WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Consider Your Ways Publishing Date: 2024-10-27T06:04:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/consider-your-ways/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:14.060 Aba, it's great for us to get together. We really enjoyed worshipping you. It's amazing 00:00:14.060 --> 00:00:21.380 for us to experience you moving amongst us. Thank you for the words that you spoke over 00:00:21.380 --> 00:00:32.660 people. You are so real, so alive, so wanting to disrupt our days in a good way. So Aba, 00:00:32.660 --> 00:00:37.900 we thank you. We thank you that we get to experience you like this. We don't need to 00:00:37.900 --> 00:00:46.900 climb up a mountain. We don't need to drive hours. We can be where we are and we can experience 00:00:47.020 --> 00:00:54.020 you. And every time Aba, you make it so evidently clear to us that you love us so much, that 00:00:55.220 --> 00:01:02.220 you care of us. So thank you Aba. We just want to enter into this teaching with that 00:01:04.460 --> 00:01:11.460 in mind that you care, you care, you care, you love and you direct us. Thank you Aba. 00:01:12.460 --> 00:01:19.460 We love you. We love you. Jesus, we love you. Nothing makes sense without you Jesus. Nothing 00:01:20.820 --> 00:01:27.100 makes sense without you. So it's such a privilege for us to carry your name. Such a privilege 00:01:27.100 --> 00:01:34.100 for us to trust you, to know you, to love you. Thank you Aba. Thank you. 00:01:35.100 --> 00:01:45.100 About 600 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, the Babylonians came and they attacked 00:01:45.220 --> 00:01:51.380 Jerusalem. So they came, it was a large army. They took over Jerusalem. The temple that 00:01:51.380 --> 00:01:58.380 Solomon had built, they tore it down and they took a bunch of people as captives to Babylon. 00:01:58.380 --> 00:02:05.380 That was 600 years before Jesus arrived on earth, before he was born to Mary and Joseph. 00:02:07.660 --> 00:02:14.660 600 years before that it happened. A large army came. They took the temple down. It was 00:02:15.580 --> 00:02:22.220 really special for Israel, the temple, where they brought it down. And the group of people 00:02:22.220 --> 00:02:29.220 who were taken captives who went to Babylon, about 50,000 of them returned from Babylon 00:02:31.780 --> 00:02:37.980 about 70 years later. So think of it. In your mind there is 50,000 people out of many who 00:02:37.980 --> 00:02:44.980 were taken. King Cyrus was his name. He decided that because the Babylonian kingdom was taken 00:02:44.980 --> 00:02:49.980 over by his kingdom, a Persian kingdom, he decided that Cyrus decided that I'm going 00:02:49.980 --> 00:02:55.980 to let these guys go back. Whoever wants to go back can go back. And 50,000 of them decided 00:02:55.980 --> 00:03:00.980 that they were going to go back to Jerusalem. And so they came, they arrived. The idea was 00:03:00.980 --> 00:03:06.980 that they will rebuild the temple, the same temple that the Babylonians destroyed. The 00:03:06.980 --> 00:03:13.980 idea was that these 50,000 guys will come together and that they would rebuild the temple. 00:03:14.980 --> 00:03:19.980 So that's the context. And so they came, they started rebuilding the temple. The foundations 00:03:19.980 --> 00:03:24.980 were laid. So this is about 520 years before Christ. The temple foundations were laid. 00:03:28.980 --> 00:03:33.980 And then there is opposition. So the opposition, what does that look like? There's people around, 00:03:33.980 --> 00:03:38.980 nations around that doesn't like what's happening. And then there is opposition. So when the 00:03:39.980 --> 00:03:45.980 opposition comes, the work gets delayed. And then day by day, by day, by day, time just 00:03:45.980 --> 00:03:52.980 moves on. And about 15 years later, you see in Haggai, the prophet, Haggai is speaking 00:03:52.980 --> 00:03:58.980 to the Israelites. And there is one thing that he says, and he repeats it multiple times. 00:03:58.980 --> 00:04:03.980 That is, hey, you guys came from Babylon back to Jerusalem. You came to rebuild the temple. 00:04:09.980 --> 00:04:14.980 You came to rebuild your lives in your city, Jerusalem. But some of you actually think 00:04:14.980 --> 00:04:19.980 that it's not time yet to rebuild the temple, but now is the time. And then God begins to 00:04:21.980 --> 00:04:27.980 speak to the people of Israel. And there is three words I want all of us to think about. 00:04:27.980 --> 00:04:32.980 God says, consider your ways. He says it again, consider your ways. You came here for this. 00:04:36.980 --> 00:04:41.980 You came here for the rebuilding of the temple. You came here so that you can have your lives 00:04:41.980 --> 00:04:46.980 here. But 15 years later, what you started, you haven't completed. 15 years later, the 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:53.980 temple hasn't been rebuilt yet. It looks like how you left it. So that's the context for 00:04:54.980 --> 00:04:59.980 everything I have to say today. Consider your ways. Obviously, we live today. There is no 00:04:59.980 --> 00:05:04.980 temple that we need to rebuild. But the idea that God in his prescriptive wisdom speaks 00:05:07.980 --> 00:05:12.980 things. So he always tells his people, here is what I want you to do. And when God said to them 00:05:13.980 --> 00:05:18.980 back then, consider your ways, those are words we can use today. Because it's the same prescriptive 00:05:18.980 --> 00:05:23.980 wisdom of God that comes to us and says, consider your ways. Consider your ways. Think about 00:05:26.980 --> 00:05:31.980 your life. So when I say consider your ways, what do I mean by that? It's a careful inspection 00:05:33.980 --> 00:05:38.980 of my life. It's sort of like an audit of my life. Yeah? When you do an audit every year, 00:05:40.980 --> 00:05:45.980 you know what comes in, you know what goes out. You know how money flows. You know how 00:05:48.980 --> 00:05:53.980 money flows. So if you are a financial auditor, you'll know that. Because every penny that 00:05:53.980 --> 00:05:58.980 comes in is important. Every penny that goes out is important. So considering your ways, 00:05:58.980 --> 00:06:03.980 considering my way, looks like it's an audit. And it's an audit that I do with the Holy 00:06:03.980 --> 00:06:08.980 Spirit. It's not like I just decide to think of what I did. It's more so, Lord, I want to 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:15.980 know what I did. I want to carefully review it. It's a retrospective, it's a looking back at 00:06:15.980 --> 00:06:20.980 what happened. See the last eight months. See the last ten months. See the last twelve 00:06:20.980 --> 00:06:25.980 months. Two years, three years maybe, to work with the Holy Spirit and say, I want to consider 00:06:28.980 --> 00:06:33.980 my ways. Yeah? Yeah? So consider your ways. Consider your ways. So even as I speak a few 00:06:38.980 --> 00:06:43.980 things, I only have five or six things that I really believe God wants to speak to us. So 00:06:43.980 --> 00:06:48.980 we'll go through those things one by one. Keep this in mind. You have to open up your heart 00:06:48.980 --> 00:06:53.980 and your mind to the Holy Spirit to speak to you. Because it's going to look really different 00:06:53.980 --> 00:06:58.980 for each of us. I went through this process a few weeks ago. And as I went through this process, 00:06:58.980 --> 00:07:03.980 my eyes were opened to my own life in ways that I did not know before. So my prayer for you is 00:07:03.980 --> 00:07:08.980 that as you consider your ways, as you sit down even now, as you hear me, or if you're hearing 00:07:08.980 --> 00:07:13.980 later, that you're doing it with the Holy Spirit. You're doing it with the Holy Spirit because 00:07:13.980 --> 00:07:18.980 the Holy Spirit will inform your mind. He'll inform you about how he sees things. Oftentimes 00:07:18.980 --> 00:07:23.980 we see things a certain way. But then when he shows us how it really is, things can look 00:07:23.980 --> 00:07:28.980 different. So these are things where you may have done really well that he takes pleasure in. 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:33.980 There may be things where he says, I actually want you, Derek, to be a little bit more 00:07:33.980 --> 00:07:38.980 different. I want you to be different. I want you to be different. 00:07:38.980 --> 00:07:43.980 So let's look at a few scriptures. I want to set some scriptural precedents, 00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:48.980 so to speak, so that we look at a few scriptures together and then we'll look at how we can do it. 00:07:48.980 --> 00:07:53.980 So here are a few verses to think about. 