WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Church Central – Decree Publishing Date: 2020-11-29T05:00:44-08:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/church-central-decree/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.100 So guys, this message, we're continuing with our series on Church Central, Church Central, 00:00:08.100 --> 00:00:20.000 and it's based on the premise that Ephesians 1.23 says in the message version that the 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:26.440 church is not peripheral to the world, but the world is peripheral to the church, and 00:00:26.520 --> 00:00:33.520 the church is filled with the presence of Jesus Christ, and he speaks through the church, 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:39.800 he acts through the church, and he rules through the church. Ephesians 1.23, 00:00:39.800 --> 00:00:49.560 regardless of whether you read the NIV or the message, the emphasis is stop thinking 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:54.760 that the church is peripheral to the world because we have been inundated with that kind 00:00:54.760 --> 00:01:01.720 of thinking for years on end, and so we are always trying to get raptured out. Instead of 00:01:01.720 --> 00:01:10.960 staying in and affecting the earth, we want to leave so that the earth can be left to its own. 00:01:10.960 --> 00:01:17.200 So the next five messages are on Church Central because that I believe is our theme going into 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:22.160 2021, that the church, as in the body of Christ, is not peripheral to the world, but the world is 00:01:22.160 --> 00:01:26.880 peripheral to the body of Christ, so the body of Christ is central. Today we want to talk about 00:01:26.880 --> 00:01:34.880 the first aspect of it because last week we said there are five essentials if you want to become 00:01:34.880 --> 00:01:41.320 the church central, there are five essentials, and we said the essentials were absolute authority, 00:01:41.320 --> 00:01:49.600 that we need to recognize the absolute authority of Christ, that we need to recognize that we are 00:01:49.600 --> 00:01:59.000 members of a body in a very covenantal sense, we talked about that. Then we talked about 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:13.160 the unstoppable mission of the church, which is where perhaps Acts 29 lags the most. Then we 00:02:13.160 --> 00:02:21.800 talked about following at any cost, following Christ at any cost, and then the last one was 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:33.200 executing judgment, executing selfless judgment on his behalf, executing selfless judgment on his 00:02:33.200 --> 00:02:40.640 behalf. These were the five essentials, and so today we'll deal with just one, and so we'll be 00:02:40.640 --> 00:02:46.960 dealing with the first one, absolute authority, recognizing the absolute authority of Christ. 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:57.040 Only today we'll see how that absolute authority is so connected to the idea of divine decrees, 00:02:57.040 --> 00:03:09.720 divine decrees as in a decree. This message will wait for us, this message will wait for us, 00:03:09.880 --> 00:03:16.160 and it will test and prove our faithfulness. What do I mean by a message will wait for us? This is 00:03:16.160 --> 00:03:23.080 a message God wants us to walk towards. It is not a message that we can become today or tomorrow, 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:31.000 but it is a message that will wait for us, and it will test our faithfulness. It bothers me to 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:36.440 preach this message. It bothers me to preach this message because it will test our faithfulness, 00:03:36.440 --> 00:03:44.560 it will prove our faithfulness not as Jacob, but as a corporate body whether we will be able to 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:51.200 wear this garment that at present is too big for us that we will have to fill at a certain stage, 00:03:51.200 --> 00:03:56.520 and it's not five years from now. We'll have to get there faster, so I want to say that again, 00:03:56.520 --> 00:04:02.160 this message will wait for us and test or prove our faithfulness, and I pray God that we as a 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:11.480 body will be able to walk and fill this because one person cannot. So today we talk about absolute 00:04:11.480 --> 00:04:25.080 authority and divine decrees, absolute authority and divine decrees. Just to go over what we looked 00:04:25.080 --> 00:04:32.120 at last week with regard to authority, we said all authority and all things have been handed 00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:43.860 to Jesus. I'll try and go slow so that we can actually ponder on it that all authority in heaven 00:04:43.860 --> 00:04:54.360 and in earth belongs to one person only, and that is Jesus Christ. All authority. I want to make 00:04:54.360 --> 00:05:02.200 the statement which is the more you think of it the more it blows you away. Power does not belong 00:05:02.200 --> 00:05:09.960 to anyone on earth. Authority and power, they do not belong to anyone on earth. Authority does not 00:05:09.960 --> 00:05:20.480 belong to anyone on earth. Nobody on earth has power. Nobody on earth has power. All authority 00:05:20.640 --> 00:05:33.160 and all power belong to Jesus Christ. Matthew 28 verse 18. John 3 35, the father loves the son 00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:41.560 and has handed all things over to him. All things over to him. The father loves the son and has 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:55.320 handed all things, everything from the eight legs of a spider to the veins on a leaf. All things, 00:05:55.320 --> 00:06:02.200 all things have been handed to Jesus Christ. Guys, I want you to know that power and authority 00:06:02.200 --> 00:06:10.480 doesn't belong to anyone on earth. There is nobody on earth that has any power or authority. Whatever 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:18.080 they have is what has been given to them and is taken away. It belongs to one and that is Christ 00:06:18.080 --> 00:06:26.760 alone. The more we understand this, the more the church will begin to know how to be central and 00:06:26.760 --> 00:06:34.160 how to see everything else as peripheral because Jesus Christ both indwells and fills, acts, speaks 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:42.160 and rules through the body of which he is the head for the body. Ephesians 1 21 22 and 23 in 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:55.280 particular. Everything that is created is created through him and upheld or sustained by him. Every 00:06:55.280 --> 00:07:05.320 breath that Biden breathes, every move that Trump makes, every leader in Iran or North Korea, every 00:07:05.320 --> 00:07:17.800 one of the 1.2 or 1.3 billion people in India, every hair on every head in China, every action 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:28.080 of any person in Vancouver, they all are created by and upheld by or sustained by one person called 00:07:28.080 --> 00:07:33.720 Jesus Christ who indwells the church and fills the church, acts through the church, rules through 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:39.960 the church, speaks through the church, which is his body of which he is the head for the sake of 00:07:39.960 --> 00:07:45.480 the church. And the church is not peripheral to the world because of that. It is central and the 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:51.280 world is peripheral to the church. The more this percolates and becomes the core of your being, 00:07:51.280 --> 00:07:59.040 the easier it will be to function and what we are saying is our theme or our calling for 2021 and 