case, then why, Father, aren't we seeing a free flow of it on a regular basis? 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:47.000 And the key for the manifestation of His glory, by glory what do I mean? 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:57.000 The word cardboard means weight, substance, magnificence, splendour, laughter, power, goodness, all rolled into one word called cardboard of glory. 00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:05.000 To see that manifest, God says, build into invisible holy. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:13.000 And you build into invisible holy and I will build into visible glory. 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:15.000 One needs the other. 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:18.000 Read Leviticus 10 verse 2 from the message. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:20.000 Leviticus 10 verse 2. 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:31.000 Leviticus 10 verse 2. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:34.000 Verse 3. 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:44.000 Moses said to Aaron, this is what God meant when he said, to the one who comes near me, I will show myself holy. 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:47.000 Before all the people, I will show my glory. 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:51.000 Holy and glory are so deeply connected. 00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:57.000 And so let's assume that Acts 29 is here. 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:06.000 And we desperately want to see the glory of God manifested. 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:18.000 We want the promise of the Hebrides 2 revival, 2.0 revival that God has promised three years ago to come to pass. 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:25.000 But we don't seem to see it flow like a river. 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:28.000 God is saying, hey, you want a key? 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:31.000 I found this picture. 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:33.000 You want a key? 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:35.000 Here's the key. 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:40.000 Can you begin to practice holy? 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:47.000 And when we think of practicing holy, we got all kinds of thoughts coming to our minds and thinking, oh man, this is going to be really difficult. 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:48.000 No, it won't be. 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:50.000 Can you begin to practice holy? 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:53.000 Can you begin to practice holy? 00:26:53.000 --> 00:26:54.000 Why? 00:26:54.000 --> 00:27:18.000 Because for glory, for glory to manifest visibly and flow, holy must become the invisible foundation. 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:31.000 What will it cause for the threshold between us and the promise to be shaken? 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:34.000 What will it take for the instance of heaven to fill this room? 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:37.000 Fill your house. 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:38.000 Fill your family. 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:41.000 Fill HIP's family. 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:46.000 What will it take for this revival to sweep the earth? 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:49.000 What will it take for the glory of God to be manifested? 00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:52.000 What will it take to break into these promises? 00:27:52.000 --> 00:28:01.000 Whenever we talk about holy, what usually happens is we immediately stop thinking of actions. 00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:04.000 Oh, that means I have to stop thinking purely. 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:07.000 Oh, I got to have my motives clean. 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:11.000 Oh, I got to stop doing this, this and that. 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:17.000 Oh, shucks, I'll have to forgive this and I'm bitter in this and I've got imaginations in this. 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:25.000 It's just so messy because it's so many actions and it drives you nuts because you're already struggling under an effortful load. 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:31.000 And so the answer is not in looking at actions that are holy to fix this. 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:44.000 The answer is simply in looking at the one who is kadoosh, separate, distinct, holy, like no other, to be able to see him. 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:52.000 To be able to see him 40 times every hour, 40 times every hour to see him. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:29:04.000 In the year that Trump became president, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:07.000 And the train of his robe filled the temple. 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:09.000 It hasn't changed. 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:12.000 Revelation 4, 8 now. 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:16.000 And I heard a voice saying, come up higher. 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:24.000 And as he took me by the Spirit, there before me was him who sat on the throne and the lamb. 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:27.000 I looked at the lamb and he suddenly looked like a lion. 00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:31.000 I looked again and he was like a lamb that had been slain. 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:36.000 And the elders and the creatures before him bowed and they worshipped and they began to sing, 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:46.000 Holy, holy, holy is the one who sits on the throne, who was and is and is to come. 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:50.000 Look at him 40 times in an hour. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:30:00.000 It is impossible for you then to worship or live or practice things that would not be so holy. 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:02.000 It is impossible. 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:07.000 It's in the practice of looking at him. 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:11.000 It will first undo you. 00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:17.000 You know, most of life is lived outside of our time of worship. 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:22.000 To experience the presence of God in worship is... 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:27.000 I'm using that word too often today. 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:30.000 So let me use some other word that's more descriptive. 