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NOTE
Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver
Episode: Disruptive Glory 5 – Zeal
Publishing Date: 2021-12-26T05:00:44-08:00
Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca
Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/disruptive-glory-5-zeal/

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Usually towards the end of the year, these messages get very specific,

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as in they're being chosen for a specific reason.

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And so I'm hoping it's a setup towards what we can announce on New Year's

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as our path to follow for six months or a year.

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So today we're going to talk about zeal.

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I have spoken about this two years ago, but felt that it needed to be pulled up again.

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And so glory anchors and is automated through zeal.

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Glory is anchored and automated, as in activated or automated by zeal.

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When someone is zealous, the glory of God is able to anchor or find traction.

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The glory of God is such a precious holy thing that when Israel,

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without being given permission, opened the ark, they died.

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We made the glory of God an external manifestation that tickles our flesh.

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And in the process of doing that, what has happened is the glory of God has lost its holiness.

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The moment glory loses holiness, something is wrong.

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Because part of God's glory is this holiness.

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His weight, splendor, magnificence, goodness, holiness, majesty, laughter, power, all rolled into one.

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We keep repeating that.

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So you remove holiness from glory and it is a mutation.

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It is not God.

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And so zeal has this quality of being able to provide great traction for glory to hold.

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And it also automates or activates it, as in the glory of God is so God,

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so full of power and laughter and presence and weight and magnificence that a person who is not zealous

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cannot do anything except to be overcome by it.

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Or they? Enemies can be overcome by it, friends can be overcome by it.

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But to take the glory of God and run, that's a different thing. That requires zeal.

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We've been talking about disruptive glory, as in the glory of God is disruptive

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in that it devastates the demonic landscape or the satanic landscape

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and it irrigates or makes fertile everything that is geared towards or inclined towards God.

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And so zeal is such an important part of this.

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And so we'll try to define zeal so we understand it.

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And then remember, glory is anchored in a fine distraction and is activated or carried by those that are zealous

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or those that have a passion, those that have zeal.

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In fact, in Matthew 11.15, it says that the kingdom is advancing

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and only those that are zealous or those that are violent can be involved in the advancement of the kingdom.

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The kingdom of God can withstand violence and the violent take it by force.

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Another word for violence is a zealous passion it advances with.

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And those that are zealous and passionate and aggressive with it help advance the kingdom.

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I guess what we need to imagine is this.

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If you were to separate it from God and just look at it as sheer power or force,

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like some kind of an explosive, big bang cosmic kind of power,

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it is impossible to contain, hold, carry it if I don't have some kind of caliber to meet it and then take it.

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It's like that scene where there's this meteor hurling across the universe and Superman goes and meets it.

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And then Superman grabs the meteor and instead of it coming towards the Earth, he begins to push it.

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And you can see sparks flying, but this guy has enough to keep pushing it away into the Andromeda galaxy.

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And so we get saved.

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It's literally like that. God is looking for someone who has a kind of passion to meet his passion and to be able to carry it.

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One person usually cannot do it and they only used to do that in the Old Testament.

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In the New Testament, God is looking for a people who can carry it.

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The ark was never carried by one person.

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The ark was carried by a group of four who would then take turns because it was never the same four.

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There was a reason it had four poles, two poles attached to it with four carriers.

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It was meant to be carried together.

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And so when God finds a church that has the kind of zeal required,

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and not just external manifestations of zeal where a little bit of shouting, a little bit of hopping,

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that Phoebe can do for us.

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I'm talking about something more than that.

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Her zeal is not just jumping up and down.

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That girl has zeal inside and outside.

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So how do we define zeal?

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Zeal is different words to explain it.

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It's spirit-stirred boldness.

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Zeal is spirit-stirred boldness.

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As in it's a boldness that comes with, because of the spirit of God being allowed,

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to break through in my life where I take on a fearless confidence.

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Where I take on a fearless confidence.