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:12.120 this message will wait for us saying come catch up, catch up, wear me, wear me. Hebrews 1 3 says that 00:08:12.200 --> 00:08:20.080 he sustains all things by his word. John 1 3 says that everything was created through the 00:08:20.080 --> 00:08:29.880 Son and there is nothing that was created that did not happen through him. Here's the other thing 00:08:29.880 --> 00:08:39.000 about Christ's absolute authority and sovereignty. He sets up, he directs and he removes kings, 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:46.600 presidents, dictators, prime ministers, ministers, cabinet ministers, MPs, MLAs, doesn't matter, 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:54.840 mayors, city councillors, school councillors, he sets them up, he removes them, he directs them. 00:08:54.840 --> 00:09:03.200 Daniel chapter 2 verse 21 that you or God are the one who puts people in place and who removes them 00:09:03.280 --> 00:09:13.280 at your will. Daniel 4 17 that he is the one who both distributes kingdoms and decides who will be 00:09:13.280 --> 00:09:24.720 king. He decides nothing escapes him, nothing. Let no man, oh by the way let me throw in pastors 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:32.120 also who think they rule the roost or elders or leaders, same applies. There is not a position 00:09:32.520 --> 00:09:38.120 of authority that is filled except without the knowledge of the only one who can give it and 00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:46.040 that is Christ. There is no boss, no employer, nobody who decides or even directs things. 00:09:46.760 --> 00:09:51.240 This is the power of divine decrees and the absolute authority and sovereignty of God. 00:09:56.520 --> 00:10:01.560 We are not to use it as a weapon to pulverize those that don't agree with our ideologies or 00:10:01.560 --> 00:10:07.160 political views. As we talk about it we'll realize that one of the reasons the church finds itself 00:10:07.160 --> 00:10:13.880 unable to wield what is this kind of authority that Christ gives is because we get so easily 00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:19.560 wrapped up in parochial interests like which party I belong to and which ideology I belong to. 00:10:19.560 --> 00:10:27.800 And then when it comes to the authority of Christ, he has absolute and very superior power over all the 00:10:27.800 --> 00:10:33.400 powers, all the dominions, all the principalities, all the rulers that exist in the spirit realm. 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:42.440 There is no idol, no demon behind any idol, no principality, no prince. I'm talking about the 00:10:42.520 --> 00:10:50.040 spirit realm that can dare come anywhere near him because they tremble at his name, leave alone his sight. 00:10:54.760 --> 00:11:00.760 They flee, they flee. I love that line in that song. 00:11:01.720 --> 00:11:10.120 Float in majesty and all the earth rejoices, he wraps himself in light and darkness tries to hide 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:19.240 and trembles at his sight, trembles at his sight. How great is our God! 00:11:19.320 --> 00:11:29.160 Sing with me how great is our God and all will see how great, how great is our God. 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:38.120 Ephesians 1, verse 1, says, 00:11:38.200 --> 00:11:45.000 See how great, how great is our God. 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:54.280 Ephesians 1, verse 21, I have seated him above every authority, every power, every prince, 00:11:54.280 --> 00:12:01.240 every principality, every dominion. Colossians 1, verse 16, there is no power in the visible or the 00:12:01.240 --> 00:12:07.640 invisible world, in the seen or the unseen world, in heaven above, on the earth and under the earth. 00:12:07.640 --> 00:12:17.160 That was not made by him, through him and for him as in they serve him. Even in their rebellion, 00:12:17.160 --> 00:12:24.200 they will serve his purpose. This is the absolute sovereignty and authority of Jesus Christ that the 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:34.200 church must gather around. Power does not belong to anyone on the earth. 00:12:37.640 --> 00:12:43.160 Yes, the question that was asked was, isn't this like saying that God put Hitler and other 00:12:43.800 --> 00:12:50.600 dictators and tyrants who did great harm on earth into place? I will answer that as we go along. 00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:55.560 That will be part of what we talk about when we talk about divine decrees. 00:12:56.680 --> 00:12:59.640 Power does not belong to anyone on the earth. 00:12:59.640 --> 00:13:14.600 It is Christ alone. This is why in Revelation 19, no, 00:13:19.880 --> 00:13:27.800 in John 19, 11, I love it when Pilate turns and says, listen Jesus, why don't you answer me? 00:13:27.800 --> 00:13:35.080 I have the power to set you free. And Jesus's reply in John 19, 11 was, any authority you have 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:39.480 is not yours. You really have nothing. What you have has been given to you. 00:13:41.160 --> 00:13:48.440 That's what Jesus's reply was. This is why in Revelation chapter 4, verse 11, the elders bow 00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:55.320 before him and they say, take the power, take the honor, take the glory, all power, all honor, 00:13:55.320 --> 00:14:02.360 all glory belongs to you. It is not some kind of sudden acknowledgement. It is, it actually is yours. 00:14:03.560 --> 00:14:07.080 That's the intent. Sorry. 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:19.080 And God's power and his sovereignty and his authority is always released. This all-powerful 00:14:19.080 --> 00:14:29.240 God always releases his power through decrees, through decrees. He decreed it and billions of 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:40.040 light years of space instantly came into being. I just love that. On the two or three nights in 00:14:40.040 --> 00:14:46.360 Vancouver that you can see the stars, if you actually looked at them, there the light from 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:54.840 those stars started coming towards you billions of years ago. And he decreed it and billions of 00:14:54.840 --> 00:15:01.080 light years of space instantly came into being. Well that's stars, but then he decreed me. 00:15:02.520 --> 00:15:07.080 You were decreed billions of years ago. You were decreed billions of years ago. 00:15:07.880 --> 00:15:13.320 You were decreed billions of years ago. And then at the right time in history you come into being. 00:15:17.800 --> 00:15:23.560 There's such a, there's so much confusion about whether one should declare, whether one should 00:15:23.560 --> 00:15:29.880 decree. When you look at Isaiah chapter 2, verse 2 and 3, Isaiah 2, verse 2 and 3, and it's something 00:15:29.880 --> 00:15:37.000 the church hasn't learned and it's become the, the foundation of the church. And it's the foundation 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:43.960 of the church. It's become the, it's become the go-to place for Charismatics and Pentecostals and 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:49.480 name it, claim it people. And so may have gotten a reputation. It should not. But when you look at 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:57.080 Isaiah 2, verse 2 and 3, it says the laws or the decrees or the edicts or the revelation of God will 00:15:57.080 --> 00:16:03.800 go out from Zion. And like I've said before, Zion is not a synonym for Israel. It is not 00:16:03.800 --> 00:16:11.320 a place in the future. It is not a hill. It is a people. Hebrews 12, 23 says that Zion is a people 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:18.200 and a place. Zion is where God dwells. God dwells amongst the people. Zion is no longer a mountain. 