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:35.000 Experiencing... three times? Thank you for counting. 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:45.000 The idea of experiencing God during times of worship is so not helpful 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:49.000 because most of life is lived outside. 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:53.000 What happens when this time is over? 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:55.000 That is when it counts, man. 00:30:55.000 --> 00:31:02.000 That is when I must walk in holy so that I can display his glory. 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:09.000 And by looking at him... 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:15.000 What does mercy look like, oh God? 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:18.000 Jane did this to me. What does mercy look like? 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:21.000 Don't practice mercy till you look at him. 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:26.000 When you look at him, your heart will desire to show mercy. 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:30.000 Oh, I thought you were Jane because you guys were wearing sweaters that were similar. 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:37.000 That's... No, I didn't think you were Iris. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:39.000 I thought you were Derek. 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:43.000 Your sweaters are similar too. 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:51.000 So what does it take for me to continuously connect with him? 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:55.000 Not only is the father holy, not only is the son holy... 00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:57.000 Guys, just think of this for a second. 00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:00.000 The one who is here right now, who's helping me with his words, 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:05.000 who's helping you understand, who brought us into beautiful times of worship earlier today, 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:10.000 who led us in songs, who brought hip into Christ, Emily into Christ. 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.000 Who is he? He is the spirit of this holy. 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:20.000 You can see why he desires clean vessels. 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:26.000 He thrives, he flourishes when people are beginning to walk in holy. 00:32:26.000 --> 00:32:29.000 And what are we talking about? Perfectionism? No. 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:32.000 What are we talking about? Getting everything right? No. 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:34.000 We're talking about looking at someone. 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:38.000 And every time you look at him, you begin to change. 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.000 It is impossible to look at him 40 times and not change. 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:49.000 Partly because when you look at him 40 times in an hour, you begin to fall in love with him. 00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:51.000 He's the creator of the universe. 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:54.000 He created you with space in you for him. 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:56.000 It is not possible. 00:32:56.000 --> 00:33:00.000 Couples that are in love, they look at each other and they'll do anything. 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.000 They'll change. They'll stop dropping towels after a bath. 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:06.000 They'll pick up their dirty underwear. 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:08.000 They'll comb their hair. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:11.000 They'll brush their teeth four times. 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:18.000 It's the truth. 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:25.000 You cannot look at him and not be changed. 00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:28.000 It is in looking at him. 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:31.000 If you take Isaiah 6, it's so beautiful. 00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:34.000 To begin with, God continues to live. 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:36.000 Uzziah died but he is still alive. 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:39.000 Doesn't matter how many big people come, they're all going to die. 00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:41.000 He'll still be alive. 00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:48.000 You will always catch a glimpse of him because he's seated very high. 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:51.000 There's nobody that is seated above him. 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:53.000 He's the ultimate throne. 00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:55.000 There's nothing else above him. 00:33:55.000 --> 00:34:00.000 Above all powers, above all thrones, he is seated. 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:02.000 He's high and lifted up. 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:04.000 You will see him. 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:07.000 If you have received him, you will see him easily. 00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:09.000 You don't have to imagine him. 00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:11.000 You don't have to imagine anything about him. 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:13.000 You will see him. 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:15.000 Very odd. Christians see him. 00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:17.000 Christians don't see him. 00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:19.000 Christians see him. 00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:20.000 You see him. 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:23.000 When we were worshipping here, you saw him. 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:24.000 You felt him. 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:25.000 You heard him. 00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:27.000 But it's here. 00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:29.000 And this is... I'm not pointing to my heart. 00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:33.000 I'm pointing to my spirit, brand new, filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:34.000 I see him. 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:36.000 You think you can't see him 40 times in an hour, 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:39.000 and then you realize you don't need to see him 40 times in an hour. 00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:41.000 You need to see him 30 times in an hour. 00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:42.000 Why? 