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And so when I say spirit-stirred, it means it's in areas where the spirit wants to give to me the kind of power

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that he would give Samson, where Samson would pick up the jawbone of an ass and make it a weapon of mass destruction.

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It's that kind of thing where the spirit of God initiates it, the spirit of God sustains it, the spirit of God finishes it.

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And so this is not bravado.

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This is not recklessness that ends in foolishness.

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It is stirred up by the spirit.

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It's sustained by the spirit.

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It's finished by the spirit.

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But when the spirit begins to stir you up, one of the good things about Samson was every time the spirit stirred him up,

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he would actually rise up.

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He would rise up.

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You see the same with Saul.

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You see the same with David.

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Suddenly the spirit of God would come upon them and they would be stirred up.

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They used to experience it in little bits because they were in the Old Testament,

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so the spirit of God would only descend on prophets, priests, and kings for a certain purpose to be accomplished.

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But because the spirit of God now dwells in me,

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if I could become aware of the stirring of the spirit within me,

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that is one of the things I really enjoy doing during worship.

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And particularly when I don't have a song list,

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I just thrill at the fact that we can be stirred up by the spirit and go in a direction.

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So then all you need is the first song.

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Thereafter it can go any which way because you're following the blowing of the wind.

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Some days I wish Bob Dylan had stayed a Christian.

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But he's been a Jew, he's been a Christian, he's been an atheist.

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He writes some amazing songs.

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That's on the side.

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That was not important.

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It was just personal musings that came out loud.

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Fearless confidence despite...

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Because if I needed to explain that, I had to start at who Bob and Dylan is.

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They are one person, Brandon, one person.

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Fearless confidence...

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It's a kind of fearless confidence that in the face of current ideologies or hostile ideologies,

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hostile ideologies, ideologies, culture, systems, nations, rulers, imaginary lions and real lions,

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gods of this age, threats, persecution.

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In the face of all this, the Holy Spirit, because he wants to advance the cause of God,

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when I say hostile, I mean hostile to Christ, hostile to Christ's ways, hostile to the Gospel,

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hostile to salvation only through Christ, hostile to the truth.

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We talked about truth on the Christmas Eve service.

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If you haven't listened to it, listen to it.

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The crux of the message is very simple.

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For this purpose I was born to bear witness to the truth.

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John 17, verse 37 and 38.

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That is the reason Jesus was born.

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It was a Christmas message.

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But it's a very strange passage to pick on.

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Because it was at the end of his days at the trial.

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For this reason I was born.

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For this purpose I was born, to bear witness to the truth.

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And so the Spirit of God stirs up boldness in churches, in Christians, in the book of Acts.

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You would see it again and again where there's this fearless confidence,

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despite hostile ideologies, cultures, systems, nations, rulers, imaginary and real lions.

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Some lions are in our heads.

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Proverbs 26, verse 3, or thereabouts says that the lazy guy sits in his home

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and does not venture out because he thinks there's a lion in the street.

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Imaginary lions, real lions, God of this age, threats, persecution.

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Please understand, wearing a mask, not wearing a mask, is not persecution.

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It's just a piece of cloth.

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So that is, because when I went to the US,

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I was surprised at how wearing a mask was seen as persecution.

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And I thought to myself, then visit Nandigama.

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Yeah.

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So, all I'm saying is, not all I'm saying,

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one of the things I'm saying is, guys, let us waste, let us spend zeal on things that matter.

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Let us not waste the currency of zeal.

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And the kingdom needs boldness.

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The kingdom needs boldness.

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What happens over a period of time if a church or if a pastor or if a people lack boldness

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is they begin to learn how to naturally adjust to the world.

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You begin to learn how to naturally adjust to the world.

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That is what is frightening, that over a period of time if I am not,

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if I'm not, if I don't have a tendency towards boldness,

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over a period of time I begin to naturally adjust to the world.

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It's like a thermostat that adjusts to the world.