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:27.880 Zion is where Jesus Christ the Mediator dwells. It's a city of the people of God. So Isaiah 2, 00:16:28.440 --> 00:16:30.680 verse 2 and 3, here's what it says. 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:43.240 It says, in the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as the highest 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:49.880 of mountains. It will be exalted above the hills and all nations will stream to it. Many people 00:16:49.880 --> 00:16:55.160 will come and say, come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. 00:16:55.160 --> 00:17:01.080 He will teach us his way so that we may walk in his paths. The law will go out from Zion, 00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:08.920 the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. So there is this idea in the heart of God that one, 00:17:08.920 --> 00:17:15.640 the church should be a place that nations stream to. And if you want to just read on Zion, go to 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:23.400 Hebrews 12, 23 so that we understand that Zion is not the temple that will be rebuilt in the future, 00:17:23.400 --> 00:17:27.320 which is what many people believe and which is something I don't agree with. 00:17:27.320 --> 00:17:29.880 But that's on the side. Hebrews 12, 23. 00:17:36.200 --> 00:17:43.320 12, 22. But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. 00:17:43.320 --> 00:17:47.320 You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels and joyful assembly, to the church of 00:17:47.320 --> 00:17:51.800 the firstborn whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all, to the 00:17:51.800 --> 00:17:56.680 spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled 00:17:56.680 --> 00:18:03.480 blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See to it then that you do not refuse him 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:11.480 who speaks. Zion is a people and a place of God where God dwells. It is not something that we 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:20.600 postpone to the future. So there was an expectation that nations would come to the church and it was 00:18:20.600 --> 00:18:26.440 where the laws, the edicts, the decrees, the works, and the revelation of God would be sent from. 00:18:28.040 --> 00:18:34.440 And so, I mean, during Christmas my favorite song, not because of the tune I got, I think 00:18:36.040 --> 00:18:39.960 Santa Claus is Coming to Town has a great tune, Winter Wonderland has a great tune, 00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:45.160 but when it comes to words, one of the coolest songs is one, Come Oh Come Emmanuel, and then 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:51.560 the other one is Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room, Joy to the World. I love that song. You've got to 00:18:51.560 --> 00:18:56.840 prepare room. One of the things that I ask Acts 29 to do, and anyone else who's hearing this, is 00:18:58.360 --> 00:19:05.400 if you want God to decree through the body and affect the events of the world, prepare him room 00:19:05.400 --> 00:19:14.040 as a body. Prepare him room as a body. At some point read Job 22, verse 23 to 28, and it'll give 00:19:14.040 --> 00:19:22.280 you an idea of how a people should go about preparing him room. Job 22, 23 to 28. Let's 00:19:22.280 --> 00:19:37.880 actually read it. Job 22, 23 to 28. I'll read from the message. Come back to God Almighty, 00:19:37.880 --> 00:19:43.560 and He'll rebuild your life. Clean house of everything evil. Relax your grip on your money. 00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:48.680 Abandon your gold-plated luxury. God Almighty will be your treasure, more wealth than you can 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:54.680 imagine. You'll take delight in God, the mighty one, and look to Him joyfully, boldly. You'll pray 00:19:54.680 --> 00:20:01.720 to Him, and He'll listen. He'll help you do what you promised. You'll decree or decide what you want, 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:06.920 to the word in KJV there is decree. You'll decree or decide what you want, and it will happen. Your 00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:12.680 life will be bathed in light. Those who feel low, you'll say chin up, be brave, and God will save 00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:19.320 them. Yes, even the guilty will escape, escape through God's grace in your life. I love that 00:20:19.320 --> 00:20:26.440 line. Yes, even the guilty will escape, escape through God's grace in your life. The NIV says, 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:32.760 He will deliver even one who is innocent, and He will be delivered through the cleanliness of your 00:20:32.760 --> 00:20:39.960 hands. Guys, one of the things God wants to do with the church, and I pray God that He does this 00:20:39.960 --> 00:20:45.080 with Acts 29, which is why I'm saying this is a message that will wait for us. One of the things 00:20:45.080 --> 00:20:52.200 God wants to do through Acts 29 is He wants to divulge His actions through the church. He wants 00:20:52.200 --> 00:20:58.760 to reveal, divulge His actions through the church. He wants to do what He did with Abraham in Genesis 00:20:58.760 --> 00:21:06.280 18, 17 to 19. He wants to say to the council in heaven, hey, I'm going to be doing this. Do you 00:21:06.280 --> 00:21:12.200 think I should hide it from Acts 29? Don't you think I should go and speak to them so that they 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:18.520 know too? Why would God include us that way? The reason God included Abraham was because He wanted 00:21:18.520 --> 00:21:25.800 to invite Abraham into the council that He was taking, and He wanted to tip His hand and let 00:21:25.800 --> 00:21:31.160 Abraham know what was going to happen in Sodom and Gomorrah. God is looking for churches, and I pray 00:21:31.160 --> 00:21:35.960 God that Acts 29 be one of those churches. God is looking for churches where He can go and say, 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:41.400 shall I hide from this particular church what I'm about to do? Can't I tip my hand and let them know? 00:21:41.400 --> 00:21:46.760 Can't I invite them into my council so that they have an idea of how I think and how I'm going to 00:21:46.760 --> 00:21:55.320 work things out? The church then becomes Psalm 29. The church becomes Psalm 29. I love this Psalm. 00:21:55.320 --> 00:22:02.760 This church becomes Psalm 29, and here's what Psalm 29 says. Verse three onwards, 00:22:02.760 --> 00:22:08.440 you become the voice of God on earth. The voice of the Lord is over the waters. The God of glory 00:22:08.440 --> 00:22:14.040 thunders. The Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. 00:22:14.040 --> 00:22:18.760 The voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks whatever needs to be broken, 00:22:18.760 --> 00:22:25.560 in this case cedars. It breaks them into pieces. The voice of the Lord energizes, quickens, or makes 00:22:25.560 --> 00:22:32.200 things that are new leap like a calf or have the strength of a wild ox. The voice of the Lord 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:37.320 strikes with flashes of lightning, undoing, destroying what needs to be destroyed. The voice 00:22:37.320 --> 00:22:42.360 of the Lord shakes the desert. The Lord shakes the desert. The voice of the Lord twists oaks, 00:22:42.360 --> 00:22:47.800 strips the forests bare, and in his temple they cry, holy, the Lord gives strength to his people, 00:22:47.800 --> 00:22:52.680 and he is enthroned as king forever. One of the things God wants us to do as a church is, 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:59.000 hey church, can I make your voice across, a voice for me so that you can begin to affect 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:08.120 the things around the earth. This seems so far out or so far fetched, and I'm saying that we shall 00:23:08.120 --> 00:23:16.920 see it while we are still young and healthy. This is not some latter day glory that will be revealed. 