00:07:53.980 --> 00:07:58.980 Second Corinthians, Chapter 13, verse 5. Second Corinthians, Chapter 13, verse 5. 00:07:58.980 --> 00:08:03.980 Second Corinthians, Chapter 13, verse 5. 00:08:03.980 --> 00:08:08.980 Second Corinthians, Chapter 13, verse 5. Here is what it says. 00:08:08.980 --> 00:08:13.980 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in faith. Test yourself. 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:18.980 So I want to take the first two words. What does considering your ways mean? 00:08:18.980 --> 00:08:23.980 It means you're examining yourself with the Holy Spirit. Lamentations, Chapter 3, 00:08:23.980 --> 00:08:28.980 verse 40. Lamentations, Chapter 3, verse 40. 00:08:28.980 --> 00:08:33.980 You see the same theme again. Let us test 00:08:33.980 --> 00:08:38.980 and examine our ways. Let us test and 00:08:38.980 --> 00:08:43.980 examine our ways. So you see this multiple scriptures in the Bible that talk about 00:08:43.980 --> 00:08:48.980 the same thing. Test your ways. Examine your ways. 00:08:48.980 --> 00:08:53.980 Have introspect. Looking at your own life with the Holy Spirit 00:08:53.980 --> 00:08:58.980 to see what He wants to show you. First Corinthians, Chapter 11, 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:03.980 28-32. First Corinthians, Chapter 11, 28-32. 00:09:03.980 --> 00:09:08.980 Let a person examine himself. In that particular passage, 00:09:08.980 --> 00:09:13.980 it's about the communion, but you can still see the same theme 00:09:13.980 --> 00:09:18.980 over and over again. Examine yourself. 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:23.980 Romans, Chapter 12, verse 3. For by the grace given to me, 00:09:23.980 --> 00:09:28.980 I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly 00:09:28.980 --> 00:09:33.980 than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment. So again, in other words, 00:09:33.980 --> 00:09:38.980 that talks about think of yourself with the Holy Spirit to see how He sees you, 00:09:38.980 --> 00:09:43.980 not the way you see yourself. So it doesn't mean good or bad. 00:09:43.980 --> 00:09:48.980 It means you have to go through a process of considering your ways. You have to go 00:09:48.980 --> 00:09:53.980 through a process to really hear and understand how the Holy Spirit thinks of 00:09:53.980 --> 00:09:58.980 certain things that you're doing. How the Holy Spirit thinks of certain things you speak. 00:09:58.980 --> 00:10:03.980 The Holy Spirit thinks of certain relationships that you have. How He sees the last 12 months. 00:10:03.980 --> 00:10:08.980 How He sees the last two years. That matters. 00:10:08.980 --> 00:10:13.980 So that's really the few scriptures to go with what I have to say. 00:10:13.980 --> 00:10:18.980 So let's look at five or six different things depending on time. 00:10:18.980 --> 00:10:23.980 Practically how this applies now to you and I. 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:28.980 The first thing that you can do as you consider your ways is 00:10:28.980 --> 00:10:33.980 Number one, to build a recabyte list. 00:10:33.980 --> 00:10:38.980 R-E-C-H-A-B-I-T-E. Jeremiah chapter 35. 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:43.980 So I'll explain that. Build a recabyte list. 00:10:43.980 --> 00:10:48.980 R-E-C-H-A-B-I-T. Recubites. So if you go to Jeremiah chapter 35, 00:10:48.980 --> 00:10:53.980 you don't have to read it. I'll try to explain the story. You see, 00:10:53.980 --> 00:10:58.980 God speaks to Jeremiah, the prophet, and God says, I want you to go to the 00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:03.980 recubites. So it's a family. It's a bunch of people who live in a particular place. 00:11:03.980 --> 00:11:08.980 And so you go to the recubites and once you go there, I want you to tell them, 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:13.980 come with me, take them to the temple, and 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:18.980 have them sit there and give them wine to drink. So Jeremiah goes. 00:11:18.980 --> 00:11:23.980 Jeremiah goes and he finds the recubites and he says, come with me. This is the prophet. 00:11:23.980 --> 00:11:28.980 This is not anyone. This is the prophet. The prophet of God 00:11:28.980 --> 00:11:33.980 goes and calls the recubites. The prophet says, come with me to the temple, 00:11:33.980 --> 00:11:38.980 to the side room in the house of the Lord. And so they go and they're all there and the 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:43.980 prophet takes the wine, multiple bowls of wine. 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:48.980 He puts it all on the table. He sets it up there and he says, please drink. 00:11:48.980 --> 00:11:53.980 That's the prophet saying, please drink. But the recubites have a response. 00:11:53.980 --> 00:11:58.980 They say, my forefathers, our forefathers, I think his name, 00:11:58.980 --> 00:12:03.980 one of his, his name is Jehonabad. My forefathers, my forefathers 00:12:03.980 --> 00:12:08.980 said, don't drink wine. And along with it, he said, you're never to 00:12:08.980 --> 00:12:13.980 build your own house. You're never to sow seeds. You're never to plant vineyards. 00:12:13.980 --> 00:12:18.980 I want you to move from place to place, live in tents. And if you do it this way, 00:12:18.980 --> 00:12:23.980 then you'll have prosperity. You'll live long. This is what our forefathers 00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:28.980 told me, told us. And so even though the prophet of God is in front of them 00:12:28.980 --> 00:12:33.980 and the prophet says, drink wine, they said, no. 00:12:34.980 --> 00:12:39.980 We can't. Why? My forefathers said, no. 00:12:39.980 --> 00:12:44.980 And so none of us will drink wine. And then God speaks to Jeremiah 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:49.980 and says, if the recubites can listen to 00:12:49.980 --> 00:12:54.980 their forefather and make sure that they live a certain way, 00:12:54.980 --> 00:12:59.980 how much more me and you, how much more what I have to say, how much more 00:13:00.980 --> 00:13:05.980 what I care about and how you respond. So building a recubite 00:13:05.980 --> 00:13:10.980 list is really thinking about 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:15.980 the different commitments that you have taken in the last 12 months, 16 00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:20.980 months, two years, different covenants that you made with God. Sometimes we 00:13:20.980 --> 00:13:25.980 drive, we pray, we talk to God and we say, God, I want to do that. And God 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:30.980 says, he takes you at face value for what you tell him. So when I tell him, hey, 00:13:30.980 --> 00:13:35.980 Abba, I really mean this, you know, this particular person and you just showed 00:13:35.980 --> 00:13:40.980 this to me and I'm going to do it two weeks from now. He really trusts me. 00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:45.980 So when I tell him I'll do it in two weeks, he really trusts that I'll do it in two weeks. 00:13:45.980 --> 00:13:50.980 And so in all of our lives, there are things that we've committed to, things that we have told him. 00:13:50.980 --> 00:13:55.980 Sometimes over and over again, sometimes just this idea 00:13:55.980 --> 00:14:00.980 that you know came from him, but you then told him back, yeah, I 00:14:00.980 --> 00:14:05.980 hear you, I understand, I want to do that. But then when you begin to 00:14:05.980 --> 00:14:10.980 reflect upon your life, when you begin to now build your own recubite 00:14:10.980 --> 00:14:15.980 list, you sometimes realize that you committed it, you said it, but you haven't 00:14:15.980 --> 00:14:20.980 followed through on it. And so the Holy Spirit comes alongside and he says, because he cares about us, 00:14:20.980 --> 00:14:25.980 he cares about what we do. He comes and says, hey, do you remember this conversation 00:14:25.980 --> 00:14:30.980 that you had? Do you remember when you said you would do this? 00:14:30.980 --> 00:14:35.980 So I have on my phone over the last little while I've been doing this and I'm, 00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:40.980 on one hand, before I did this, if you asked me the question, I would have said, yeah, quite a few things that the Lord 00:14:40.980 --> 00:14:45.980 said I did it, but now I have a whole page of stuff that I realized that I haven't done. 00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:50.980 Build your recubite list. Build your recubite 00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:55.980 list. So important, guys, because we can go through life sometimes and things 00:14:55.980 --> 00:15:00.980 are happening, things are good. You feel like, you know, you're obeying God. 00:15:00.980 --> 00:15:05.980 Sometimes, you know, here's something to think about. Delayed obedience is not obedience. 