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And then boldness becomes very difficult.

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And the way we adjust to the world is by saying, but the law says this,

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but people would think like this.

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There are different ways we can do it, but that's how we normally do it.

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So we've got to be careful of that.

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It's like that frog that doesn't know the water is boiling.

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You just adjust to the world around you and you don't realize how much it is seeping in

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and how you're marinating in it and you don't realize how much it is seeping in.

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You're marinating in it and you don't realize.

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Just take that as a warning.

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I'm speaking to myself really that it is so easy to think,

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I will be bold when required and I will have the faith for whatever is required when I get there.

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And so boldness is not a way of life.

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The thing with most things that are the nature of Jesus is that they are supposed to become my nature,

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not something I pull out in a time of crisis or need.

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And I would suggest to you that without zeal or boldness, revivals are almost impossible.

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Without zeal or boldness, revivals are impossible.

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Because boldness is the essence of revival.

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You're trying to revive something that is decaying and dead

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and it goes against the grain of what everyone is saying.

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And now you've got to go and revive it and that requires boldness.

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As much as we think of Jonah as a reluctant prophet,

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please understand that to go to Nineveh and to preach was not easy.

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Nineveh was one of the most wicked cities in the world, has always been.

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Very rarely has it been spoken of well.

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The only one who speaks of Nineveh well is God.

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History records it as an evil city.

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And yet here is a man who tried to run away from the evil city.

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Here is a man who tried to run away for good reason.

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He was bold man, he revived an entire nation.

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Paul was bold. Goes to Athens, doesn't have too many results, goes to Rome.

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Boldness is the essence of revival.

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If you go to Deuteronomy 9 verse 1 and 2,

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God says that, listen, the cities you are going into are fortified

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and you will meet fierce resistance there and you will meet powerful giants there.

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Deuteronomy 9 verse 1 and 2.

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Deuteronomy 9 verse 1 and 2.

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If I'm speaking fast Betty, it's because of the extra scoops.

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I noticed you're not able to write as fast.

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Deuteronomy 9 verse 1 and 2.

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And so God talks about taking fortified cities

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and he said in these cities you will meet fierce resistance and powerful giants.

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So in a sense what he's saying is, hey, you guys keep talking about revival,

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I'll take you there, it won't be just teaching, teaching, teaching.

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I'll let you know when I want you to stop teaching on it and jump into the fray.

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And when I do, you need to know that there will be fierce resistance and powerful giants.

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One of the ways we get ready for it is to shield or reinforce your heart

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with the breastplate of righteousness.

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Shield and reinforce your heart.

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One of the ways, this is, you know, sometimes I myself ask this question of God,

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Father, we keep teaching on revival, when are we going to actually do something about it?

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And that is when you realize that some of these things if you don't get right,

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your revival will be 20 people that you'll be thrilled about

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and God will have to pack up bags and move on to someone else to find them.

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Because one of the essentials of zeal or passion for revival is to wear the breastplate of righteousness.

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To wear the breastplate of righteousness.

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I mean, you say it that way, most of us, including me, won't even know what that means.

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If I asked you to, we'll all come up with different clips, but we really don't know what you mean.

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We won't even know where the verses are that talk about the breastplate of righteousness other than Ephesians 6.

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So what is this about? Go to Isaiah 59, verse 17.

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Isaiah 59, verse 17.

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The Lord looked, I mean, it is in a sense the essence of revival being spoken here by the Lord.

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Start at verse 15 and a half, 15.

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Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

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The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.

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He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene.

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So his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.

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He put on righteousness as his breastplate and the helmet of salvation on his head.

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He put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.

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Beautiful, eh?

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That is the summation of the distilled version of revival. All those parts.

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We'll explore that later, but

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shield and reinforce your heart with the breastplate of righteousness,

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for it says in Proverbs 28.1 that only the righteous can be bold as a lion.

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Proverbs 28.1. Only the righteous can be bold.