00:23:16.920 --> 00:23:25.640 I will see this in the next little while, where churches will begin to affect the affairs of the 00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:31.480 earth. I wish I could say any questions and you would put up your arm and respond. 00:23:34.280 --> 00:23:40.840 Okay, so let's talk about decrees since we said that this all-powerful God operates on the earth 00:23:40.840 --> 00:23:47.240 through decrees. One of the things he wants to do through the church is, can you on my behalf decree? 00:23:47.240 --> 00:23:53.800 So here is the thing about decrees. Decrees are founded in wisdom. Decrees are founded in wisdom. 00:23:53.800 --> 00:24:01.800 Divine decrees are founded and structured in wisdom. They're not the overnight sayings of a 00:24:01.800 --> 00:24:10.200 prophet who suddenly wants a particular candidate to win or someone deposed. They're not someone 00:24:10.280 --> 00:24:14.200 who feels that the church is being treated badly, so let's remove this person. 00:24:15.640 --> 00:24:23.160 This is not some whimsical capricious God who is willy-nilly putting people in place and removing 00:24:23.160 --> 00:24:32.200 them. Divine decrees are founded in wisdom. God knows his works from the beginning. This is so 00:24:32.600 --> 00:24:40.360 critical guys. We need to tap into the all-knowing from the beginning knowledge and the wisdom of God 00:24:40.360 --> 00:24:47.400 to understand where we need to speak and when we should not say. In Acts 15-18, 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:49.400 in Acts 15-18, 00:24:55.720 --> 00:24:58.520 in Acts 15-18, it says, 00:24:58.520 --> 00:25:02.760 the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name says, the Lord who 00:25:02.760 --> 00:25:09.880 does these things, things known from long ago. In Job 28-26, it talks about how decrees are based 00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:15.720 on the wisdom of God. The rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:22.520 and the rest of mankind may seek the Lord. It talks about how decrees are based in wisdom. 00:25:22.520 --> 00:25:28.840 In Acts 15-18, it talks about how God has a plan. See guys, here's the thing. If you want to decree, 00:25:28.840 --> 00:25:36.680 you need to know what God knew at the beginning. And what did God know at the beginning? At the 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:39.160 beginning, God knew the end. 00:25:39.640 --> 00:25:46.440 And if you don't get into the picture of what God is doing, you can begin to decree things 00:25:46.440 --> 00:25:53.400 because something is happening here, but you have no idea how God has formed that so that in the end, 00:25:53.400 --> 00:26:00.200 all that he wants can come to pass. Hindsight is 20-20. Now when I look at the things that God 00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:09.080 prevented, that I wept over, that I felt was mine to have and was taken away from me, man, I say, 00:26:09.080 --> 00:26:15.400 that those were God's ways, those disappointments were God's ways of ensuring my future. 00:26:16.760 --> 00:26:21.400 That I would not be standing in this place today, that I would be in a different profession, 00:26:21.400 --> 00:26:26.360 in different relationships, in a different country if it were not for the magnificent 00:26:26.360 --> 00:26:31.080 intervention of God. But at that moment, had someone started decreeing things into my life, 00:26:31.080 --> 00:26:36.920 it would be in isolation and that is where the prophetic and the prophets today are getting it 00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:54.040 completely wrong. Decrees, divine decrees, comprise, comprise divine purpose. 00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:05.080 So it takes into account divine purpose. It takes into account determined counsel, as in 00:27:05.160 --> 00:27:09.880 God has determined it. He's thought about it and his counsel will stand. It's determined. 00:27:12.520 --> 00:27:17.160 It takes into account foreknowledge, as in God knows all the things that are going to happen 00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:21.720 between now and the end of the world. Everything, when it'll happen, 00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:29.080 precisely what will happen, he knows it. It takes into account predestination, as in there are 00:27:29.080 --> 00:27:34.200 certain things that God knows are destined to happen because of his foreknowledge, not because 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:38.040 he's controlling, not because he's a puppeteer, but because of his foreknowledge. 00:27:40.760 --> 00:27:42.680 And it takes into account his pleasure. 00:27:45.160 --> 00:27:50.120 Guys, this is why I said this is a message that awaits us. We don't have either the capacity 00:27:50.840 --> 00:28:00.280 of the brain, nor of the word, nor of perhaps, yeah, I don't know what else. But we don't have 00:28:00.280 --> 00:28:05.080 the capacity to grasp all this and become this tomorrow. But we have to take into account that 00:28:05.080 --> 00:28:10.760 when we begin as a church or any church that is listening to this, when churches begin to operate, 00:28:10.760 --> 00:28:18.600 they have to take what God has been doing so that they know where they need to stand now based on 00:28:18.600 --> 00:28:28.120 what has. You know, I've said this before, one of Israel's, this is a Hebrew way. Whenever Israel 00:28:28.120 --> 00:28:35.400 would have to enter from 2020 to 2021, if that was 2021 and this was 2020, Israel would never 00:28:35.400 --> 00:28:42.920 enter 2021 this way. Israel would always look at the past and walk backwards into the future. 00:28:43.560 --> 00:28:48.680 Why? Because in looking at the past, they would know what did I mess up in? What do I need to 00:28:48.680 --> 00:28:53.720 repent of? What do I need to change? And they would look at their past and they would recount 00:28:53.720 --> 00:28:58.040 the past. This is what our ancestors did. This is what God did. This is what happened when we went 00:28:58.040 --> 00:29:02.760 astray. This is what happened when we got it right. And as they looked at the past, they would have an 00:29:02.760 --> 00:29:14.360 idea of how to walk back into the future. It's a Hebrew way of doing things. We need to look at the 00:29:14.360 --> 00:29:19.240 past and the future if we need to know what is happening here before we can decree accuracy. 00:29:19.720 --> 00:29:26.040 I pray that some of us begin to practice this on our own, one-on-one into situations quietly. 00:29:26.040 --> 00:29:31.640 My hope is that, oh God, would you cause the church to rise, to become central and to decree on your 00:29:31.640 --> 00:29:45.400 behalf? Decrees comprise all this. Scriptures that show this are in Ephesians 1.11 and Acts 2.23. 00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:50.760 Ephesians 1.11 and Acts 2.23. You can go check that out later. 00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:59.960 Ephesians 1.11, Acts 2.23. The supreme purpose of God's decree, and this is important 00:29:59.960 --> 00:30:04.600 because if you forget this, you forget the essence or the nature of God. The supreme 00:30:04.600 --> 00:30:11.080 purpose of God's divine decrees is twofold. It is a pouring out of grace 00:30:11.080 --> 00:30:23.720 and a revealing of his glory. Never forget this. Decrees that might have Nebuchadnezzar 00:30:23.720 --> 00:30:30.760 run into the forest with his nails overgrown like a bird's and his hair running wild like 00:30:30.760 --> 00:30:37.320 that of an animal, eating grass for seven years. One might think, aha, that was a decree of God's 00:30:37.320 --> 00:30:45.240 decree that put that fellow in place. Not true. The supreme purpose in all of God's decrees is, 00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:51.320 can I in the process pour out my grace and can I in the process reveal my glory? 