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:48.000 Because the times that you now focus on him are beginning to get longer and longer. 00:34:49.000 --> 00:34:53.000 And every time you see him, Holy begins to happen in you. 00:34:53.000 --> 00:34:54.000 Deep calls out to deep. 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:56.000 What do you mean deep calls out to deep? 00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:59.000 The Christ, the Holy One, who is resident in you, 00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:03.000 begins to call out to Christ, the risen one seated in heaven. 00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:05.000 Deep calls out to deep. 00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:08.000 Something wipes, something connects. 00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:12.000 You hear the call of your origin. 00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:15.000 You originated from him. 00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:16.000 He's seated on the throne. 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:18.000 And yet he also lives in you. 00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:22.000 And the Christ in you begins to call out to the Christ who is seated on the throne. 00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:24.000 Sorry, Thea. 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:26.000 I've been shouting a lot, but I didn't mean to. 00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:34.000 That's what happens. 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:36.000 Deep calls out to deep. 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:41.000 And this is why songs say, 00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:44.000 And I am changed in the presence of a holy God. 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:50.000 Everything he does is like this. 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.000 During worship then, you begin to connect to him as one who is 00:35:54.000 --> 00:35:59.000 separate, present, living, indwelling. 00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:03.000 Separate, present, living, indwelling. 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:05.000 He is separate. 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:10.000 That's the big difference between Hinduism and all the isms and Christianity. 00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:15.000 In all the other religions, God becomes part of the ecosystem. 00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:20.000 In a stone, in a tree, not this God. 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:23.000 Transcendent, separate. 00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:27.000 One essence, holy. 00:36:27.000 --> 00:36:30.000 And that is the standard for everything. 00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.000 And because of that standard, he had to come down. 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:39.000 Because man, even though he was made in the image of God, was innocent and pure in the garden. 00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:42.000 But man was not kadosh. 00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:45.000 That is a God attribute. 00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:51.000 That can only be ours if God comes and lives in you. 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:55.000 And after he lives in us, we are still struggling. 00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:58.000 We are still struggling to keep things straight. 00:36:58.000 --> 00:37:00.000 And God is saying, I already live in you. 00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:03.000 Let me give you one more key. 00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:05.000 Look at me. 00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:10.000 And the me in you will see the me seated. 00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:13.000 And you will change, guaranteed. 00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:16.000 And it's critical for our existence as a church. 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:18.000 Leave alone a Christian's existence. 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:20.000 Any questions before we go on? 00:37:21.000 --> 00:37:22.000 Invisible. 00:37:22.000 --> 00:37:25.000 Of course I knew it. 00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:28.000 Yeah, so... 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:39.000 What do you mean by saying, see him 40 times in an hour? 00:37:39.000 --> 00:37:41.000 Soren Kierkegaard. 00:37:41.000 --> 00:37:44.000 I think he's Swedish or Danish or Scandinavian for sure. 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:46.000 He... 00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:48.000 Is he Swedish? 00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:49.000 Tuni? 00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:50.000 Theologian? 00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:51.000 Danish. 00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:52.000 Okay. 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:53.000 Yeah. 00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:54.000 So... 00:37:54.000 --> 00:37:55.000 Thank you. 00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:58.000 See, he's a very good man. 00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:01.000 He's a very good man. 00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:04.000 He's a very good man. 00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:07.000 He's a very good man. 00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:09.000 Thank you. 00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:14.000 See, when Tuni went to college, he spent his money well, eh? 00:38:14.000 --> 00:38:15.000 Yeah. 00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:22.000 So Kierkegaard talks about how he wanted to see the stars. 00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:27.000 And so he wanted to see God's glory displayed through the stars. 00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:32.000 And so he decides, okay, I'm going to go at night and look at the stars. 00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:36.000 And so he calls his carriage, because he lived many years ago. 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:39.000 And the carriage comes and he gets into the carriage. 00:38:39.000 --> 00:38:42.000 And the carriage has two lamps by the side where you get in the doors. 00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:45.000 And then he goes and he doesn't go too far out of the city. 00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.000 He's still within the radius of the city center. 