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Can be bold as a lion.

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And righteousness as we have defined in the past is being in right relationship with God,

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being in right relationship with yourself, being in right relationship with people around you,

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being in right relationship with the environment that God has placed you in.

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That's a very simple definition of righteousness.

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And righteousness and justice come from the same word,

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which then takes us to Isaiah 58, which is such a chapter on justice.

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We've talked about that. All these things have to work together,

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sometimes so hard to hold them together.

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But shield and reinforce your heart with the breastplate of righteousness.

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Isaiah 59.17, 15-17.

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Let me read it again.

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Isaiah 59. Let's try it from the message and see how it reads there.

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Isaiah 59, verse 17 to 19.

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Sorry, verse 14 onwards.

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Justice is beaten back.

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Righteousness is banished to the sidelines.

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Truth staggers down the street.

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Honesty is nowhere to be found.

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Good is missing in action.

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Anyone renouncing evil is beaten and robbed.

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God looked and saw evil looming on the horizon.

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So much evil and no sign of justice.

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He couldn't believe what he saw.

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Not a soul around to correct this awful situation.

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So he did it himself, took on the work of salvation,

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fueled by his own righteousness.

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He dressed in righteousness, put it on like a suit of armor,

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with salvation on his head like a helmet.

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He put on judgment like an overcoat,

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and threw a cloak of passion across his shoulder.

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He'll make everyone pay for what they've done,

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fury for his foes, just deserts.

00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:19.000
How do you pronounce desert there?

00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:22.000
Deserts for his enemies.

00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.000
Even the far off islands will get paid off in full.

00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:28.000
In the west they'll fear the name of God.

00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:31.000
In the east they'll fear the glory of God.

00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:34.000
For he'll arrive like a river in flood,

00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:37.000
whipped by a torrent of the wind of God.

00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:40.000
I'll arrive in Zion as redeemer to those in Jacob

00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:43.000
who leave their sins, God's decree.

00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:46.000
And if God says, this is my covenant with them,

00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:49.000
my spirit that I've placed upon you and the words that I've given you to speak,

00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:52.000
they're not going to leave your mouths, nor the mouths of your children,

00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.000
nor the mouths of your grandchildren.

00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:58.000
You will keep repeating these words and won't ever stop.

00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:01.000
That is what we're aiming for, guys.

00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:04.000
Now you see how revival is so much more than getting someone saved.

00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:07.000
That's what we think revival is.

00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:10.000
People repent of their sins and come to church.

00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:13.000
That's what we think revival is.

00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:16.000
And zeal is such an essential part of it.

00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:19.000
So what is the nature of zealousness?

00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:22.000
What does it look like?

00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:25.000
One, it's being jealous for God's honor.

00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:28.000
It starts there.

00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:31.000
Jealous for God's honor.

00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:34.000
You see that there's a greater cause,

00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:37.000
and so you get jealous for God's honor.

00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:43.000
You see this in Numbers 25 verse 7,

00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:46.000
where a guy called Phinehas takes a javelin,

00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:49.000
and he's really jealous for God's honor

00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:52.000
because Yahweh has just turned up in the camp.

00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:55.000
You can see the tent of meeting glowing

00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:58.000
because the Shekinah has descended.

00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:01.000
And then there's Zimri and Cosby,

00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:04.000
a man and a woman who are caressing while God is appearing in the midst of them.

00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:07.000
And so what happens is,

00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:10.000
he takes a javelin and drives it through Zimri and Cosby

00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:13.000
because a plague had already broken out throughout the camp.

00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:16.000
And what God says about Phinehas is,

00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:19.000
this man is jealous for my honor.

00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:22.000
He has a zeal for my honor.

00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:25.000
Jealousy for honor will show in the way I behave.

00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:28.000
Jealousy for honor.

00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.000
This is where we've got to be careful

00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:34.000
that if we are talking about God's honor,

00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:37.000
we have a way to behave too.