00:30:51.320 --> 00:30:58.280 And Nebuchadnezzar one night suddenly comes back to his senses and he says, God alone is God. 00:30:58.280 --> 00:31:07.880 We are using it as something to harm or remove opposition. God uses decrees as a pouring out 00:31:07.880 --> 00:31:16.200 of grace and a revealing of glory. Whether people join in or stay out, it doesn't matter. 00:31:16.200 --> 00:31:23.400 This will be uncompromised and untarnished. God's glory will keep moving and God's glory will 00:31:23.480 --> 00:31:27.560 keep pouring. This will never change regardless of whether you buy it or do not buy it. And this 00:31:27.560 --> 00:31:33.480 applies to both Christians and non-Christians. Let me put it this way then. God's decree 00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:39.320 writes the history of the earth. God's decrees is what writes the history of the earth. Do you 00:31:39.320 --> 00:31:45.800 understand now why it is so critical to find out what God's decrees are? And part of that is by 00:31:45.800 --> 00:31:51.080 going into the past and going into the present and going into the future. And that's why God's 00:31:51.240 --> 00:31:54.920 decrees are so critical. And part of that is by going into the past and finding out what God is 00:31:54.920 --> 00:32:01.320 up to. God's decrees write the history of the earth. Because here's the thing with divine decrees, 00:32:01.320 --> 00:32:08.040 they are eternal. Decrees are formed in eternity but they are executed in sequence in time. 00:32:09.400 --> 00:32:17.000 So for instance, there was a 33 year gap between Christ being born and Christ being crucified. 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:22.360 But if you go to Revelation 13 verse 8, it says that Christ was crucified before the 00:32:22.360 --> 00:32:28.600 foundations of the earth. So for Peter to stand before Christ and say to him, 00:32:28.600 --> 00:32:32.920 stop talking about the crucifixion, there was only one response that Christ could have had. 00:32:32.920 --> 00:32:41.880 Get thee behind me Satan. Because the decrees of God, the divine decrees of God actually write 00:32:41.880 --> 00:32:57.880 the history of the earth. They are crafted in eternity but executed in sequence in time. 00:32:57.880 --> 00:33:03.960 If you look at Psalm 139.16, isn't that kind of what it's saying, Psalm 139.16? 00:33:03.960 --> 00:33:17.640 Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before 00:33:17.640 --> 00:33:24.600 one of them came to be. Your eyes saw my unformed body when? Nine months before I was born. When? 00:33:24.600 --> 00:33:26.040 Billions of years ago. 00:33:33.960 --> 00:33:39.800 This is why David had to at times just throw up his harp and his arms and say, 00:33:39.800 --> 00:33:45.400 your thoughts are too marvelous, too wonderful for me. I can't fathom them. 00:33:53.400 --> 00:33:58.680 Now to deal with some of the, one of the questions that was asked. Decrees exert no influence upon 00:33:59.160 --> 00:34:07.560 our will. Divine decrees do not exert an influence upon our will. And even though it ensures future 00:34:07.560 --> 00:34:14.840 events, it leaves every decree to be accomplished through the free will of a person. As in, 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:21.640 this is not God saying I decree that and therefore now Judas has no choice but to betray Jesus. 00:34:22.360 --> 00:34:29.800 Or that Hitler has no choice but to be evil and exterminate or put millions of Jews into the, 00:34:31.080 --> 00:34:37.640 into gas chambers and to slaughter them. That is not how this works. See, one of the things we have 00:34:37.640 --> 00:34:42.600 to understand when it comes to divine decrees is God can decree something because, I mean, 00:34:42.600 --> 00:34:48.600 I've written it down this way so that we understand it. That's because God comprehends every event, 00:34:49.400 --> 00:34:56.040 their causes, their interaction with other events, including every decision we'd ever make 00:34:56.040 --> 00:35:02.760 and the precise manner and order of their occurrence. In his foreknowledge, God comprehends 00:35:02.760 --> 00:35:09.880 every event. I'm talking about so many multiple billions of events happening on the earth at this 00:35:09.880 --> 00:35:18.040 very moment and God comprehends every event, their cause, their interaction with other events, 00:35:18.680 --> 00:35:26.120 including every decision that will be made and the precise manner in which it will be made 00:35:26.120 --> 00:35:32.440 and in the precise order in which it will occur. He knows all this. You are talking about a super, 00:35:32.440 --> 00:35:40.200 super powerful God. Like Phoebe would say, super, super powerful God. 00:35:40.200 --> 00:35:45.880 This is the God we got to tap into. It's like one of those sci-fi movies where you got to tap into 00:35:45.880 --> 00:35:51.720 the mainframe of the computer and if you do, you get a rock that allows you to function like the 00:35:51.720 --> 00:36:03.640 computer does. Oh, I miss Sam Seinfeld and Kramer. I don't know why. Not important. 00:36:04.120 --> 00:36:11.640 Decrees exert no influence upon our will. It leaves us to exercise our free will, 00:36:11.640 --> 00:36:18.600 but God has the power because of his foreknowledge to still ensure the future of events. 00:36:19.320 --> 00:36:24.680 It leaves us to exercise our free will, but God has the power because of his foreknowledge 00:36:27.160 --> 00:36:29.000 to still ensure the future of events. 00:36:37.800 --> 00:36:44.360 Oh, I miss Seinfeld and Kramer. Was that it? Oh, God comprehends. Okay. 00:36:44.360 --> 00:36:52.280 God comprehends every event. This is not my line. God comprehends every event, their causes, 00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:59.800 and their interactions with others, with other events. God comprehends every event, their causes, 00:36:59.800 --> 00:37:05.800 and their interaction with other events, including every decision we'd ever make 00:37:05.800 --> 00:37:10.600 and the precise manner and order of their occurrence. 00:37:10.840 --> 00:37:20.440 Everything. And despite it, can you imagine the restraint? 00:37:22.040 --> 00:37:25.160 You can see why self-control is the fruit of the spirit. 00:37:26.840 --> 00:37:30.520 Can you imagine the restraint not to take away your free will? 00:37:32.680 --> 00:37:40.280 Must be enormous. More so because he loves you. Do you know what it must be for him 00:37:40.280 --> 00:37:45.480 to love someone? And I'm talking about believers. I'm talking about every human being he's created 00:37:45.480 --> 00:37:49.800 to love his creation and yet not interfere with free will. 00:37:55.160 --> 00:37:57.400 We don't understand how precious this is, guys. 00:37:59.800 --> 00:38:02.600 Sometimes I think to myself, take my free will away. Just give me, 00:38:05.160 --> 00:38:08.840 just make me do what you want. Take my free will away. I can live with it. 00:38:08.840 --> 00:38:10.680 Till he takes it away and then I want it back. 00:38:12.280 --> 00:38:15.960 Children are like that. Parents are like that too once they come and live with you. 00:38:22.840 --> 00:38:27.240 Moving on. There's no segue from that. So, 00:38:31.560 --> 00:38:37.400 here's the thing. Hey, Amay, if you're watching, that was about other parents, not you. 00:38:39.720 --> 00:38:49.000 Guys, the potter decides how a vessel will be molded. But the vessel will only be molded 00:38:49.000 --> 00:38:56.120 as it responds to the potter's