00:38:49.000 --> 00:38:54.000 And he looks up and he says, I couldn't see nothing. 00:38:54.000 --> 00:38:59.000 It was not because the stars were missing, but because the lights around him were so bright 00:38:59.000 --> 00:39:02.000 that it is impossible to look at the stars. 00:39:02.000 --> 00:39:04.000 And he tells the story and then he says, 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:09.000 Very often when we try to look at the holy of God or the glory of God, 00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:16.000 there are so many competing lesser lights that you rarely get to catch 00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:22.000 the brilliance of his holy or the brilliance of his glory. 00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:28.000 If you need to do that, you need to go to a place where these lights are no longer bothering you. 00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:32.000 Or you've got to keep finding, keep finding. 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:36.000 And if that means I look 40 times in an hour, 00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:41.000 which means once every one and a half minutes if I start identifying him, 00:39:41.000 --> 00:39:51.000 you will find that my walk internally and eventually externally will be like the plumb line of God. 00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:58.000 And when that begins to happen, the flow of his magnificence, his splendor, his weight, his substance, 00:39:58.000 --> 00:40:08.000 his power, his laughter, his goodness will begin to flow through me like something diffusing through me. 00:40:08.000 --> 00:40:13.000 I aim to model this for you and I expect the leaders here to model this for you 00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:21.000 and then I expect you to model it for the rest of the earth. 00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:25.000 And it is the responsibility of every one of us here. 00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:31.000 But before that happens, the same thing that happened to Isaiah must happen to us. 00:40:31.000 --> 00:40:37.000 Because every time you look at him who is holy, 00:40:37.000 --> 00:40:40.000 it is possible that it will pierce you sometimes and you will say, 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.000 Whoa, I am undone. Oh my God, I'm so messed up in this area. 00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:52.000 Ah shucks, I've been trapped in this sewage for the last 15 years. 00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:57.000 Oh, I've got such suspicious thoughts about you, oh God. 00:40:57.000 --> 00:41:03.000 And one of the things that happens to Isaiah when you really think of it is he sees God 00:41:03.000 --> 00:41:06.000 and usually everybody nowadays wants to see God. 00:41:06.000 --> 00:41:12.000 But when he sees God, the first expression out of him is, Whoa, Whoa is like a curse, man. 00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:20.000 Jesus used to say that to the Pharisees, Whoa, you Pharisees, you are whitewashed tombs, Whoa, you Pharisees, you are snakes. 00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:26.000 It was a curse. And that's what Isaiah is doing. He is saying, Whoa is me. I am undone. 00:41:26.000 --> 00:41:30.000 I'm a man of unclean lips and I have seen the glory of the king. 00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:33.000 He knows that death is near. 00:41:33.000 --> 00:41:40.000 That's when an angel comes and takes a coal out of the altar of heaven and presses it to Isaiah's mouth. 00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:46.000 And I'd like to say to you that the angels use tongs. 00:41:46.000 --> 00:41:51.000 And then you're taking a coal that is hot from the fire and you're putting on a man's lip. 00:41:51.000 --> 00:41:57.000 Samosas are bad enough. 00:41:57.000 --> 00:42:01.000 A coal applied to your lips, it is piercing. 00:42:01.000 --> 00:42:08.000 I pray God that I'll be pierced in my heart, that I'll be pierced in my soul, that I'll be pierced in my feelings, 00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:14.000 that I'll be pierced in my thoughts, that I'll be pierced so that out of it will come. 00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:19.000 A redoing of Jacob. 00:42:19.000 --> 00:42:24.000 Whoa, I am undone. And then God puts him together. 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:33.000 And it is after that, that he hears God saying, Who shall I send? Who will go for us? 00:42:33.000 --> 00:42:39.000 I'd like to suggest to you that his response is not, Here I am. His response is, Here am I. 00:42:39.000 --> 00:42:42.000 Here I am makes a difference. 00:42:42.000 --> 00:42:49.000 Here I am may give you a person your location. Here am I is your ability and availability. 00:42:49.000 --> 00:42:53.000 He's been made able. Why? Because the coal from heaven touched his lip. 00:42:53.000 --> 00:43:00.000 He's been made available and then he makes himself available. Here am I. 00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:03.000 This must happen for us. 00:43:03.000 --> 00:43:09.000 I know some of us are laboring under sin. I know some of us are caught in sexual sin. 00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:14.000 I know some of us have tried to come out of porn for years and we keep going back into it. 00:43:14.000 --> 00:43:19.000 I know some of us lie as a habit. I know some of us get bitter and offended. 00:43:19.000 --> 00:43:24.000 I know some of us need the approval of men. We crave for it. If it doesn't come, we are destroyed. 00:43:24.000 --> 00:43:31.000 I know all of these because many of these things I share or I have shared. 00:43:31.000 --> 00:43:36.000 And God is saying, Listen, I'm not asking you to now begin to look at your actions 00:43:36.000 --> 00:43:39.000 because every time you try to fix your actions, you will fail. 00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:44.000 But if you look at the one who is holy and unfailing, you will succeed. 00:43:44.000 --> 00:43:47.000 So look at him. Look at him. Look at him. 00:43:47.000 --> 00:43:53.000 And every time, 40 times an hour, you look at him, I assure you, you will desire inside you. 00:43:53.000 --> 00:43:59.000 You will delight inside you to be like the one who you call father and who lives in you. 00:43:59.000 --> 00:44:03.000 It's very natural. This is the logic of Christianity. 00:44:03.000 --> 00:44:11.000 Any man who can't accept this needs to examine the basics of Christianity. 00:44:17.000 --> 00:44:21.000 Any questions? Tears back? No. 00:44:21.000 --> 00:44:26.000 Any questions? 00:44:26.000 --> 00:44:31.000 The trick is to let the Holy Spirit refocus attention to the Holy One. 00:44:31.000 --> 00:44:34.000 40 times an hour, outside times of worship. 