00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:40.000
What am I trying to say?

00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:43.000
I'm trying to say that there are times when

00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:46.000
God can be father and you can run into his arms

00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:49.000
and grab him and sit with your feet up,

00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:52.000
and it's okay.

00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:55.000
There are other times he comes as majesty,

00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:58.000
and you've got to instantly realize it.

00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:01.000
One of the things that young adults in particular have to figure out

00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:04.000
is who is God turning up and who is he turning up as?

00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:07.000
Because accordingly you have to change

00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:10.000
your mental and physical posture.

00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:13.000
For us ones who are older, what happened was

00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:16.000
we were always taught to maintain

00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:19.000
a physical posture of majesty.

00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:22.000
So we never got to understand him as father, friend.

00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:25.000
So that's why even today you can go into

00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:28.000
really good Pentecostal churches and everyone

00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:31.000
is always in the position of the honor of his majesty.

00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:34.000
And there's a place for that, but you never realize

00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:37.000
the other parts of it.

00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:40.000
But with the young adults in all churches,

00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:43.000
including this church, what happens with us is sometimes

00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:46.000
the posture of his father and friend

00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:49.000
doesn't shift, and so you don't behave

00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:52.000
mentally and physically with the posture

00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:55.000
of, oh, he's appearing as majesty.

00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:58.000
Every time I see that in you, I get so irritated.

00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:05.000
But you can't speak in irritation.

00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:08.000
You have to speak after the irritation is over.

00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:17.000
Jealous for God's honor.

00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:20.000
Phineas was jealous for God's honor.

00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:23.000
One should begin to see a greater cause.

00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:26.000
One should begin to see a greater cause

00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:29.000
when one is passionate. What do you mean by a greater cause?

00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:32.000
This is exactly what's happening in the foxholes of Israel

00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:35.000
when David is going up and down. Goliath is out there

00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:38.000
and he's walking around saying,

00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:41.000
is someone going to do something? And his brothers are getting

00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:44.000
really irritated. Who are you, you little runt,

00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:47.000
to walk around like this telling us soldiers what to do?

00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:50.000
And that's when David says, but isn't there a greater cause?

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:53.000
Imagine our foxholes like this. After the morning and evening

00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:56.000
sacrifice, zeal immediately sees the cause

00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:59.000
of God and rises up to it.

00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:05.000
Any questions? This is what zeal looks like.

00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:08.000
This is why glory can be handled by

00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:11.000
ones who walk in this kind of zeal.

00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:14.000
Any questions on that?

00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:18.000
Second, zeal takes first watch.

00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:21.000
Zeal takes first watch.

00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:26.000
How do you know a soldier who is

00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:29.000
zealous? He usually will volunteer to take

00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:32.000
the first watch of the night. Can I take first watch?

00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:35.000
And everyone has marched and they are tired

00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:38.000
and they want to go up to sleep. Here's this guy saying,

00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:41.000
can I stay awake? Let me take the first watch.

00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:44.000
This is the kind of zeal that you see in the

00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:47.000
300 that Gideon led. This is the kind of zeal

00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:50.000
that you see in Joshua when he insists on staying by the

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:53.000
tent of meeting because the Shekinah hasn't disappeared yet.

00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:56.000
But Moses has disappeared.

00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:59.000
This is the kind of zeal that you see

00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:02.000
when Habakkuk in chapter 2 climbs up the watchtower

00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:05.000
and says, I've got a complaint and I've got to climb up the

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:08.000
watchtower and wait there to see how God is going to address

00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:11.000
my complaint.

00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:16.000
This is the kind of zeal that you see in Abraham as he cuts

00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:19.000
branches and takes his robes and starts driving away

00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:22.000
the carrion birds of prey because he's

00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:25.000
cut a sacrifice and he knows God is coming.

00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:28.000
This is the kind of zeal you do

00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:31.000
not see in Gethsemane

00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:34.000
when the disciples fell off to sleep.