wheel. The potter decides how a vessel will be molded. This applies 00:38:56.120 --> 00:39:02.280 not just to people who are not believers but it applies to you, you and you, whoever you are. 00:39:03.080 --> 00:39:09.560 The potter decides how a vessel will be molded. This is why at one point God says, 00:39:09.560 --> 00:39:15.720 I think it's in Romans 9 or 10, it says, who are you clay to turn to the potter and say, 00:39:15.720 --> 00:39:21.080 I don't like the way you made me. The potter decides how the vessel will be molded. But the 00:39:21.560 --> 00:39:29.160 vessel will only be molded as it responds to the potter's wheel and the wheel that God uses to mold 00:39:29.160 --> 00:39:39.880 you is authority. The wheel that God uses to mold you is authority. So, it's not just his authority 00:39:39.880 --> 00:39:45.960 because he's invisible, his authority plays out through delegated authority. Therefore, if you 00:39:45.960 --> 00:39:52.840 have a problem with authority, you realize how very little molding is actually happening in your life. 00:39:53.240 --> 00:39:57.800 I'm not talking about authority just at the level of a church. I'm talking about authority in terms 00:39:57.800 --> 00:40:07.800 of any form of authority that God has placed. Because the wheel that God uses to mold clay is 00:40:07.800 --> 00:40:16.600 authority. Jesus had to be placed on this wheel in his home so that his parents' authority could be 00:40:17.080 --> 00:40:22.920 in his home so that his parents' authority could be over him as he grew even though he was the son of God. 00:40:31.400 --> 00:40:37.240 And if you have a struggle with authority, if you have a problem with yielding to authority, 00:40:37.240 --> 00:40:42.520 let me assure you, you might think that you have it correct but you are not being molded. 00:40:42.520 --> 00:40:48.680 You're being the architect of your own molding. That's a scary thing, eh? 00:40:52.200 --> 00:40:59.800 The issue is how I respond to the potter's wheel, how I respond to the authorities placed over me, 00:40:59.800 --> 00:41:05.800 spiritual, physical, governmental, how I respond to the authority placed over me. 00:41:05.880 --> 00:41:14.120 And humility is key. Humility is key. The thing with divine decrees is while God's laws can be 00:41:14.120 --> 00:41:21.880 broken, God's decrees or his action plan can never be broken. Even though God's laws can be broken, 00:41:21.880 --> 00:41:30.040 God's divine decrees cannot be broken. I'm telling you, the earth is on schedule. It is not off 00:41:30.600 --> 00:41:37.160 tangent. God is progressing brilliantly. People are being saved like crazy. Healings are happening 00:41:37.160 --> 00:41:43.480 that you do not know of. Dead are being raised like you won't believe. Blind eyes are seeing, 00:41:43.480 --> 00:41:49.560 deaf ears are hearing but there aren't enough books to write about it and it is happening. 00:41:50.280 --> 00:41:56.760 Now for us Christians who think this is something in the New Testament and it won't happen right now, 00:41:56.760 --> 00:42:08.200 ah man, stop domesticating and taming Jesus. He isn't your little cat. He's Aslan. Don't do that 00:42:08.200 --> 00:42:14.040 to him. Let him be who he wants to be and if you cannot let him be who he wants to be through the 00:42:14.040 --> 00:42:26.680 church, then zip up. I've got to be brutal like this. Enough. It's one thing to question the truth 00:42:26.680 --> 00:42:31.880 it's one thing to challenge the truth because you want to understand the truth. It's another thing 00:42:31.880 --> 00:42:36.600 to suffocate the truth because you are not willing to believe it. 00:42:36.600 --> 00:43:00.520 Is the person asking the Hitler question again or okay? 00:43:06.600 --> 00:43:10.200 The thing is guys we see an incident in isolation 00:43:12.440 --> 00:43:17.240 and it just riles us and we begin to think how can God allow this or why isn't God intervening. 00:43:18.120 --> 00:43:24.440 We do not see the beginning or the after. We see only the incident in isolation and we see it with 00:43:24.440 --> 00:43:30.440 our eyes and our ears and what is fed to us by news or by what we actually perceive. We do not 00:43:30.440 --> 00:43:38.360 see before it or behind it. We do not see the invisible workings of God. We do not see our 00:43:39.240 --> 00:43:43.960 reluctance to step into it and change it. I looked for a man who would stand in the gap 00:43:43.960 --> 00:43:46.840 and I found none. Thank God that isn't happening as often. 00:43:54.040 --> 00:43:57.960 One can lament what is happening in Nandigama and do nothing about it 00:43:57.960 --> 00:44:02.600 or one can lament about what is happening in Nandigama and know the heart of God and step into it. 00:44:06.040 --> 00:44:12.440 One can lose one's life fighting against injustice or one can preserve one's life and 00:44:13.480 --> 00:44:19.080 use make God the scapegoat for everything evil that is happening even though there is not an evil 00:44:19.080 --> 00:44:27.160 shred a bone in his body that is evil or desires evil or perpetuates evil or likes evil. He is 00:44:27.160 --> 00:44:33.240 already afoot from the beginning because he knows guys remember this remember the burden he bears 00:44:34.440 --> 00:44:40.840 remember the burden he bears that for billions of years he has known in his full knowledge 00:44:41.560 --> 00:44:48.680 what is happening and he does everything in his power to preserve the free will of man 00:44:48.680 --> 00:44:54.200 because he cannot take that away. He takes that away and you are no longer made in the image of God. 00:44:57.720 --> 00:44:59.720 He cannot take it away 00:45:01.720 --> 00:45:08.440 and to let you remain in the image of God he will not take it away and he bears the burden of his own creation 00:45:08.440 --> 00:45:19.080 abusing destroying what he has made. You and I cannot even imagine what Christ bore on the cross. 00:45:19.800 --> 00:45:25.480 We cannot imagine it. Songs haven't been written words haven't been expressed why? Because you 00:45:25.480 --> 00:45:27.480 cannot fathom it and I cannot fathom it. 00:45:37.000 --> 00:45:39.000 Yeah 00:45:43.800 --> 00:45:49.640 God's laws can be broken God's decrees or his action plan can never be broken. 00:45:49.640 --> 00:45:57.800 It's perfect it is perfect it is perfect it is perfect just imagine that divine decrees are perfect. 00:46:00.680 --> 00:46:11.800 I'm praying that you know when we sang that song which said I see in generation rising up with what? 00:46:12.040 --> 00:46:18.360 Rising up to take their place man that song really grabs me. I'm not thinking of a generation 00:46:18.360 --> 00:46:25.160 necessarily in an age group but a generation that'll plug into what God is doing to see 00:46:25.960 --> 00:46:31.960 prophet theologians arise. Prophet theologians ones who know the study of God and ones who are 00:46:31.960 --> 00:46:38.040 prophetic not prophets not theologians. Prophet theologians are the ones who know the study of 00:46:38.040 --> 00:46:44.360 God and not prophets not theologians. Prophet theologians are rising like in the days of old 00:46:47.960 --> 00:46:52.120 that I would be one of them that the church would be this church would be one of them. 00:46:55.800 --> 00:47:02.600 So from our vantage a decree a divine decree must be announced with astounding clarity. 00:47:03.560 --> 00:47:07.240 That's one of the things that God would always look for. Can I find someone here on earth? 