00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:39.000 And you know what will happen then? You will decide to cut yourself off from this. 00:44:39.000 --> 00:44:48.000 You will decide to separate yourself from what? From the common, from the secular, from banal banter, 00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:58.000 from wasteful talk, from wasteful imagination, from TikTok, which has come back, 00:44:58.000 --> 00:45:04.000 from social media that doesn't feed your soul. 00:45:04.000 --> 00:45:08.000 You will cut yourself off. 00:45:08.000 --> 00:45:11.000 Cut yourself off. 00:45:11.000 --> 00:45:19.000 It's what happens when you look at anybody you want to become like, want to adore, or are in love with. 00:45:19.000 --> 00:45:22.000 You change. 00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:24.000 You always change. 00:45:24.000 --> 00:45:30.000 Either because of the pain that's being inflicted on you, or because you have fallen in love, 00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:35.000 or because you have learned too much, or because the reward is too great. 00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:44.000 Four things that change a man. Reward too great. Pain too great. Love too great. Learning too great. 00:45:44.000 --> 00:45:50.000 Any of these four things are key to changing a person. 00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:56.000 Unfortunately, the reward thing doesn't work for Christians because we want the reward now and it should be in dollars. 00:45:56.000 --> 00:45:58.000 Heaven doesn't cut it. 00:45:58.000 --> 00:46:05.000 So the other three things will work. Pain, knowledge, love. 00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:10.000 It's crazy. If I gave, if God could promise each of us a million dollars for changing a habit, 00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:13.000 we would change before we leave the service. 00:46:13.000 --> 00:46:30.000 Pain, knowledge, love, reward. Reward. 00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:42.000 So guys, why is this a key for us? 00:46:42.000 --> 00:46:45.000 It's happening. 00:46:45.000 --> 00:47:01.000 One, holy, three seeds, his glory filling the earth. 00:47:01.000 --> 00:47:09.000 Isaiah 6, 3. Holy, holy, holy. That's the calling out of the essence of God. 00:47:09.000 --> 00:47:17.000 And what follows? The whole earth is full of his glory. 00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:29.000 You want the whole earth to be filled with the glory of God so that millions of 20s and 30s across 170, 180 nations of the world 00:47:29.000 --> 00:47:37.000 get ignited and turned to God, then holy is critical for glory. 00:47:37.000 --> 00:47:41.000 And how many people does it take? One man. 00:47:41.000 --> 00:47:51.000 Because that one man is enough to ignite another man. One woman enough to ignite the rest. 00:47:51.000 --> 00:47:57.000 Next one. 00:47:57.000 --> 00:48:04.000 If you want the kingdom to advance here on earth and the will of God to be done here on earth, 00:48:04.000 --> 00:48:15.000 Matthew 6, verse 9, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done. 00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.000 Hallowed be your name. What does hallowed be your name? What does it mean? 00:48:19.000 --> 00:48:34.000 It means, oh God, show yourself, show yourself and make your name, show yourself and make your name 00:48:34.000 --> 00:48:51.000 Holy, set apart, pure and magnificent through me. In me and through me. 00:48:51.000 --> 00:48:57.000 Who taught us this prayer? Jesus. So what am I praying? Our Father, who are in heaven, hallowed be your name. 00:48:57.000 --> 00:49:05.000 As in, oh God, through my life and in my life, show yourself and your name, holy, pure, magnificent. 00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:12.000 Show yourself. 00:49:12.000 --> 00:49:16.000 Holy precedes his glory filling the earth. 00:49:16.000 --> 00:49:22.000 To holy or hallowed, to holy or hallow him precedes kingdom advance. 00:49:22.000 --> 00:49:35.000 To holy or hallow him precedes kingdom advance. 00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:39.000 And his will here on earth according to the Lord's prayer. 00:49:39.000 --> 00:49:45.000 Holy is not an adjective, eh? Holy is his character. His mercy is holy. 00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:58.000 It's not holy mercy as in, oh, so the, now it's the essence of who he is. 00:49:58.000 --> 00:50:06.000 Let's, I mean, think of a character or nature that is dominant in Nick. 00:50:06.000 --> 00:50:11.000 What's a nature that's dominant in him, besides bok choy? What else? 00:50:11.000 --> 00:50:17.000 What is something that is so dominant in Nick as his nature? 00:50:17.000 --> 00:50:22.000 Generosity and kindness. That's dominant in his nature. That is his nature. 00:50:22.000 --> 00:50:29.000 So everything he does, when he buys you a gift, when he invites you for dinner, when he drives you around, 00:50:29.000 --> 00:50:39.000 when he talks to you, when he has money, when he does not have money, when he wants to do good, 00:50:39.000 --> 00:50:44.000 everything is governed by that simple thing, generosity and kindness. 00:50:44.000 --> 00:50:49.000 I can go around this room and pick different people and you will find that there's an essence to your nature. 00:50:49.000 --> 00:50:57.000 That permeates everything you do. For some of you it's justice. For some of you it's generosity and kindness. 00:50:57.000 --> 00:51:01.000 For some of you it's encouragement. For some of you it's strength to break people through. 00:51:01.000 --> 00:51:06.000 For some of you it is to come alongside. I don't know what it is for each person, 00:51:06.000 --> 00:51:12.000 but it begins to mark everything you do. The one thing that marks everything God does since creation and before creation, 00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:17.000 because he existed before that, is holy. 00:51:17.000 --> 00:51:24.000 Therefore, to look at him, even now as I'm talking to you, how many times am I looking at him? 00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:31.000 I'm thinking, hey Tim, how many times am I looking at him? Sorry, were you trying to sneak in? Too late. 00:51:31.000 --> 00:51:39.000 Every time I look at him, I must see holy. Separate myself just like he is separate. 00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:45.000 Cut out myself from the secular. Cut out myself from the common. Cut out myself from the things that are base. 00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:50.000 And realize that, ah, I love being like you. 00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:56.000 And when you say that to him and he sees your delight in him, what do you think the father wants to do? 00:51:56.000 --> 00:52:03.000 The father wants to open the vaults of heaven and pour through you upon others everything he wants to, 00:52:03.000 --> 00:52:07.000 because he's found a vessel that's deeply connected to him. 00:52:07.000 --> 00:52:13.000 On a level that is not just gift-oriented or fruit-oriented, but is the essence of him. 00:52:13.000 --> 00:52:18.000 Every fruit that the Holy Spirit gives is holy. 00:52:18.000 --> 00:52:23.000 Is it love? It's holy. Is it joy? It's holy. Is it peace? It's holy. 00:52:23.000 --> 00:52:30.000 The earth gives you all the fruit that God gives, except that it cannot have the word holy in front of it. 00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:34.000 You don't think the world gives you love? You don't think the world gives you peace? 