00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:37.000
So zeal takes first watch.

00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:40.000
Zeal works with courage.

00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:43.000
Zeal works with courage as in

00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:46.000
the power of the Holy Spirit envelops your courage.

00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:49.000
The Spirit

00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.000
clothes your courage.

00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:01.000
So sometimes if you want zeal,

00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:04.000
first ask for courage.

00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:07.000
So sometimes if you want zeal, first ask for courage.

00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:10.000
Sometimes if you want zeal, first ask for courage.

00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:13.000
You see this in Acts chapter 428

00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:16.000
where in the face of threats the disciples

00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:19.000
call out to God and say, oh God, there are

00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:22.000
threats but please could you give us the courage and the boldness

00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:25.000
to now stand up against these threats.

00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:28.000
I don't have courage.

00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:31.000
I used to, I remember my sister got into trouble

00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:34.000
because there was a girl who was troubling her

00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:37.000
and so I went up and hit the girl

00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:40.000
and then ran for my life

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:43.000
because I was scared not of the girl but she had older brothers.

00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:46.000
And so I hit the girl

00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:49.000
I said, Riva, come! And running away with

00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:52.000
and then another time I remembered this dog

00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:55.000
called Sheru or Shera and

00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:58.000
we were playing and the ball went into the

00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:01.000
compound of the neighbor and Sheru's there

00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:04.000
but the ball was a very expensive ball

00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:07.000
so I sent my sister to pick the ball.

00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:10.000
I'm standing on this side of the fence encouraging her, Riva, don't worry, it'll be okay.

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:13.000
The dog won't do anything, just go, just go get the ball.

00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:16.000
And she escaped by this much, eh?

00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:19.000
And so

00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:22.000
I've noticed, given my

00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:25.000
past, that I'm not, I don't have too much courage.

00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:28.000
I don't have too much courage, yeah.

00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:31.000
Yeah. And then eventually

00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:34.000
when those, when that girl's brothers

00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:37.000
did catch up in the eye, ran like the wind, man

00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:40.000
and I ran through people's houses.

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:43.000
Like, I needed to get to my home, I knew all the

00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:46.000
shortcuts and I'm running through someone's living room and they're looking

00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:49.000
as a little kid goes scurrying through.

00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:52.000
Because in India you can go through people's houses to get wherever you want to.

00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:55.000
It's like Matt Damon on top of the roofs, only this is through houses.

00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:58.000
And so all I'm trying to say is

00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:01.000
I know that I don't have courage. And so when I find

00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:04.000
myself in situations that I begin to feel fear,

00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:07.000
instead of asking for boldness I first ask God for a little bit of courage.

00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:10.000
So that you can cloak that

00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:13.000
courage with zeal.

00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:16.000
A part of a Christian's courage is this.

00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:19.000
That I will speak

00:29:19.000 --> 00:29:22.000
I will speak.

00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:25.000
No, it is Revelation 12 basically that

00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:28.000
I will not love my life enough.

00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:31.000
That is where my courage comes from.

00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:34.000
If I can get there, it's Revelation 13 or 12.

00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:37.000
Revelation 12 I think, let's just check.

00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:52.000
They overcame Satan by the blood of the lamb and the word of the testimony

00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:55.000
and they did not love their lives

00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:58.000
even unto death. Wherever it is,

00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:01.000
it's in Revelation 11, 12 or 13.

00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:04.000
It's in one of those. And so

00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:07.000
that is the only place you can begin.

00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:10.000
That Father, I know you watch over me,

00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:13.000
I know you protect me, I know you give me promises.

00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:16.000
But if I can, pardon? Revelation 12, 11.

00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:19.000
But if I can choose not to

00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:22.000
love my life enough to preserve it,

00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:25.000
I will have the courage I need for this situation.

00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:28.000
That is where the Christian must

00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:31.000
start and end.

00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:34.000
If I can choose not to love my life

00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:37.000
enough to preserve it.