00:15:05.980 --> 00:15:10.980 Sometimes when God tells you to do something, you've got to do it then 00:15:10.980 --> 00:15:15.980 because there is a reason why he is asking you to do it that way. 00:15:15.980 --> 00:15:20.980 So while it may still reap benefits and while it's good that you still remember to do it, 00:15:20.980 --> 00:15:25.980 let's, as a people, try to be, Abba, if you said it, I want to do it now. 00:15:25.980 --> 00:15:30.980 If I can't do it now, then I'll still work with you. I'll still hear you. 00:15:30.980 --> 00:15:35.980 I'll still want to talk to you so that you can tell me how to go about it. 00:15:35.980 --> 00:15:40.980 Because sometimes we hear something, we don't know the next step. 00:15:40.980 --> 00:15:45.980 We don't know what to do about it. He just told us you were convinced that he said that. 00:15:45.980 --> 00:15:50.980 I'm convinced that he said it, but at that very time, we don't know what the next step is. 00:15:50.980 --> 00:15:55.980 And so we say, yes, I'll do it. But then days go by, weeks go by, 00:15:55.980 --> 00:16:00.980 months go by, maybe years go by, and we still haven't done it. 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:05.980 Build your recabyte list. Build your recabyte list. 00:16:05.980 --> 00:16:10.980 So important, guys, because once you begin to do this, you'll realize that there are certain things 00:16:10.980 --> 00:16:15.980 that the Lord has always wanted you to do. And it's just that next thing that you need to do 00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:20.980 to do that. I was, 00:16:20.980 --> 00:16:25.980 three, four weeks ago, I think I was driving, Iris and I were driving and felt one day, 00:16:25.980 --> 00:16:30.980 I wasn't feeling well at all that day. I was not feeling well, so not physically. 00:16:30.980 --> 00:16:35.980 It's just inside me. I wasn't feeling good that day. And I remember telling Iris 00:16:35.980 --> 00:16:40.980 while we were driving, can you pray for me? So Iris begins to pray for me and she 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:45.980 begins to speak a few words that the Lord was telling her 00:16:45.980 --> 00:16:50.980 for me. And so we are now going into a 00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:55.980 parkade and we begin to park the car and Iris begins to say, it's like 00:16:55.980 --> 00:17:00.980 there is an open door in front of you, but you will only know that the door is open 00:17:00.980 --> 00:17:05.980 once you walk to the door. If you sit where you're sitting, you're not going to know 00:17:05.980 --> 00:17:10.980 that there is an open door. So as she said this, she's sitting here, I look, because we have 00:17:10.980 --> 00:17:15.980 to go into HomeSense and I literally see a lady from inside the 00:17:15.980 --> 00:17:20.980 HomeSense store walking out and so the door is open as she approaches the door. And in my 00:17:20.980 --> 00:17:25.980 mind I'm like, oh, timely, interesting. I have to think about what you're telling me, 00:17:25.980 --> 00:17:30.980 but yeah, I need to walk closer to the door for the door to open. Makes sense, 00:17:30.980 --> 00:17:35.980 makes sense. So I register it in my mind and I tell him that and we spend a few more minutes 00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:40.980 and we walk out to the same HomeSense store and as I get 00:17:40.980 --> 00:17:45.980 very close to the door, the same door I was looking at for the last five 00:17:45.980 --> 00:17:50.980 minutes, I realized that there is a side door that has always been open 00:17:50.980 --> 00:17:55.980 the last five minutes, but I did not see it. When I got there, I realized 00:17:55.980 --> 00:18:00.980 that the door is open. I was looking at the other door, which I thought is what God is, you know, 00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:05.980 as a symbolic representation of what I was hearing. I thought that's the one, that I go close and the door 00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:10.980 opens, but the five minutes that I looked at this place, I didn't see that door. What's the point? 00:18:10.980 --> 00:18:15.980 The point is this. Build your recabyte list, because sometimes you don't need a key. 00:18:15.980 --> 00:18:20.980 He just told you to do something. You're waiting for a key to come to you 00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:25.980 and so you're praying, Abba, I need a key for this. Can you give me a key? I just don't know how 00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:30.980 to do it. All you've got to do sometimes is take the next step and the next step and the next step and the next 00:18:30.980 --> 00:18:35.980 step and you're actually right in front of the door and you realize that you don't need a key 00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:40.980 because he's already opened the door for you. All you've got to do is take the next step 00:18:40.980 --> 00:18:45.980 and you're inside. Because sometimes we can walk around with, 00:18:45.980 --> 00:18:50.980 you've seen the construction, in the construction industry, you see guys with 00:18:50.980 --> 00:18:55.980 these belts and they've got all sorts of keys hanging around. Sometimes we're like that, we've got too many keys 00:18:55.980 --> 00:19:00.980 on us. Too many doors, too many keys, because sometimes you don't need the key 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:05.980 because he's kind enough to have opened the door for us, but you've got to walk in. 00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:10.980 Build your recabyte list. Build your recabyte list. 00:19:10.980 --> 00:19:15.980 And so, however you want to do this, 00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:20.980 you may want to do this on your phone where you start writing things down, maybe your journal. 00:19:20.980 --> 00:19:25.980 It doesn't matter. Start doing it though. There is a picture that Brandon, I don't know if I sent 00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:30.980 it to the Ax29 email. Yeah, so if you, 00:19:30.980 --> 00:19:35.980 maybe about a month ago or something, there's this older 00:19:35.980 --> 00:19:40.980 gentleman that I really look up to and he posted 00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:45.980 this on his Instagram. And I really loved it because he said 00:19:45.980 --> 00:19:50.980 his dad, he's about 80 years old, his dad, when his dad was 67 years old, 00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:55.980 printed this and then he found it in his dad's Bible. 00:19:55.980 --> 00:20:00.980 And this is a list of things at 67 years old that his dad committed to do. 00:20:00.980 --> 00:20:05.980 At 67 years old, he said, 00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:10.980 Lord, this is how I want to live the rest of my days. 00:20:10.980 --> 00:20:15.980 These are things that I want to do. So it's something that, you know, 00:20:15.980 --> 00:20:20.980 I loved reading it because you can see things like, you know, at 67 years old, 00:20:20.980 --> 00:20:25.980 back then his grandfather, who was a minister, he said, in everything I do, I want to give you glory. 00:20:25.980 --> 00:20:30.980 And then he said, I want to confess my sins and do a thorough job of repentance. So this is unique 00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:35.980 for that person at that time. He wrote it. Him and his father, him and his Lord. 00:20:35.980 --> 00:20:40.980 And so he made a covenant that I want to live this way. 00:20:40.980 --> 00:20:45.980 And then three, I don't want to say anything slanderous or destructive against 00:20:45.980 --> 00:20:50.980 God's children. Again, very unique to him. 00:20:50.980 --> 00:20:55.980 Can you zoom in, Brandon? Maybe make it a little bigger? 00:20:55.980 --> 00:21:00.980 What about Brandon says? 00:21:00.980 --> 00:21:05.980 We can't do anything else. So it says he doesn't want to own anything. 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:10.980 So multiple things. What's your list? Build your recubite list. 00:21:10.980 --> 00:21:15.980 Make covenants with God because he really loves when you make a covenant with him. 00:21:15.980 --> 00:21:20.980 He believes that he does it, that you'll do it, and then he'll help you to get to that stage. 00:21:20.980 --> 00:21:25.980 Ooh, got a clap. Brandon. 00:21:25.980 --> 00:21:30.980 There you go. 00:21:30.980 --> 00:21:35.980 So God equates spiritual depth with your obedience. 