00:52:34.000 --> 00:52:41.000 A piece of Poland, a piece of Warsaw, a piece of... I mean, that's from an old Mel Brooks movie. Sorry, sorry. Erase. 00:52:41.000 --> 00:52:47.000 You think the world doesn't give you peace? The world doesn't give you joy? The world doesn't give you love? 00:52:48.000 --> 00:52:51.000 What is missing is a single word, holy. 00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:14.000 Third, holy proceeds. Holy proceeds being made able and available. 00:53:17.000 --> 00:53:21.000 Holy proceeds being made able and available. 00:53:22.000 --> 00:53:30.000 You'll be undone. You'll be cleansed. You'll be made ready. 00:53:31.000 --> 00:53:33.000 Isn't that wonderful? 00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:40.000 Is there anybody here who doesn't need being undone? No one. 00:53:40.000 --> 00:53:48.000 To be undone. To be cleansed. To be remade. 00:53:52.000 --> 00:53:58.000 If you want to open ancient gates, we keep talking about ancient gates, we sing about it. 00:53:58.000 --> 00:54:04.000 You want to open ancient gates? Holy precedes that. How do we know it? 00:54:04.000 --> 00:54:13.000 Psalm 24, verse 4. Who shall ascend the holy hill? Who shall open the gates? He who has? 00:54:13.000 --> 00:54:19.000 Clean hands and a pure heart. It seems to be at the base of everything we are talking about, man. 00:54:19.000 --> 00:54:22.000 It seems to be at the base of everything this church is attempting. 00:54:22.000 --> 00:54:26.000 It seems to be at the base of everything that God is demanding of the church. 00:54:34.000 --> 00:54:56.000 All revivals are preceded by witnessing his glory and his holy which go hand in hand. 00:54:56.000 --> 00:55:00.000 That's how every genuine revival has started in the world. 00:55:05.000 --> 00:55:11.000 This is why in 2 Peter 1, 18, Peter is saying, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 00:55:11.000 --> 00:55:18.000 We saw him on the Mount of Transfiguration. We heard the voids saying, this is my beloved son. Listen to him. 00:55:18.000 --> 00:55:27.000 Every revival requires people to witness his glory and his holy. 00:55:27.000 --> 00:55:32.000 You can't witness his glory until it's presented through his holy. 00:55:34.000 --> 00:55:38.000 So what does this mean for us? What will it look like? What might change? 00:55:38.000 --> 00:55:48.000 Guys, one of the things that will change if we actually embrace this is seriousness and weightiness. 00:55:48.000 --> 00:56:06.000 Seriousness and weightiness will come in and will prevent banal banter. 00:56:06.000 --> 00:56:15.000 Meaning, it's very strange, eh, how as soon as the service is over, it doesn't matter how splendid and how God a service we may have had. 00:56:15.000 --> 00:56:21.000 Have you noticed as soon as we step out of this environment, it goes completely wonky. 00:56:21.000 --> 00:56:32.000 We start talking about things that I'm not saying we should not talk about Manchester United and the Canucks because they both exist in the same echelon right now. 00:56:32.000 --> 00:56:45.000 But I'm saying it goes into useless banter. We seem to have switch-offs and switch-ons. 00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:52.000 Now is the time to be holy and now is the time to be normal. Not unholy, holy and normal. 00:56:52.000 --> 00:57:02.000 One of the things that will happen when God begins to turn up like this in our lives is you will find a seriousness and a weightiness descending upon your person and us as a person, people. 00:57:02.000 --> 00:57:13.000 You'll begin to see it. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't have a good laugh, throw your head back, come up with really smart retorts. 00:57:13.000 --> 00:57:25.000 All that is fine, but not into a banter that is so, so not continuous with who we've been with and where we've been. 00:57:25.000 --> 00:57:29.000 That's one thing that'll change. 00:57:29.000 --> 00:57:57.000 The second thing that'll change is the pain of God piercing our heart, my heart and soul. 00:57:57.000 --> 00:58:20.000 And sometimes being, sometimes the circumcision of flesh by another's hand. 00:58:20.000 --> 00:58:31.000 This is the other thing God will begin to do if we take this up seriously, where it'll be, hey, God is asking piercing questions that ruin you because he's not letting go. 00:58:31.000 --> 00:58:33.000 He just keeps pushing, keeps pushing. 00:58:33.000 --> 00:58:40.000 And the other thing is the circumcision of the flesh as in the parts of our life that are still so sin-prone. 00:58:40.000 --> 00:58:44.000 Circumcision of the flesh not through God but through someone else. 00:58:44.000 --> 00:58:49.000 Everybody wants God to do the circumcision and God then sends someone else to do it. 00:58:49.000 --> 00:58:53.000 That's a dislike. 00:58:53.000 --> 00:58:58.000 That's another thing that could happen. 00:58:58.000 --> 00:59:08.000 Okay, so let's assume I'm a guy who is not trustworthy. 00:59:08.000 --> 00:59:19.000 And then God sends you to say to me, Jacob, I've known you for the last 20, 25 years and you are not trustworthy. 00:59:19.000 --> 00:59:23.000 You cannot be depended on. 00:59:23.000 --> 00:59:25.000 You cannot be relied on. 00:59:25.000 --> 00:59:34.000 And God wants to say change or else he will remove you from the radius of influence you presently have because he is faithful. 00:59:34.000 --> 00:59:38.000 Now if God says that to me, that's fine. 00:59:38.000 --> 00:59:47.000 But if Diana comes and says that to me, that's not fine. 00:59:47.000 --> 00:59:51.000 That's another thing that happens with this. 01:00:04.000 --> 01:00:05.000 Oh yes. 01:00:05.000 --> 01:00:16.000 It must get to a point where one, I should be able to handle the circumcision of the flesh through the hand of someone else 01:00:16.000 --> 01:00:18.000 when God sends them. 01:00:18.000 --> 01:00:24.000 This does not mean open season where we go to each other with a pair of scissors. 01:00:24.000 --> 01:00:28.000 We're not doing that. That's called mutilation. It's not circumcision. 01:00:28.000 --> 01:00:30.000 We're not doing that. 01:00:30.000 --> 01:00:35.000 This is a process. Everything can't be packed into one teaching. 01:00:35.000 --> 01:00:41.000 But this is something that we need to learn because we always want to be corrected by God. 01:00:41.000 --> 01:00:51.000 And if you give a person something from God but it didn't come directly from God, that becomes a problem for most of us, all of us. 01:00:58.000 --> 01:01:03.000 Then there's the, these are some of the changes that will happen. 01:01:04.000 --> 01:01:17.000 Seriousness, the pain of God piercing, and the awareness of practicing holy living. 01:01:17.000 --> 01:01:19.000 Practicing holy living. 01:01:19.000 --> 01:01:24.000 1 Thessalonians 4 verses 3 to 8 do not be sexually moral. 