00:47:07.800 --> 00:47:13.080 So that I don't have to go writing on a wall or putting up a rainbow. Can I find someone here on 00:47:13.080 --> 00:47:21.880 earth that can with astounding clarity declare my decree based on what is known from the past and 00:47:21.880 --> 00:47:30.120 based on what is known in the future by by finding out. Can I find someone like that? In Psalm 81 00:47:30.760 --> 00:47:37.720 5 it says blow the trumpets announce what God's decree is let it be known so that people won't 00:47:37.720 --> 00:47:47.080 forget but before we announce with clarity God's divine decree we have to find it we have to form 00:47:47.080 --> 00:47:58.200 it as in give it substance we have to free it as in release it we have to fuel it as in do whatever 00:47:58.200 --> 00:48:03.320 is necessary for it to take the wings of the spirit and fly and we have to enforce it. 00:48:06.280 --> 00:48:13.640 Man the church has so much to step into. Let us not get too hung up about a Sunday service. 00:48:13.640 --> 00:48:30.120 And where do we find a way that we can see this happening? Daniel chapter 9. 00:48:31.880 --> 00:48:39.320 Man if there was a prophet who was living through really difficult times and wasn't prophesying just 00:48:39.400 --> 00:48:49.480 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit but had to in a hostile nation be exposed to severe 00:48:50.440 --> 00:48:56.200 persecution both in terms of the lion's den and in terms of the statue that had to be bowed to 00:48:56.200 --> 00:49:02.360 and the furnace where the three boys were thrown into. In the midst of that here is a man who knows 00:49:02.360 --> 00:49:08.760 how to go about being a voice that decrees on the behalf of God. Daniel chapter 9. 00:49:10.200 --> 00:49:16.280 So the first thing when you read Daniel chapter 9 is that Daniel connects on one hand to the 00:49:16.280 --> 00:49:21.640 sovereignty of God on the other hand he also knows his responsibility and his responsibility 00:49:21.640 --> 00:49:31.320 or our responsibility in this situation will be faith, urgency, prayer. Many want to decree on 00:49:31.320 --> 00:49:37.880 behalf of God but after decreeing that's when the real work begins. You see it in first Kings 1843 00:49:37.880 --> 00:49:43.960 where he knew what God's decree was that I will bring. Guys, guys please remember God's decree 00:49:43.960 --> 00:49:49.480 wasn't so much about I will bring rain in three years. God's decree was I will bring Israel back 00:49:49.480 --> 00:49:57.000 in three years. Apostate Israel would be brought back out of his apostasy into believing God again. 00:49:57.080 --> 00:50:04.440 See who you will worship today Baal or God. That was the decree. The decree wasn't rain will come. 00:50:06.280 --> 00:50:14.120 First Kings 1843 onwards and so here is Elijah and even though he knows that God has said he 00:50:14.120 --> 00:50:20.840 will send rain this man begins to curl up into a fetus and he begins to pray. Why? Because there 00:50:20.840 --> 00:50:25.240 is an urgency, there is a need for faith and there is a need for prayer. 00:50:27.400 --> 00:50:32.280 Daniel knew this. He knew that on one hand there's a sovereignty of God on the other hand there's 00:50:32.280 --> 00:50:37.880 the responsibility of man and if man decides to abrogate or abdicate his responsibility 00:50:37.880 --> 00:50:43.160 God's sovereignty will kick in but my God from the beginning of time he has always wanted to 00:50:43.160 --> 00:50:48.760 partner with man to bring to pass on earth what he wanted to which is why in Genesis 1 28 the 00:50:48.760 --> 00:50:54.280 mandate was hey I want to do this but I want to do it through you therefore go forth multiply 00:50:54.280 --> 00:51:02.680 replenish subdue the earth. He could have done it on his own. He could have done it through angels. 00:51:08.360 --> 00:51:15.320 So how does Daniel start in Daniel chapter 9 verse 2? I love this. Daniel went to the books 00:51:15.320 --> 00:51:21.080 and he started reading the books. Why? Because he has to find out what God saw 00:51:23.240 --> 00:51:27.960 at the beginning and what did God see at the beginning? He saw the end and what was the end 00:51:27.960 --> 00:51:34.680 that in 70 weeks as in 70 years I'll bring back Israel to its land and restore it. I will raise 00:51:34.680 --> 00:51:40.760 up a king called Cyrus who does not even know me and that anointed king that he God is calling 00:51:40.760 --> 00:51:46.440 anointed will help you establish Jerusalem again. Now where does he find this? He doesn't find this 00:51:46.440 --> 00:51:51.240 through an inspired prophetic word. He finds it by going back to the book and he reads the book of 00:51:51.240 --> 00:51:55.880 Jeremiah and there he finds it. This is what I mean by prophet theologians. 00:52:01.240 --> 00:52:08.040 He seeks the books to decipher the times and to find God keys and God's capes so that he knows 00:52:08.040 --> 00:52:16.600 how to shape the future. I love it. Guys become students of the word. Read not because it's your 00:52:16.600 --> 00:52:21.320 duty. Read not because you're a Christian. Read because you want to understand the mind of God. 00:52:21.960 --> 00:52:24.920 A one who understands the mind of God will become the voice of God. 00:52:32.680 --> 00:52:33.640 I can't tell you how 00:52:38.600 --> 00:52:43.560 biblically prophetic these messages are. I'm not even calling them prophetic messages because 00:52:43.560 --> 00:52:48.200 that would mean some direction or something that's going to happen. I'm talking about the 00:52:49.000 --> 00:52:55.560 weight of the word in messages like this. It shapes the church into what the church needs 00:52:55.560 --> 00:52:57.560 to be and I'm not even doing it for Acts 29. 00:53:08.840 --> 00:53:17.400 Now that Daniel knows from the books from Jeremiah, now that he knows that God's plan is to restore, 00:53:17.400 --> 00:53:27.320 in Daniel 9 verse 4 he says he set his face towards it. He set his face towards it. Now the person 00:53:27.320 --> 00:53:32.200 who did that was Jesus. When Peter said you are the Jesus Christ, the son of the living God, 00:53:32.280 --> 00:53:37.000 Jesus Christ, the son of the living God, what did Jesus do? Jesus set his face like flint 00:53:37.000 --> 00:53:41.800 and started his journey towards Jerusalem. That's what is happening here. There is an intentional 00:53:41.800 --> 00:53:47.640 okay now that I know what you're up to. Now oh God since I found out from the book what you knew, 00:53:48.600 --> 00:53:53.880 now I have to begin to intentionally set my face so I can shape the future the way you want to 00:53:53.880 --> 00:53:58.360 through the decrees or through edicts or through revelation of what you want done. 00:53:58.760 --> 00:54:05.000 The next thing Daniel does which is not does does the next thing Daniel does 00:54:05.720 --> 00:54:07.720 f-u-t-u-r-e, futre or futree? 00:54:09.640 --> 00:54:18.600 f-u-t-u-r-e, futre or futree? Man it's taking you guys time. Future, future, try future. Okay. 00:54:18.600 --> 00:54:29.640 Where will we, where will we, okay there we are sorry. I was just something on the side. 00:54:31.640 --> 00:54:38.040 So now that Daniel has found out what he's found out, he does something which I don't see happening 00:54:38.040 --> 00:54:45.800 too much. He takes collective responsibility for the domain that he's praying for. See Daniel was 00:54:45.800 --> 00:54:51.800 one of the guys if you read Ezekiel 14, 14, Daniel, Job and Noah were the three guys to whom 00:54:51.800 --> 00:54:58.920 God did not ascribe sin. God looked at them as innocent. He's in Ezekiel 14, 14 he says even if 00:54:58.920 --> 00:55:03.400 Daniel, Job and Noah these near perfect men came and prayed I would not listen to them. 00:55:04.360 --> 00:55:11.080 And so Daniel belongs to that ilk and yet Daniel in his prayer for the domain that he has charge 00:55:11.080 --> 00:55:15.000 over, for the domain that he is supposed to shape, for the domain that he's supposed to speak over, 00:55:16.040 --> 00:55:22.840 Daniel begins to take on collective responsibility for that domain and begins to identify with 00:55:22.840 --> 00:55:26.920 whatever needs to be identified with so that he can repent, he can begin to cry out, 00:55:26.920 --> 00:55:34.840 he can begin to change. He's not separate from it eh. You read Daniel 9 and he's brutally honest