00:21:35.980 --> 00:21:40.980 God equates spiritual depth with your obedience. 00:21:40.980 --> 00:21:45.980 And one step forward in obedience is 00:21:45.980 --> 00:21:50.980 it's worth the years of studying about it. We can study about something for so long, 00:21:50.980 --> 00:21:55.980 but sometimes the Lord says, I just want you to move. I just want you to take the next step. 00:21:55.980 --> 00:22:00.980 Next one. 00:22:00.980 --> 00:22:05.980 Examine your relationships. So number one was 00:22:05.980 --> 00:22:10.980 build your recubite list. Number two is 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:15.980 examine your relationships. 00:22:15.980 --> 00:22:20.980 Actually, let me go back. There's something 00:22:20.980 --> 00:22:25.980 that happened a few weeks ago. The reason I'm sharing these stories 00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:30.980 is because I want this to be real. I don't want to talk about something 00:22:30.980 --> 00:22:35.980 that, you know, recubite list. What does recubite list look like? Because this is a real thing for you and me. 00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:40.980 As you begin to inspect your life, and I'll give you another example from my life that I noticed. 00:22:40.980 --> 00:22:45.980 Maybe three, four months ago, I woke up one day and I heard 00:22:45.980 --> 00:22:50.980 Anishka. And it just happened to me. As I opened my eyes, 00:22:50.980 --> 00:22:55.980 I didn't hear it audibly. I just felt inside me Anishka. 00:22:55.980 --> 00:23:00.980 And Anishka is not a name that I don't know anyone by the name Anishka. 00:23:00.980 --> 00:23:05.980 And so I laid there on the bed for 00:23:05.980 --> 00:23:10.980 two minutes-ish wondering. Because things, you know, it's happened before where God would say things like this. 00:23:10.980 --> 00:23:15.980 And so the next thing he said, you know, the last name. 00:23:15.980 --> 00:23:20.980 And I was like, wow, there could be a person. But it's a very unique last name and a first name. 00:23:20.980 --> 00:23:25.980 So I wasn't sure. So I said, okay, what do you do when God tells you something 00:23:25.980 --> 00:23:30.980 and you're not sure about it? You Google it. So I go and Google this person. 00:23:30.980 --> 00:23:35.980 And I find out there is actually a person like this. It's a unique name. 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:40.980 But, you know, this person lives in the US. I tell Iris about this. And I was like, 00:23:40.980 --> 00:23:45.980 Abba. And I also had a sense waking up what it was that God had for this person. 00:23:45.980 --> 00:23:50.980 I had a sense. I kind of knew what he wanted to say. 00:23:50.980 --> 00:23:55.980 That's how I woke up. And so while I went through this exercise of building my 00:23:55.980 --> 00:24:00.980 recubite list, I realized that I did nothing with it yet. 00:24:00.980 --> 00:24:05.980 Isn't it interesting that God has these things that 00:24:05.980 --> 00:24:10.980 he is really trying to tell you, hey, do it, do this. And sometimes 00:24:10.980 --> 00:24:15.980 you can go through life and it takes sometimes if you don't go through this 00:24:15.980 --> 00:24:20.980 exercise, you just put it off for tomorrow. It's real, guys. 00:24:20.980 --> 00:24:25.980 So real. And if he can go on a journey where you work with the Holy 00:24:25.980 --> 00:24:30.980 Spirit to do this, he will make sure that everything he wants accomplished will 00:24:30.980 --> 00:24:35.980 happen. Second thing, examine your relationships. 00:24:35.980 --> 00:24:40.980 Examine your relationships. See, after God, 00:24:40.980 --> 00:24:45.980 people have the most influence on us. 00:24:45.980 --> 00:24:50.980 Think about it. After God, people, those we surround 00:24:50.980 --> 00:24:55.980 ourselves with, they have the most influence on your 00:24:55.980 --> 00:25:00.980 life. You can ask Lot and he'll tell you Abraham, 00:25:00.980 --> 00:25:05.980 Abram, he had the most influence on my life. 00:25:05.980 --> 00:25:10.980 You ask Elijah, he'll tell you Elijah had the most influence on my 00:25:10.980 --> 00:25:15.980 life. You ask Jonathan, Jonathan will tell you you won't 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:20.980 believe David. David had such enormous impact on my 00:25:20.980 --> 00:25:25.980 life. You ask Samson, Samson will warn you, Delilah 00:25:25.980 --> 00:25:30.980 can be... So people have, after God, 00:25:30.980 --> 00:25:35.980 people have the most impact on our lives. 00:25:35.980 --> 00:25:40.980 And so when you examine your life, it is important 00:25:40.980 --> 00:25:45.980 that you also examine your relationships. Because these days when you say 00:25:45.980 --> 00:25:50.980 relationships, it's just sometimes think the girl and the boy, that's not what it is, obviously. 00:25:50.980 --> 00:25:55.980 It's way more than that. All your relationships. 00:25:55.980 --> 00:26:00.980 Because there are different types of relationships, right? 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:05.980 There is general relationships where every day you take the transit, you see 00:26:05.980 --> 00:26:10.980 these two people. You know their names, you know where they work, you know them. 00:26:10.980 --> 00:26:15.980 There is seasonal relationships where for the duration of 00:26:15.980 --> 00:26:20.980 time you're in school, you know them. You graduate and then you don't know them. 00:26:20.980 --> 00:26:25.980 And then there are people around our lives who 00:26:25.980 --> 00:26:30.980 hang around us for much longer. And even 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:35.980 within that group there are divine relationships that the Lord 00:26:35.980 --> 00:26:40.980 has ordained for you. Relationships where he has said 00:26:40.980 --> 00:26:45.980 there are certain things that you need and I choose to give those 00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:50.980 things through these people. That's the way God works. 00:26:50.980 --> 00:26:55.980 You can't remove people 00:26:55.980 --> 00:27:00.980 from his work. You can't remove people 00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:05.980 from his work. So if you feel, you know, someone who thinks, you know, 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:10.980 if you think of it as, why do I need people? I'm straight with God, God loves me, 00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:15.980 I really know he cares for me. Why do I need people? God works 00:27:15.980 --> 00:27:20.980 through people. While he can speak to you directly and he does, there are 00:27:20.980 --> 00:27:25.980 certain things in your life where it is important for you to rely on 00:27:25.980 --> 00:27:30.980 people around you. So here are some things to think about in terms of relationships. 00:27:30.980 --> 00:27:35.980 Okay, number one, some relationships 00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:40.980 are to nurture, not just maintain. Again, think of your relationships. 00:27:40.980 --> 00:27:45.980 Sometimes you just maintain a relationship. It's continued on like the way 00:27:45.980 --> 00:27:50.980 it has been for the last three years, five years, ten years. And it's the wisdom of God 00:27:50.980 --> 00:27:55.980 to tell you, hey, you see that and that, I want you 00:27:55.980 --> 00:28:00.980 to nurture it. I want you to give more to it. And it goes without saying, husband-wife 00:28:00.980 --> 00:28:05.980 relationships, but this is way beyond that. Relationships where, you know, 00:28:05.980 --> 00:28:10.980 this person has been in your life for a while, but you haven't really 00:28:10.980 --> 00:28:15.980 understood why. And the Lord sometimes says, there is a reason and I want you to 00:28:15.980 --> 00:28:20.980 nurture that relationship. I want you to, and in relationships, Jesus made it 00:28:20.980 --> 00:28:25.980 really evident. How do you work with people in relationships? The only thing that 00:28:25.980 --> 00:28:30.980 Jesus said is this, be selfless. So you give rather than wanting. 00:28:30.980 --> 00:28:35.980 You give rather than wanting. And that applies to everything. It applies between 00:28:35.980 --> 00:28:40.980 husband and wife. It applies between friends. It applies everywhere you go. You 00:28:40.980 --> 00:28:45.980 give. You give. You give. So there are certain relationships where the 00:28:45.980 --> 00:28:50.980 Lord says, I want you to nurture them, not just maintain them. And look 00:28:50.980 --> 00:28:55.980 for divine relationships in your life. It's not a big word, right? For us, 00:28:55.980 --> 00:29:00.980 it's not, because we believe this. There are certain God-ordained people 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:05.980 that God has placed in our lives. And those people, 00:29:05.980 --> 00:29:10.980 they have to give things to us. Meaning they have things to give to us. 00:29:10.980 --> 00:29:15.980 And it's not just a one-way street. It's two ways. 00:29:16.980 --> 00:29:21.980 So one of the things you should think about, even as you do this exercise, is 00:29:21.980 --> 00:29:26.980 who are the people who came to your life and who has been in your life? 00:29:26.980 --> 00:29:31.980 Who came to you? So let's say Sen is Abraham. 