01:01:24.000 --> 01:01:29.000 1 Peter 1, 18, I am holy. Why don't you start being holy? 01:01:29.000 --> 01:01:33.000 Psalm 24, verse 2 to 5. Jacob, don't sweat deceitfully. 01:01:33.000 --> 01:01:37.000 Don't spill blood with your hands, as in don't hate people. Don't do them harm. 01:01:37.000 --> 01:01:41.000 Do not speak things that are impure. 01:01:41.000 --> 01:01:46.000 Maintain a clean, maintain clean hands but also have a pure heart so that your motives are pure. 01:01:46.000 --> 01:01:55.000 These things have to be practiced by looking at him and smiling at him and then going back to one's filth is just incompatible. 01:01:55.000 --> 01:01:58.000 It's incompatible. It's not even Christian. 01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:05.000 Let me put it this way. A believer who is not changing must question his salvation. 01:02:09.000 --> 01:02:13.000 A believer who is not changing, changing in what? 01:02:13.000 --> 01:02:22.000 A believer who is not increasingly becoming like Christ should question his or her salvation. 01:02:25.000 --> 01:02:30.000 So that's the practical part of it. 01:02:34.000 --> 01:02:37.000 Guys, I want to close. 01:02:37.000 --> 01:02:42.000 No he won't. No he won't. I just love that song. 01:02:46.000 --> 01:02:50.000 He won't, he won't, he won't, he won't. 01:02:50.000 --> 01:02:53.000 What hinders, what hinders this process? 01:02:53.000 --> 01:03:04.000 One. You know, Christians love living in between Isaiah 6-3 and Isaiah 53-7. 01:03:04.000 --> 01:03:14.000 And once Isaiah 53-7 says, he was led like a lamb to the slaughter and he did not open his mouth. 01:03:14.000 --> 01:03:21.000 Isaiah 6 verse 3 says, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and lifted up. 01:03:21.000 --> 01:03:25.000 Holy, holy, holy, the whole earth is filled with his glory. 01:03:25.000 --> 01:03:32.000 We like living between. On a Sunday we like living in Isaiah 6-3. 01:03:32.000 --> 01:03:38.000 On a Saturday we like, from Sunday to Saturday we like living in between. 01:03:38.000 --> 01:03:45.000 And God is saying the moment you start looking at me, you will begin to live in both. 01:03:45.000 --> 01:03:56.000 There will be times when you will be disliked, rebuked, rejected, put aside, deprived, trodden over, used, manipulated. 01:03:56.000 --> 01:04:04.000 And every time that happens, you will remember that even the naked one who hung on the cross was holy and is hanging there naked. 01:04:04.000 --> 01:04:06.000 And you will be okay with it. 01:04:07.000 --> 01:04:17.000 And then there will be other times where you will be caught up like John, like Isaiah in the rapture of a vision of the throne room, of Revelation 4, of Revelation 5. 01:04:17.000 --> 01:04:23.000 And you will enthrall yourself there and you will say like Paul, I heard things that I cannot utter. 01:04:23.000 --> 01:04:27.000 I didn't want to come back, but I know I have to come back into the valley. 01:04:27.000 --> 01:04:33.000 I will not build a tent there, but I will live in both. I will live in both. 01:04:33.000 --> 01:04:37.000 That's one thing that hinders us. We like living in between. 01:04:37.000 --> 01:04:42.000 Between majesty and meekness, that's where we want to live. 01:04:42.000 --> 01:04:46.000 We don't want to go full meekness, we don't want to go full majesty. We live in between. 01:04:46.000 --> 01:04:50.000 God is saying, listen, you start down this road Jacob, you're khalas. 01:04:53.000 --> 01:04:55.000 You will begin to live in both. 01:04:55.000 --> 01:05:05.000 There will be times when you will not want to leave because you're so caught up like Ezekiel, like Daniel, like Isaiah, like Jeremiah, like John, like Paul, like Peter. 01:05:05.000 --> 01:05:06.000 You will be caught up. 01:05:06.000 --> 01:05:15.000 And then there will be other times where like Jeremiah, like Isaiah, like Ezekiel, like Paul, like Peter, you will be trodden about and spat upon. 01:05:15.000 --> 01:05:21.000 And you will remember me as a majestic one who hung naked on a cross and you will still say, holy. 01:05:21.000 --> 01:05:27.000 That is what we're going to. That is what also hinders us. 01:05:30.000 --> 01:05:35.000 But this, I mean who doesn't want this? Isn't this what we live for? 01:05:35.000 --> 01:05:39.000 If you live for Christ, this is what you live for. 01:05:39.000 --> 01:05:41.000 Anything less is uncivilized. 01:05:41.000 --> 01:05:55.000 The second thing that hinders us is in John 12, verse 37 or something, it says, they craved for the approval of men and not for the glory of God. 01:05:55.000 --> 01:06:06.000 And so one of the things that will hinder us from walking this way is when the approval of men, the praise of men, is not for the glory of God. 01:06:06.000 --> 01:06:21.000 The second thing that will hinder us from walking this way is when the approval of men, the praise of men, the acceptance of men is so important to you that the holy and the glory will be compromised. 01:06:21.000 --> 01:06:25.000 John 12, verse 37. 01:06:25.000 --> 01:06:30.000 John 12, verse 37, I think. 01:06:30.000 --> 01:06:33.000 It's John 12, verse 43. 01:06:33.000 --> 01:06:34.000 John 12, verse 43. 01:06:34.000 --> 01:06:40.000 We compromise purity because we crave the approval of men than the glory of God. 01:06:40.000 --> 01:06:42.000 We compromise purity. 01:06:42.000 --> 01:06:45.000 We compromise holy because we crave the approval of men. 01:06:45.000 --> 01:06:50.000 It is important for us that men accept us. 01:06:50.000 --> 01:07:02.000 To be able to stand and say to somebody, when you have a following, that if you do not eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no part of me, is the easiest way to lose people because it's akin to cannibalism. 01:07:03.000 --> 01:07:05.000 And those were the words he speaks. 01:07:05.000 --> 01:07:13.000 And John 666 said most of them left him. 01:07:13.000 --> 01:07:39.000 So perhaps if words are spoken from holy love, but words are spoken with holy firmness, it is possible that you may have to steal your heart, s-t-e-e-l, not to be offended. 01:07:39.000 --> 01:07:47.000 And the last one is what I said when I told you the story about Tunisian Danish theologian. 01:07:47.000 --> 01:08:14.000 We get dull to the holiness and glory of God because of lesser lights that blind or compete for our attention. 01:08:14.000 --> 01:08:23.000 That's another reason why we sometimes can't stay with holy and glory, which is why my prayer today for you is very simple. 01:08:23.000 --> 01:08:32.000 Oh God, forty times an hour could you take us back to him who is holy, whose essence is holy? 01:08:32.000 --> 01:08:38.000 Can you show us how to see him here? 01:08:38.000 --> 01:08:53.000 So that before words come out, before actions are done, before thoughts are brewed, before things are created, that I will see and the plumb line will begin to help me with the word and with the spirit operate differently. 01:08:53.000 --> 01:08:58.000 I will change and glory will flow. 01:08:58.000 --> 01:09:00.000 So that's all I wanted to say. 01:09:00.000 --> 01:09:12.000 One of the things I want to explore is what is the connection between holy and going to the nations. 