as 00:55:34.840 --> 00:55:39.560 he begins to tell God this is what we've done, this is how we've messed up, this is the present 00:55:39.560 --> 00:55:44.920 situation but oh God for your namesake and for the sake of your people because of who you are and how 00:55:44.920 --> 00:55:54.600 you are here is what I ask that you do. And had Daniel not done that God would have still accomplished 00:55:54.600 --> 00:56:00.040 it but then we would never have had this book, never have had children singing Daniel shut the 00:56:00.040 --> 00:56:03.880 lion's mouth, never had Shadrach, Mesha, Kabeirnego, never had any of this. 00:56:06.680 --> 00:56:12.680 If your story does not have him in it then you really don't have a story. Your salvation story 00:56:12.680 --> 00:56:18.920 is God's story through your life. My God what is the point of getting saved and not having 00:56:18.920 --> 00:56:34.920 another story to talk about? Daniel begins to create space to repent and he begins to prepare 00:56:34.920 --> 00:56:40.200 for the decreed appointment 70 years from now. Things are going to happen, I've got to start 00:56:40.200 --> 00:56:45.720 preparing these people. Guys please that's the other thing, let's not be instant Christians. 00:56:45.720 --> 00:56:50.440 May you not try to accomplish a result for today, may you accomplish a result for Phoebe's children. 00:56:55.880 --> 00:57:00.440 May you accomplish a result for Phoebe's children, for Jocelyn's children. 00:57:11.000 --> 00:57:17.720 After all these processes, only after he goes through this process, does God now release mercy 00:57:17.720 --> 00:57:25.400 on the land? Does God release judgment on the enemy? Does God restore Israel? Does God allow 00:57:25.400 --> 00:57:33.240 angelic activity? Does God decree territorial warfare? And then in Daniel chapter 9 and 10 00:57:33.240 --> 00:57:38.520 you have Gabriel and Michael, Archangels of God, fighting against the Prince of Persia and the 00:57:38.920 --> 00:57:46.520 Prince of Greece, demonic powers. Decrees, I'm telling you when you begin to work with God on 00:57:46.520 --> 00:57:53.960 divine decrees that he spoke long ago and that you tap into, now you see what actually happens. 00:57:54.760 --> 00:58:01.480 And in Daniel chapter 10 you see Michael coming and saying to Daniel, listen in Gabriel's case, 00:58:01.480 --> 00:58:07.320 Gabriel arrives at Daniel's doorstep as soon as Daniel starts praying. But for whatever reason, 00:58:07.320 --> 00:58:12.200 in Michael's case, Michael takes 21 days to arrive towards to Daniel and he says, 00:58:12.200 --> 00:58:15.480 I had to fight the Prince of Persia, then I'm going to have to fight the Prince of Greece on 00:58:15.480 --> 00:58:22.040 my return. People try to say that it is just a nominal ruler, earthly ruler. I'm saying to you, 00:58:22.040 --> 00:58:29.080 you're completely wrong. These are powerful principalities and powers and dominions. 00:58:29.480 --> 00:58:33.640 It is through this process that we now get involved in mercy that is released to a land, 00:58:34.200 --> 00:58:38.680 judgment that has to be released and we'll talk about that. The last point in the five essentials 00:58:38.680 --> 00:58:43.480 that a church needs to embrace before it can become church central is executing selfless 00:58:43.480 --> 00:58:47.880 judgment. But you don't execute selfless judgment in isolation because someone doesn't agree with 00:58:47.880 --> 00:58:53.320 your ideology or your political party. It has to be much greater than that. 00:58:53.320 --> 00:58:57.320 I dislike it when Christianity is diluted and poured out of bottles 00:58:57.880 --> 00:59:06.680 into man-made agendas. It was not what we were meant for. We were meant for much more. 00:59:09.720 --> 00:59:16.280 It is then that we have to be more careful about our own beliefs and our own beliefs. 00:59:16.280 --> 00:59:27.880 It is then that restoration happens. It is then that angelic activities release. It is 00:59:27.880 --> 00:59:33.480 then that territorial warfare is decreed and it is then that you have a literal Jacob's ladder 00:59:33.480 --> 00:59:38.360 with angels ascending and descending with the revelations of God. That is when it begins to 00:59:38.360 --> 00:59:44.280 happen. Guys, our experience is on an individual level but it is so minuscule when it is on an 00:59:44.920 --> 00:59:50.520 individual level because God never accomplishes things through an individual. God accomplishes 00:59:50.520 --> 00:59:56.600 things through a body. I plead that we step into this because God is waiting for a body that can 00:59:56.600 --> 01:00:03.480 function like this. Where there will be meetings at Acts 29 where we'll come together because there 01:00:03.480 --> 01:00:07.960 is a certain thing that God has placed in our heart saying, can you begin to pray this? You may 01:00:07.960 --> 01:00:13.080 not see it but your children will see it. And we begin to pray that. Do you know how many people 01:00:13.080 --> 01:00:20.040 died before they saw the Iron Curtain fall? You heard me talk about this two weeks ago, 01:00:20.040 --> 01:00:24.840 the man called Christian Fuhrer who started a church with a few people that would meet and 01:00:24.840 --> 01:00:30.360 in the end there were 70,000 people walking the streets of Berlin the day the Berlin Wall fell. 01:00:30.360 --> 01:00:33.640 But do you know how many people died waiting for the Berlin Wall to fall? 01:00:36.760 --> 01:00:41.320 Let Church Central arise. So what if I don't see it here on earth? I'll still see it. 01:00:43.080 --> 01:00:48.600 We must be like David. I want to be like David. I want to be like David. I'm not talking about 01:00:48.600 --> 01:00:53.560 singing or fighting. I'm talking about I want to be like David so that I can leave for Solomon 01:00:53.560 --> 01:01:02.920 everything required for the furnishing of the temple. If you're old, as in if you're 50 or more, 01:01:02.920 --> 01:01:10.760 you should begin to desire this. It's your life. It's what you should enjoy. You should enjoy. 01:01:10.840 --> 01:01:16.920 It's what you should engage in for the rest of your life. Yes, I will do whatever God tells me to 01:01:16.920 --> 01:01:23.320 but my God, I'm going to make sure that I leave furnishings for the temple so that Solomon will 01:01:23.320 --> 01:01:29.640 not even have to go to Hyrum to hire a few people to build a temple because I provided him everything 01:01:29.640 --> 01:01:33.880 and I've gotten him skilled carpenters and laborers that can cut down trees and bring them. 01:01:33.880 --> 01:01:41.880 And I'll teach my son Solomon not to marry a thousand women while I'm at it. Foolish fella. 01:01:41.880 --> 01:01:49.880 Gleary ruined stuff, eh? No, Dawn, I wasn't looking at you. 01:01:52.360 --> 01:02:00.840 Once you set up a Jacob's ladder like this, through this kind of a practice, you will find 01:02:01.000 --> 01:02:07.640 that the self-revelation of God begins to flow on the earth through a church. Kings and kingdoms. 01:02:08.520 --> 01:02:16.840 You know what happens after Daniel chapter 9 and 10? Cyrus comes and he does what Jeremiah said 01:02:16.840 --> 01:02:24.600 he would do and Isaiah said he would do. And both kings and kingdoms change. Cyrus and Persia 01:02:24.600 --> 01:02:30.600 are critical players in what happens after. Even through what happens in Daniel chapter 10, Persia 01:02:30.600 --> 01:02:37.720 then begins to withdraw and history changes. Desolate inheritances are affected by the church. 01:02:37.720 --> 01:02:44.600 They are restored by the church. Isaiah 49, Isaiah 58, I have sent you to restore desolate heritages. 01:02:44.600 --> 01:02:49.800 Isaiah 49, Isaiah 58, I have sent you to restore desolate heritages. 01:02:53.160 --> 01:02:55.640 I want to end with that 01:03:00.200 --> 01:03:07.320 verse which says, as you speak a hundred billion creatures. 01:03:09.640 --> 01:03:11.640 Let's just end with that.