00:29:31.980 --> 00:29:36.980 There was one point in Abraham's life where he 00:29:36.980 --> 00:29:41.980 defeated an army and someone stepped into the scene. 00:29:41.980 --> 00:29:46.980 Melchizedek. He broke bread, he brought wine and gave to Abraham. 00:29:46.980 --> 00:29:51.980 And as soon as Abraham received, Abraham realized this is the 00:29:51.980 --> 00:29:56.980 priest of the Most High God. This is someone that God sent to me. 00:29:56.980 --> 00:30:01.980 And you'll see the significance of this, because the verse below this, it's Genesis 14 or something, I think. 00:30:01.980 --> 00:30:06.980 The verse below this, King of Sodom comes to Abraham and says something, but 00:30:06.980 --> 00:30:11.980 God in his wisdom knew that a priest has to appear before, and a priest meaning 00:30:11.980 --> 00:30:16.980 human, this right, like us. A priest had to appear before, 00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:21.980 I know with Melchizedek it can be interpreted differently, but let's go back to this now. 00:30:21.980 --> 00:30:26.980 A priest had to appear before Abraham to say something, 00:30:26.980 --> 00:30:31.980 where he said, the Lord, possessor of heaven and earth, is the answer 00:30:32.980 --> 00:30:37.980 that Abraham then gave to the King of Sodom. 00:30:37.980 --> 00:30:42.980 If the priest, Melchizedek, did not enter the scene 00:30:42.980 --> 00:30:47.980 at that time, you don't know how Abraham would have 00:30:47.980 --> 00:30:52.980 responded to the King of Sodom. It's very interesting. Priests, 00:30:52.980 --> 00:30:57.980 they come at the right time. They break bread, 00:30:57.980 --> 00:31:02.980 they give you wine. These are heavenly supplies that God has 00:31:02.980 --> 00:31:07.980 released to you through people. And so even as you look at your 00:31:07.980 --> 00:31:12.980 life, you've got to identify the Melchizedek in your life. 00:31:12.980 --> 00:31:17.980 So for me, as I went through this exercise, there are two, three people from before when I was in India, 00:31:17.980 --> 00:31:22.980 when I am here, who have brought me bread, 00:31:22.980 --> 00:31:27.980 who have given me wine. And I wouldn't be where I am at today 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:32.980 without those people. Honor Melchizedek 00:31:32.980 --> 00:31:37.980 in your life. It's important, guys, because one thing that 00:31:37.980 --> 00:31:42.980 isn't enough 00:31:42.980 --> 00:31:47.980 is honor. It's never enough. 00:31:47.980 --> 00:31:52.980 So if Tunis is someone who I relate to and Tunis is someone who is a priest to me, 00:31:52.980 --> 00:31:57.980 I can never honor him enough. 00:31:57.980 --> 00:32:02.980 You've got to get that. You don't know how much this matters. 00:32:02.980 --> 00:32:07.980 Because in the ways of God, honor matters. I don't want to talk about it 00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:12.980 more, but think about Melchizedeks in your life. People, you can take this 00:32:12.980 --> 00:32:17.980 down, Brandon. Thank you. Think about Melchizedeks in your life. Who has brought you 00:32:17.980 --> 00:32:22.980 bread? Who has brought you wine? Honor them. And sometimes when you hear honor, you just think 00:32:22.980 --> 00:32:27.980 money. You can give money, because Abraham did. 00:32:27.980 --> 00:32:32.980 That's a scriptural thing, but you know it's way more than that. Sometimes you can give money without 00:32:32.980 --> 00:32:37.980 having honor in your heart. You can give money 00:32:37.980 --> 00:32:42.980 without having honor in your heart. Never be like that. 00:32:42.980 --> 00:32:47.980 Honor, it can flow through you multiple ways. Words are important. 00:32:47.980 --> 00:32:52.980 And whenever you have people like that in your life, know this. 00:32:52.980 --> 00:32:57.980 You've got to do well to communicate to them what they have done for you. 00:32:57.980 --> 00:33:02.980 It's important, guys. So important. Find words to tell 00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:07.980 Melchizedeks in your life. Thank you. Thank you for bringing me bread. 00:33:07.980 --> 00:33:12.980 Thank you. At that time I did not know. Thank you for the wine you brought me. 00:33:12.980 --> 00:33:17.980 That's a blessing. 00:33:17.980 --> 00:33:22.980 Now, 00:33:22.980 --> 00:33:27.980 going back to divine relationships. Look for divine relationships 00:33:27.980 --> 00:33:32.980 in your life, where there may be more to something, and you haven't explored it yet, 00:33:32.980 --> 00:33:37.980 but hear the Holy Spirit. Ask him, Abba, is there more to it? Proverbs chapter 13, 00:33:37.980 --> 00:33:42.980 verse 20. Go with wise men and be wise. 00:33:42.980 --> 00:33:47.980 Go with wise men and be wise. 00:33:47.980 --> 00:33:52.980 Go with wise men and be wise. 00:33:52.980 --> 00:33:57.980 If you look at my life, if you look at your life, the people you hang out with 00:33:57.980 --> 00:34:02.980 the most, they often will tell you where you will end up 10 years later. 00:34:02.980 --> 00:34:07.980 It's true. Wise men, what did the scripture say, 00:34:07.980 --> 00:34:12.980 Proverbs chapter 13? Go with wise men and be wise. Go with foolish men 00:34:12.980 --> 00:34:17.980 and be foolish. Go with wise men and be wise. 00:34:17.980 --> 00:34:22.980 So, carefully inspect those who you are surrounding yourself with. 00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:27.980 You know, our church is, it's interesting, it's very different from five years ago, 00:34:27.980 --> 00:34:32.980 because five years ago it was a certain way, and now we have much younger crew, 00:34:32.980 --> 00:34:37.980 and you have so many friends I can imagine at school, you know, places you go to, 00:34:37.980 --> 00:34:42.980 where you have to know what are the relationships that God wants you to be in, 00:34:43.980 --> 00:34:48.980 what are the relationships where, you know, it's not just where God wants you to be in, 00:34:48.980 --> 00:34:53.980 it's more so what do you have to give? 00:34:53.980 --> 00:34:58.980 What do you have to receive from select people that God has ordained in your life? 00:34:58.980 --> 00:35:03.980 And three, or four, whatever that was, what are the relationships where 00:35:03.980 --> 00:35:08.980 it's time to pack up and leave? 00:35:08.980 --> 00:35:13.980 What do I mean by that? Multiple people in the Bible had to do it, Abraham had to do it, 00:35:13.980 --> 00:35:18.980 he had to leave, Elisha had to do it, he had to leave, 00:35:18.980 --> 00:35:23.980 because for the next thing sometimes you have to move on from 00:35:23.980 --> 00:35:28.980 certain relationships. And so, inspect your life, examine your relationships 00:35:28.980 --> 00:35:33.980 to know what is what. 00:35:33.980 --> 00:35:38.980 Number three, identify patterns that prevent you 00:35:38.980 --> 00:35:43.980 from flying. Identify patterns that prevent you 00:35:43.980 --> 00:35:48.980 from flying. So number one was build the recubite list, two was 00:35:48.980 --> 00:35:53.980 examine your relationships. Number three, as you consider your ways, 00:35:53.980 --> 00:35:58.980 identify patterns that prevent you from flying. 00:35:58.980 --> 00:36:03.980 Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31, very familiar scripture, right? 00:36:03.980 --> 00:36:08.980 Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their 00:36:08.980 --> 00:36:13.980 strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will 00:36:13.980 --> 00:36:18.980 run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. 