01:09:12.000 --> 01:09:15.000 I don't know it yet, but there is. 01:09:15.000 --> 01:09:17.000 Can you read these scriptures? 01:09:17.000 --> 01:09:19.000 Look at what it says. 01:09:19.000 --> 01:09:22.000 They cried out, holy, holy, holy. 01:09:22.000 --> 01:09:27.000 And then the next verse says, the earth is full of his glory. 01:09:27.000 --> 01:09:31.000 And then the next verse is, who shall I send? 01:09:31.000 --> 01:09:34.000 And then the verse after that is, here am I, send me. 01:09:34.000 --> 01:09:35.000 What is? 01:09:35.000 --> 01:09:36.000 What is the connection? 01:09:36.000 --> 01:09:38.000 There is one. 01:09:38.000 --> 01:09:40.000 And it will come. 01:09:40.000 --> 01:09:41.000 Why? 01:09:41.000 --> 01:09:45.000 Because God is saying, listen, I'm here to give you guys a key. 01:09:45.000 --> 01:09:47.000 I've given you promises. 01:09:47.000 --> 01:09:48.000 You're trying to unlock it. 01:09:48.000 --> 01:09:51.000 I'll give you the key. 01:09:51.000 --> 01:09:56.000 A man who gives you a promise that needs to be unlocked will give you the key. 01:09:56.000 --> 01:09:59.000 Sometimes he waits for us to reach for the key. 01:09:59.000 --> 01:10:01.000 Things don't come easy in the kingdom. 01:10:01.000 --> 01:10:04.000 One should desire it, wrestle for it. 01:10:04.000 --> 01:10:05.000 But he will give us the key. 01:10:05.000 --> 01:10:14.000 And when he gives us the key, what is the connection between holy, holy, holy? 01:10:14.000 --> 01:10:20.000 The whole earth is full of the display of your holiness. 01:10:20.000 --> 01:10:21.000 Why? 01:10:21.000 --> 01:10:24.000 Because glory is holiness revealed. 01:10:24.000 --> 01:10:28.000 Holiness is glory concealed. 01:10:28.000 --> 01:10:34.000 Glory is holiness going public. 01:10:34.000 --> 01:10:37.000 The whole earth is filled with your glory. 01:10:37.000 --> 01:10:38.000 You are undone. 01:10:38.000 --> 01:10:39.000 You are remade. 01:10:39.000 --> 01:10:45.000 And then you stand and you hear a sound and a voice saying, who shall I send? 01:10:45.000 --> 01:10:50.000 Hundreds of hands shoot up in this place saying what? 01:10:50.000 --> 01:10:52.000 Here am I, here am I, here am I. 01:10:52.000 --> 01:10:54.000 I have been made able. 01:10:54.000 --> 01:10:56.000 I am available. 01:10:56.000 --> 01:10:57.000 Send me. 01:10:57.000 --> 01:10:58.000 Please send me. 01:10:58.000 --> 01:10:59.000 Please send me. 01:10:59.000 --> 01:11:02.000 And when he sends, he goes with you. 01:11:02.000 --> 01:11:07.000 And the earth ignites and the earth ignites and the earth ignites. 01:11:07.000 --> 01:11:09.000 We'll explore that next time. 01:11:09.000 --> 01:11:12.000 I'm looking forward to it. 01:11:12.000 --> 01:11:15.000 Sometimes it's like a video game. 01:11:15.000 --> 01:11:16.000 You go level by level. 01:11:16.000 --> 01:11:17.000 You find a key. 01:11:17.000 --> 01:11:18.000 You pluck some bananas. 01:11:18.000 --> 01:11:19.000 And then you jump. 01:11:19.000 --> 01:11:20.000 And then you get a gun. 01:11:20.000 --> 01:11:21.000 And so on. 01:11:21.000 --> 01:11:24.000 Let's pray. 01:11:24.000 --> 01:11:29.000 Hey, Vibi, do you want to bring the communion bit in? 01:11:29.000 --> 01:11:34.000 Let's pray that simple prayer. 01:11:34.000 --> 01:11:47.000 Father, if there is anything, you are in your core. 01:11:47.000 --> 01:11:49.000 I used to think it was love. 01:11:49.000 --> 01:11:52.000 If there's anything, you are in your core. 01:11:52.000 --> 01:11:56.000 It is that you are holy. 01:11:56.000 --> 01:12:01.000 And to say that you are holy is to say that you are separate. 01:12:01.000 --> 01:12:05.000 There is an otherness to you. 01:12:05.000 --> 01:12:10.000 You're cut off from everything that's secular, that is earthly. 01:12:10.000 --> 01:12:13.000 You're transcendent. 01:12:13.000 --> 01:12:16.000 There's an otherness to you. 01:12:16.000 --> 01:12:22.000 And then you go ahead and call us ecclesia, separated ones. 01:12:22.000 --> 01:12:33.000 You had to die so that you could let mankind become holy like you. 01:12:33.000 --> 01:12:34.000 You had to die. 01:12:34.000 --> 01:12:35.000 You had to rise. 01:12:35.000 --> 01:12:38.000 You had to live in us. 01:12:38.000 --> 01:12:44.000 And now you're saying, hey, I know I've given you guys promises. 01:12:44.000 --> 01:12:51.000 I know I've called a ragtag bunch like you to ignite the 20s and 30s across the earth, 01:12:51.000 --> 01:12:57.000 to bring Hebrides 2.0, which happened in the 1945s, happen again on earth, 01:12:57.000 --> 01:13:00.000 just saturating 20s and 30s across the globe. 01:13:00.000 --> 01:13:02.000 I know it's an impossible task. 01:13:02.000 --> 01:13:04.000 I've called you to it. 01:13:04.000 --> 01:13:10.000 And now I'm giving you a key. 01:13:11.000 --> 01:13:20.000 You look at me 40 times a minute, and Holy Spirit, that's what I ask for. 01:13:20.000 --> 01:13:29.000 That even now as I'm talking, my heart sees you and it cries out, holy, holy, holy. 01:13:29.000 --> 01:13:36.000 And as I do, O God, you begin to fill this place because one man recognizes you right now. 01:13:36.000 --> 01:13:39.000 And then another man and then another woman. 01:13:39.000 --> 01:13:45.000 Suddenly, this place is filled with your splendor and your magnificence, 01:13:45.000 --> 01:13:53.000 your power and your goodness and worship in runs, O God. 01:13:53.000 --> 01:14:02.000 O God, we want this not for ourselves, but for what we want to do across the earth. 01:14:02.000 --> 01:14:09.000 Kadosh, holy, holy, holy. 01:14:09.000 --> 01:14:19.000 Holy, O God, you are a holy people that will display your glory, Father. 01:14:22.000 --> 01:14:26.000 Let your will be done, O God. 01:14:26.000 --> 01:14:29.000 Fill the earth with your glory, O God. 01:14:29.000 --> 01:14:36.000 Let your holiness be revealed in us and through us, through these people, through me. 01:14:36.000 --> 01:14:39.000 Let it happen, O God. 01:14:42.000 --> 01:14:49.000 Spirit of God, Holy Spirit, you are so kind to dwell with us day in, day out through 01:14:49.000 --> 01:14:56.000 sometimes ways that are so unholy, so unholy in our thinking, in our doing, 01:14:56.000 --> 01:14:58.000 but you put up with it. 01:14:58.000 --> 01:15:02.000 You get grieved, but you put up with it. 01:15:02.000 --> 01:15:04.000 We recognize you. 01:15:04.000 --> 01:15:07.000 You bring the holiness of God to us. 01:15:07.000 --> 01:15:10.000 You put up with it. 01:15:10.000 --> 01:15:12.000 But guess what? 01:15:12.000 --> 01:15:14.000 We are turning around, O God. 01:15:14.000 --> 01:15:16.000 We are turning around. 01:15:16.000 --> 01:15:19.000 Forty times an hour we will look at you. 01:15:19.000 --> 01:15:22.000 Spirit of God, please help us look at him. 01:15:22.000 --> 01:15:31.000 Please help us look at him forty times an hour and recognize him, how we will be changed 01:15:31.000 --> 01:15:39.000 in our relationships with you, with each other, with our children, with our work, 01:15:39.000 --> 01:15:42.000 with the way we think of people, the words we use. 01:15:42.000 --> 01:15:44.000 We will be changed. 01:15:44.000 --> 01:15:49.000 That's what I ask for, Father, in Jesus' name. 01:15:49.000 --> 01:15:51.000 Amen.