00:36:18.980 --> 00:36:23.980 But those who trust in the Lord will receive new strength. They will fly 00:36:23.980 --> 00:36:28.980 as high as eagles. They will fly 00:36:28.980 --> 00:36:33.980 as high as eagles. Identify patterns 00:36:33.980 --> 00:36:38.980 that prevent you from flying. Couple of examples, let's make it 00:36:38.980 --> 00:36:43.980 real. 00:36:43.980 --> 00:36:48.980 Let's say there is a person and the person, every time they seem 00:36:48.980 --> 00:36:53.980 to do well in life, something happens. And that thing has the 00:36:53.980 --> 00:36:58.980 power to somehow pull them down. Every time they feel like 00:36:58.980 --> 00:37:03.980 they're going ahead in life, they feel like they're making progress, they feel like 00:37:03.980 --> 00:37:08.980 things are changing. And as soon as they feel like they're in that place, 00:37:08.980 --> 00:37:13.980 something happens and it pulls them back. It makes them, it makes them 00:37:13.980 --> 00:37:18.980 discouraged. So it could be relationships where, you know, family 00:37:18.980 --> 00:37:23.980 or it could be friends, people who you really care about. It could be people who tell you, 00:37:23.980 --> 00:37:28.980 hey, there are certain things that's happening. They may say one 00:37:28.980 --> 00:37:33.980 word or two words, and that's all it takes for you to be affected. That's all it takes 00:37:33.980 --> 00:37:38.980 for you to be affected. Listen to me, guys. 00:37:39.980 --> 00:37:44.980 That's my daughter. 00:37:53.980 --> 00:37:58.980 Where was I? Someone heard it. What was it? 00:37:58.980 --> 00:38:03.980 Okay, I'll go back to what I was saying. 00:38:03.980 --> 00:38:08.980 Yes. So let's take this person's example. 00:38:08.980 --> 00:38:13.980 Every time they feel like they're doing things well, something happens. And let's assume that's 00:38:13.980 --> 00:38:18.980 people around them. And, you know, they say certain words, they speak 00:38:18.980 --> 00:38:23.980 accusations perhaps, and sometimes it's done in a friendly way even, but it just has the 00:38:23.980 --> 00:38:28.980 power to pull the person down. And they go through the cycle 00:38:28.980 --> 00:38:33.980 of doing it. Right? This is done to them. Because why? The devil knows for each 00:38:33.980 --> 00:38:38.980 one of us what are the things that get us. And so 00:38:38.980 --> 00:38:43.980 he uses those things to 00:38:43.980 --> 00:38:48.980 pull us back down when we are meant to fly. Based on 00:38:48.980 --> 00:38:53.980 that scripture, Isaiah chapter 40, we are meant to fly, meaning we are meant 00:38:53.980 --> 00:38:58.980 to soar. We are meant to move from glory to glory. One level 00:38:58.980 --> 00:39:03.980 of existence to a superior level of existence to a much 00:39:03.980 --> 00:39:08.980 more superior level of existence. That is how Christians are to be on 00:39:08.980 --> 00:39:13.980 earth until we are caught up in glory with him. And the 00:39:13.980 --> 00:39:18.980 devil who knows that this is the Lord's plan for us tries everything he 00:39:18.980 --> 00:39:23.980 can to pull down, to bring you back to earth. Because 00:39:23.980 --> 00:39:28.980 once you're here, you're like everyone else. So it could be 00:39:28.980 --> 00:39:33.980 another person, another example where it could be something habitual. It could 00:39:33.980 --> 00:39:38.980 be doubt. Devil knows that 00:39:38.980 --> 00:39:43.980 just when this person tries to climb up, just insert 00:39:43.980 --> 00:39:48.980 doubt into their mind. And then they start doubting people around them. They start questioning 00:39:48.980 --> 00:39:53.980 motives of people. Sometimes the people around them have no problem whatsoever, but 00:39:53.980 --> 00:39:58.980 there are these things that the devil has somehow identified works with certain 00:39:58.980 --> 00:40:03.980 people. And so what you've got to do is look at your life to 00:40:03.980 --> 00:40:08.980 see what are the patterns that the devil has used in the past 00:40:08.980 --> 00:40:13.980 to bring you back or to pull you down. What are the patterns 00:40:13.980 --> 00:40:18.980 that the devil has used in your life to pull you down? Once 00:40:18.980 --> 00:40:23.980 you identify them, the response is you break those patterns 00:40:23.980 --> 00:40:28.980 with divine patterns. You break 00:40:28.980 --> 00:40:33.980 those very patterns with divine patterns. So if there are, you know, 00:40:33.980 --> 00:40:38.980 let's assume these guys are my buddies and we hang out and somehow 00:40:38.980 --> 00:40:43.980 I've given them so much power to tell me whatever they want to tell me. And every time I meet with them 00:40:43.980 --> 00:40:48.980 and I go back, I cry. Let's just assume that's the case. 00:40:48.980 --> 00:40:53.980 What do I do? Well, I've understood this is what's happening. 00:40:53.980 --> 00:40:58.980 What do I do? Every time I go to them, I am prayerful. So inside me I 00:40:58.980 --> 00:41:03.980 know this is what's happened, but I am going to fall for it this time. I am prayed up 00:41:03.980 --> 00:41:08.980 or even as I talk to you in my mind, I'm like, Abba, help me. I just don't want to go back to 00:41:08.980 --> 00:41:13.980 this. God gives you strength. Real things, guys, because 00:41:13.980 --> 00:41:18.980 wisdom is knowing what's happened in your life and then using what he has given you 00:41:18.980 --> 00:41:23.980 to overcome it. Because there is nothing that the devil has done to you 00:41:23.980 --> 00:41:28.980 that can't be overcome. There is nothing that the devil has did 00:41:28.980 --> 00:41:33.980 that can't be overcome. Nothing. So all you've got to do sometimes 00:41:33.980 --> 00:41:38.980 is recognize what happened and then you break that pattern. 00:41:38.980 --> 00:41:43.980 If it's discouragement, you wake up and you realize that you can be like 00:41:43.980 --> 00:41:48.980 David, that you wake up shouting praises, you wake up singing 00:41:48.980 --> 00:41:53.980 praises, and you do that day one, day two, day three, day four, 00:41:53.980 --> 00:41:58.980 and you get to day twenty maybe, and you realize the same thing that did attack 00:41:58.980 --> 00:42:03.980 you for the last three years, it stopped. It happens. You break 00:42:03.980 --> 00:42:08.980 patterns with divine patterns. You break those things 00:42:08.980 --> 00:42:13.980 because God has given you everything you need to break those things. 00:42:19.980 --> 00:42:24.980 Yeah. Number four. 00:42:24.980 --> 00:42:29.980 I think, what's the time? 00:42:29.980 --> 00:42:34.980 Fifteen minutes. So identify patterns that prevent you from flying. 00:42:34.980 --> 00:42:39.980 Let me add one more thing, guys, because it's slightly related, but sometimes it's important. 00:42:39.980 --> 00:42:44.980 When you talk about David, you always think about Saul, 00:42:44.980 --> 00:42:49.980 who was king before him, and you think about what is it that this guy did wrong? 00:42:49.980 --> 00:42:54.980 And it's often easy to think about him having lost 00:42:54.980 --> 00:42:59.980 obedience. It's easy to think, I should get the other thing. 00:42:59.980 --> 00:43:04.980 It's often easy to think that he did these things, he lost the anointing, 00:43:04.980 --> 00:43:09.980 but there is one thing about Saul that I want you to see. It's important. 00:43:09.980 --> 00:43:14.980 It's not directly related to it, but as I wrote it down, I felt like I should share it. 00:43:14.980 --> 00:43:19.980 First Samuel, chapter fifteen, verse seventeen. 00:43:19.980 --> 00:43:24.980 Samuel said to him, though you are little in your own eyes, 00:43:24.980 --> 00:43:29.980 are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? Wow. 00:43:29.980 --> 00:43:34.980 He was a man who God took from a crowd and said, I'm anointing you. 00:43:35.980 --> 00:43:40.980 You are the king of this people. But sometime later, 00:43:40.980 --> 00:43:45.980 the same prophet spoke to him and said, you consider yourself too little. 00:43:45.980 --> 00:43:50.980 That's not something we think of when we think of Saul. 00:43:50.980 --> 00:43:55.980 What am I trying to say? If there is anyone hearing what I am saying, 00:43:55.980 --> 00:44:00.980 and if there are thoughts that come to your mind where you feel like you're inferior, 00:44:00.980 --> 00:44:05.980 you feel like you're not enough, you feel like you need to do something 00:44:05.980 --> 00:44:10.980 to get people's attention. 00:44:10.980 --> 00:44:15.980 Know this on one hand, of course you know it's from the devil. 00:44:15.980 --> 00:44:20.980 So differentiating thoughts that this is not from God, this is not from my father will help. 00:44:20.980 --> 00:44:25.980 One. But two, don't discount the significance of what's happening. 00:44:25.980 --> 00:44:30.980 Because things like this can keep you for life. 00:44:30.980 --> 00:44:35.980 That's what I wanted to say. Because sometimes you think that it's okay. 00:44:35.980 --> 00:44:40.980 Sometimes you think that I feel insecure about this and you just live through life like that. 00:44:40.980 --> 00:44:45.980 You don't know what's being robbed off you. 00:44:45.980 --> 00:44:50.980 Don't allow it. One day you decide, 00:44:50.980 --> 00:44:55.980 that's it. 00:44:55.980 --> 00:45:00.980 We don't have time so I have to move on. Number four. 00:45:00.980 --> 00:45:05.980 If I can find number four. 00:45:05.980 --> 00:45:10.980 It's a question. Number four. 00:45:10.980 --> 00:45:15.980 What are the fears you have been allowing in your life? 00:45:15.980 --> 00:45:20.980 Identify the giants you've tolerated in your life. 00:45:20.980 --> 00:45:25.980 What are the fears you've been allowing in your life? 00:45:25.980 --> 00:45:30.980 Part two. Identify the giants you've tolerated in your life. 00:45:30.980 --> 00:45:35.980 Again, I love this exercise of considering your ways. 00:45:35.980 --> 00:45:40.980 Because again, if you do it with the Spirit of God, there is a good chance 00:45:40.980 --> 00:45:45.980 that the Holy Spirit will tell you, have you seen this? 00:45:45.980 --> 00:45:50.980 You've actually allowed for this way of thinking into your life. 00:45:50.980 --> 00:45:55.980 Have you thought about this, Derek? Because really, it wasn't the case, 00:45:55.980 --> 00:46:00.980 but now you are okay with this way in your life. So it could be a health situation. 00:46:00.980 --> 00:46:05.980 It could be a health situation where it's nothing major, it's a small thing, 00:46:05.980 --> 00:46:10.980 and you've actually carried on with him for longer. 00:46:10.980 --> 00:46:15.980 It could be a particular attack, sleeplessness. 00:46:15.980 --> 00:46:20.980 And you've gotten used to being sleepless. 00:46:20.980 --> 00:46:25.980 Examine your life. Consider your ways. 00:46:25.980 --> 00:46:30.980 Are there giants that you've tolerated? Are there fears 00:46:30.980 --> 00:46:35.980 that you've said okay to? 00:46:35.980 --> 00:46:40.980 Because this is what happened with the people of Israel, right? 00:46:40.980 --> 00:46:45.980 Saul and his army, they were there. There is a Philistine. 00:46:45.980 --> 00:46:50.980 So for every day in the morning, every morning, there is a giant that steps in. 00:46:50.980 --> 00:46:55.980 Like Tuni prophesied over. What's your name? James? 00:46:55.980 --> 00:47:00.980 Just like that, right? Every day, 40 days, this giant will enter the scene. 00:47:00.980 --> 00:47:05.980 And what happens to the people of Israel? They're afraid. 00:47:05.980 --> 00:47:10.980 Until one day, David realizes it must stop. 00:47:10.980 --> 00:47:15.980 So as you go through this exercise, you have to say some things 00:47:15.980 --> 00:47:20.980 I'm not okay with. It can't be like this forever. 00:47:20.980 --> 00:47:25.980 I've tolerated you, my bad, but it's not happening anymore. 00:47:25.980 --> 00:47:30.980 I've accepted it to be like this, never again. 00:47:30.980 --> 00:47:35.980 Because like David, today is the day I rise up. 00:47:35.980 --> 00:47:40.980 Like David, I've determined that it can't continue on anymore. 00:47:40.980 --> 00:47:45.980 And there are things in your life where you must take a stand 00:47:45.980 --> 00:47:50.980 and say never again. You must say 00:47:50.980 --> 00:47:55.980 what happened, happened. But from now on, I come against you 00:47:55.980 --> 00:48:00.980 in the name of my Lord. And with that, it's dealt with. 00:48:00.980 --> 00:48:05.980 And if you don't see, and here's the other thing, because you can do the exact same thing, 00:48:05.980 --> 00:48:10.980 but two days later, the same thing is there. But if you don't see the result right away, you don't stop. 00:48:10.980 --> 00:48:15.980 Because you've taken a stand against it. 00:48:15.980 --> 00:48:20.980 You keep at it. Because God is the one who fights for you, 00:48:20.980 --> 00:48:25.980 those fears will go away. I had this thing in my life a few years ago where 00:48:25.980 --> 00:48:30.980 man, I was just terrified of... The best way to say it would be 00:48:30.980 --> 00:48:35.980 I had fear of man. I had certain things I'd calculated so much so that 00:48:35.980 --> 00:48:40.980 before I went into a place, I'd be like, if it happens this way, then if it doesn't happen this way, then the other way. 00:48:40.980 --> 00:48:45.980 So I'd be pre-calculated in my thing and then I'd go into certain settings. 00:48:45.980 --> 00:48:50.980 Until one day I realized that it's all consuming me. 00:48:50.980 --> 00:48:55.980 Like this thing is... It started off as a small thing, but 00:48:55.980 --> 00:49:00.980 three years, four years down the line, this has been a part of my character. 00:49:00.980 --> 00:49:05.980 And then you begin to say, no. No, Aba. This is not you. 00:49:05.980 --> 00:49:10.980 This is not how I was built. This is not for me. And so, fear of man, yes, 00:49:10.980 --> 00:49:15.980 I have that today, but I don't want this fear anymore. And so I had to take a stand against it 00:49:15.980 --> 00:49:20.980 at one point in my life. This is years ago. And so I remember 00:49:20.980 --> 00:49:25.980 feeling very bad in some circles, some situations where I'm like, 00:49:25.980 --> 00:49:30.980 I wish I can get out of this. But then you go back home and you realize the same thing happened again. 00:49:30.980 --> 00:49:35.980 Just when you thought you were out of it. And it makes you discouraged. 00:49:35.980 --> 00:49:40.980 Makes you feel bad. But then one day I said, Aba, 00:49:40.980 --> 00:49:45.980 I want enough. This is enough of it. No more fear of man in my life. 00:49:45.980 --> 00:49:50.980 I recognize I have this fear. It really pulls me down, but 00:49:50.980 --> 00:49:55.980 I want out of it and I know you can do it. And so nothing changed the next day. 00:49:55.980 --> 00:50:00.980 Nothing changed the day after. But I had made a stunt. 00:50:00.980 --> 00:50:05.980 I had said, that is done. I remember one day I go back home 00:50:05.980 --> 00:50:10.980 and I was so affected by something that happened and I literally 00:50:10.980 --> 00:50:15.980 throw myself on the bed and I am crying. 00:50:15.980 --> 00:50:20.980 Crystal is laughing. I don't know why. 00:50:20.980 --> 00:50:25.980 Okay, don't imagine me crying. That's not the point. 00:50:25.980 --> 00:50:30.980 So I'm on my bed and I'm crying because I could feel the heaviness of this thing 00:50:30.980 --> 00:50:35.980 because it's not allowing me to move forward. It's like a shackle that's like pulling me back. 00:50:35.980 --> 00:50:40.980 And I remember crying and I felt like I should just 00:50:40.980 --> 00:50:45.980 sit on my knees and just and pray. 00:50:45.980 --> 00:50:50.980 And I prayed. And as I was praying, I had never felt this before. 00:50:50.980 --> 00:50:55.980 I literally felt like chains falling down. 00:50:55.980 --> 00:51:00.980 I just felt like it. I just felt like something just happened. 00:51:00.980 --> 00:51:05.980 I was like so refreshing, so good. 00:51:05.980 --> 00:51:10.980 That was then. Now, that's not a problem for me. 00:51:10.980 --> 00:51:15.980 Giants can be taken down. 00:51:15.980 --> 00:51:20.980 Giants that try to pull you back. They are real spirits, sometimes real, 00:51:20.980 --> 00:51:25.980 not sometimes, real spirits and real entities that don't like your advancement. 00:51:25.980 --> 00:51:30.980 You take a stand against them and you say never again. Never again. 00:51:35.980 --> 00:51:40.980 Two things. We'll wrap up. 00:51:40.980 --> 00:51:45.980 As you examine these things in your life, begin to amend your ways, 00:51:45.980 --> 00:51:50.980 begin to change your ways. So it's not enough to just 00:51:50.980 --> 00:51:55.980 examine. Once you understand what God wants you to do, you then make 00:51:55.980 --> 00:52:00.980 changes to your daily life. You make changes to the way you live. There are scriptures that talk about 00:52:00.980 --> 00:52:05.980 changing your life. 00:52:05.980 --> 00:52:10.980 I examined my heart and I turned. I turned from some ways because if I keep going down that path, 00:52:10.980 --> 00:52:15.980 it's not helpful for me. So I turned. 00:52:15.980 --> 00:52:20.980 Turn away from certain things. Get new strategies from God for certain things. So important. 00:52:20.980 --> 00:52:25.980 Last thing. Let's go back to the story. In the same story that I started with, 00:52:25.980 --> 00:52:30.980 the people of Israel who came back to Jerusalem with the whole idea that they wanted 00:52:30.980 --> 00:52:35.980 to rebuild the temple. They started it 15 years later. They hadn't 00:52:35.980 --> 00:52:40.980 continued on and they had stopped. God said, consider your ways. 00:52:40.980 --> 00:52:45.980 I want you to think about, you can write it down if you want, 2 Chronicles 00:52:45.980 --> 00:52:50.980 Chapter 6. 2 Chronicles Chapter 6. There is a temple being 00:52:50.980 --> 00:52:55.980 built. Actually already built by the time it gets to Chapter 6. 00:52:55.980 --> 00:53:00.980 In that temple, Solomon with the Israelites is 00:53:00.980 --> 00:53:05.980 standing there. He is dedicating a temple. So this is actually the first temple. So the 00:53:05.980 --> 00:53:10.980 temple that we read about, the reconstruction of the temple in Haggai is 00:53:10.980 --> 00:53:15.980 the second temple. So the first temple that Solomon built, he is there, he is dedicating it. 00:53:15.980 --> 00:53:20.980 And in 2 Chronicles Chapter 6, you see, I want to read it out like this. 00:53:20.980 --> 00:53:25.980 2 Chronicles Chapter 6. There is this beautiful 00:53:25.980 --> 00:53:30.980 verse. Now it was in the heart of David my father, 00:53:30.980 --> 00:53:35.980 Solomon is saying, to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 00:53:35.980 --> 00:53:40.980 Hear that. It was in the heart of David my father 00:53:41.980 --> 00:53:46.980 to build a house for the name of the Lord. But the Lord said to David my father, 00:53:46.980 --> 00:53:51.980 whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, 00:53:51.980 --> 00:53:56.980 you did well that it was in your heart. I will read that again. But the Lord said 00:53:56.980 --> 00:54:01.980 to David my father, whereas it was in your heart to build a house 00:54:01.980 --> 00:54:06.980 for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 00:54:06.980 --> 00:54:07.980 Wow! 00:54:08.580 --> 00:54:09.820 See, I... 00:54:09.820 --> 00:54:11.320 In a separate meeting, 00:54:11.320 --> 00:54:13.540 I took the Bible and I said, 00:54:13.540 --> 00:54:15.040 can I have the Bible for a second? 00:54:17.040 --> 00:54:18.240 This is the Bible, right? 00:54:18.240 --> 00:54:19.680 So, in this Bible, 00:54:19.680 --> 00:54:22.680 you have a lot of things that God has for us. 00:54:23.080 --> 00:54:24.480 It keeps telling us, 00:54:24.480 --> 00:54:26.320 you know, here are the blessings for you. 00:54:26.320 --> 00:54:27.820 Here is the way you should walk. 00:54:27.820 --> 00:54:29.380 Here are my words for you. 00:54:29.380 --> 00:54:30.980 Here is how you need to live. 00:54:30.980 --> 00:54:32.680 So many different things. 00:54:33.640 --> 00:54:36.080 But it's very little is about what 00:54:36.480 --> 00:54:37.980 he actually wants. 00:54:42.980 --> 00:54:46.180 This book has a lot about what he wants to give us. 00:54:47.080 --> 00:54:51.080 This book has only little about what he wants. 00:54:51.980 --> 00:54:52.980 It's true, guys. 00:54:53.680 --> 00:54:54.980 He's a father like that. 00:54:56.880 --> 00:54:58.480 Dawn and I, we often say, 00:54:59.180 --> 00:55:00.980 my dad, I know it's 6.15. 00:55:01.180 --> 00:55:03.680 Today, I am, because last three times, I've been a good boy, 00:55:03.980 --> 00:55:05.480 and I finished at 6.15 start, 00:55:05.480 --> 00:55:07.580 but I have something in my heart I need to say. 00:55:11.380 --> 00:55:13.780 So, Dawn and I, we... 00:55:16.080 --> 00:55:17.980 Growing up, our dad, 00:55:18.280 --> 00:55:20.880 when we ask him something, he'd always give us whatever we ask. 00:55:21.580 --> 00:55:22.580 So, if you say, you know, 00:55:23.680 --> 00:55:25.580 we need this, he would buy it for us. 00:55:25.680 --> 00:55:26.780 So, we grew up like that. 00:55:27.280 --> 00:55:29.280 By the time you're 18, you move out of the house, 00:55:29.380 --> 00:55:31.380 you, you know, we traveled here, 00:55:31.680 --> 00:55:35.080 we married, we have families, 00:55:35.180 --> 00:55:37.980 and years later, now he comes to visit us. 00:55:38.380 --> 00:55:40.980 And so, if he's visiting, or when we are going back to India, 00:55:41.080 --> 00:55:42.980 we often ask him, what would you like? 00:55:43.080 --> 00:55:44.080 Would you like something? 00:55:44.580 --> 00:55:46.680 And he never says he wants anything. 00:55:47.680 --> 00:55:48.780 He just never says it. 00:55:49.480 --> 00:55:51.980 But we have understood that even though he doesn't say that, 00:55:52.080 --> 00:55:55.280 he likes things that are electronics, gadgets. 00:55:55.680 --> 00:55:56.580 He just loves it. 00:55:56.880 --> 00:56:00.180 So, we know that even though he doesn't speak of it, 00:56:00.380 --> 00:56:01.880 this is something he likes. 00:56:02.380 --> 00:56:04.380 But because we want to please him, we do it. 00:56:06.080 --> 00:56:07.580 It's the same way our father is. 00:56:08.080 --> 00:56:09.480 All through that Old Testament, 00:56:09.780 --> 00:56:12.580 you see one man who actually understood what he wanted. 00:56:13.580 --> 00:56:14.080 David. 00:56:14.580 --> 00:56:16.580 David said, I'm going to build you a house. 00:56:17.280 --> 00:56:18.480 You know who you need. 00:56:18.680 --> 00:56:21.280 You wanted to dwell with us. 00:56:21.380 --> 00:56:22.680 I'm going to build you a house. 00:56:22.880 --> 00:56:25.680 And then, 2 Chronicles chapter 6, a few verses down, 00:56:25.880 --> 00:56:28.380 you actually see Solomon, the wisest man on earth, 00:56:28.580 --> 00:56:30.580 he is saying something along the lines of, 00:56:31.180 --> 00:56:32.780 you know what, I actually built the whole thing, 00:56:32.880 --> 00:56:34.380 but you are bigger than this. 00:56:35.080 --> 00:56:36.380 It just occurred to him. 00:56:36.880 --> 00:56:39.580 And then you see in Revelation chapter 21, 00:56:40.680 --> 00:56:44.880 the dwelling place of God is with man. 00:56:45.980 --> 00:56:48.180 He is looking for a people. 00:56:48.580 --> 00:56:51.980 Man, this should burn in your heart like anything 00:56:52.080 --> 00:56:54.380 because he's a good father like we sang. 00:56:54.480 --> 00:56:55.680 He cares about us. 00:56:55.780 --> 00:56:56.780 He loves us. 00:56:57.080 --> 00:56:59.580 And the people of Israel in Haggai chapter 1, 00:56:59.780 --> 00:57:01.880 they came, they wanted to build the temple, 00:57:01.980 --> 00:57:04.980 but they spent all their time building their own houses. 00:57:05.980 --> 00:57:07.480 They did not build the temple. 00:57:07.980 --> 00:57:10.980 They spent all their time building their own houses. 00:57:11.180 --> 00:57:13.180 They missed the plot. 00:57:13.380 --> 00:57:14.880 Let us not be like that. 00:57:15.080 --> 00:57:18.680 This is a father who loves dwelling with us. 00:57:18.980 --> 00:57:21.480 So my life is for him. 00:57:21.680 --> 00:57:23.680 Your life is for him. 00:57:23.780 --> 00:57:25.780 He loves to be with me. 00:57:25.980 --> 00:57:27.780 He loves being with you. 00:57:27.980 --> 00:57:30.980 And there is a world out there that doesn't know him. 00:57:31.180 --> 00:57:33.580 And your job and my job, it's not a job, 00:57:33.580 --> 00:57:39.080 it's a privilege is to go into the world to build a house for him here on earth. 00:57:40.080 --> 00:57:42.280 It should burn in your heart. 00:57:42.680 --> 00:57:45.480 Because if we say, I want to be like David, 00:57:45.580 --> 00:57:46.680 I want to have your heart, 00:57:46.880 --> 00:57:48.480 this is something you can't miss. 00:57:48.880 --> 00:57:51.880 There is nothing that can take away from this. 00:57:52.580 --> 00:57:57.680 This is so critical that you build a house for him, 00:57:58.280 --> 00:58:00.280 meaning you build people's lives. 00:58:01.080 --> 00:58:02.080 You build your life. 00:58:02.580 --> 00:58:03.980 You build your family's life. 00:58:04.180 --> 00:58:06.180 You build lives out there, 00:58:06.380 --> 00:58:10.180 so that they can all be a dwelling place for God. 00:58:10.780 --> 00:58:11.380 Let's pray. 00:58:12.580 --> 00:58:14.580 Aba, thank you. 00:58:15.180 --> 00:58:16.780 Thank you because you love us. 00:58:17.780 --> 00:58:19.180 We want to love you back. 00:58:20.380 --> 00:58:23.780 We examine our lives. 00:58:26.780 --> 00:58:28.580 We'll go through this process, Aba, 00:58:28.780 --> 00:58:31.180 so that he can pinpoint things in our lives 00:58:31.280 --> 00:58:33.280 where you want us to change, 00:58:33.480 --> 00:58:35.280 things that you take pleasure in. 00:58:35.480 --> 00:58:38.280 We will feel the pat on our back. 00:58:41.880 --> 00:58:43.280 We give our lives to you. 00:58:44.480 --> 00:58:47.280 Jesus, you love your bride. 00:58:49.080 --> 00:58:52.080 And we want to build a dwelling place for you, Father. 00:58:53.480 --> 00:58:55.680 In our lives, you're already there. 00:58:56.280 --> 00:58:57.280 You're already here. 00:58:58.080 --> 00:58:59.680 But there is a world out there 00:59:00.180 --> 00:59:03.580 where you choose to invade those lives 00:59:04.080 --> 00:59:06.380 and build your residence in them. 00:59:06.880 --> 00:59:08.380 And so we want to do that with you. 00:59:09.180 --> 00:59:10.580 So here we come, Aba. 00:59:10.880 --> 00:59:14.480 Throughout this week, I pray that we'll think about these words that we heard, 00:59:14.780 --> 00:59:16.980 that we'll do the things that you want us to do. 00:59:17.380 --> 00:59:19.380 In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. 00:59:19.780 --> 00:59:22.180 If you guys need prayer, there'll be someone up here 00:59:23.280 --> 00:59:23.980 to pray with you. 00:59:29.680 --> 00:59:30.980 Thank you.