00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:40.000
Very difficult guys.

00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:43.000
But we don't define courage by

00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:46.000
terms of the world. We define courage by

00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:49.000
this simple thing.

00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:01.000
A few other quick points on zeal.

00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:04.000
Zeal is wise

00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:07.000
or full of wisdom.

00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:10.000
Zeal is full of wisdom.

00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:13.000
As in, when

00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:16.000
it comes from God,

00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:19.000
zeal is not foolish, zeal is not...

00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:22.000
You know, when people are passionate,

00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:25.000
you hear two things

00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:28.000
spoken to them. Some will say,

00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:31.000
you know, it's okay to be passionate, but you have to be wise.

00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:34.000
Meaning, don't overdo this. Or you'll say,

00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:37.000
or you'll have people saying, come on, just be foolish,

00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:40.000
just risk it. It's one or the other.

00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:43.000
But with zeal, it actually comes from the Holy Spirit,

00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:46.000
so it is full of wisdom.

00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:49.000
Jesus was zealous, but he knew

00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:52.000
when not to go to Jerusalem.

00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:55.000
He would say, my time has not yet come. And he would not go.

00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:58.000
Other times, he would go.

00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:01.000
Sometimes he would walk through a crowd that was waiting

00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:04.000
to push him down a ravine, and he would walk

00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:07.000
through them. Other times, he would not appear.

00:32:07.000 --> 00:32:10.000
It wasn't because he suddenly was fearful and suddenly was courageous.

00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:13.000
No. It was simply, zeal is wise.

00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:16.000
And what do you mean when you say zeal is wise?

00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:19.000
All we mean is, zeal is informed by the Holy Spirit.

00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:22.000
Zeal is informed by the Holy Spirit.

00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:25.000
The Spirit of God

00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:28.000
tells you what to do in your passion.

00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:31.000
Zeal is informed by the Holy Spirit.

00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:34.000
Proverbs 19, verse 1 or 2 says,

00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:37.000
Zeal without knowledge is like

00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:40.000
a misguided, dangerous thing.

00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:43.000
Zeal without knowledge is a misguided, dangerous thing.

00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:46.000
Proverbs 19, verse 1 or 2,

00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:49.000
I'm not sure, can someone check?

00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:52.000
Zeal without knowledge.

00:32:57.000 --> 00:33:00.000
Proverbs 19, verse 2,

00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:03.000
It's not good to have zeal without knowledge,

00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:06.000
nor be hasty and miss the way.

00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:09.000
Zeal without knowledge is almost like a missile

00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:12.000
or a missile without a guidance system.

00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:15.000
You don't know where it will fall.

00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:25.000
Zeal provokes

00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:28.000
signs and wonders.

00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:32.000
Zeal provokes signs and wonders.

00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:38.000
Zeal carries the gospel.

00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:45.000
From Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria

00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:48.000
to the ends of the earth.

00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:51.000
Zeal provokes signs and wonders.

00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:54.000
Passion is required for signs and wonders.

00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:57.000
One who is not passionate will not look at a man

00:33:57.000 --> 00:34:00.000
and this was ages ago

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:03.000
when I first met Roland Tan

00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:06.000
and I saw a man in a wheelchair

00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:09.000
on Bridgeport

00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:12.000
and he was struggling to cross the road

00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:15.000
because he didn't know how to handle his wheelchair well

00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:18.000
and so I decided to help him cross the road

00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:21.000
and after Roland Tan was in town I helped him cross the road

00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:24.000
and then instead of letting him be I started telling him about

00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:27.000
the fact that Jesus can heal

00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:30.000
and asked him if he wanted to come for Roland Tan's meeting

00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:33.000
and then I pushed him all the way home

00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:36.000
because I wanted to meet his son and daughter

00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:39.000
to tell them to come for the meeting

00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:42.000
and it was super heavy pushing that guy man.

00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:45.000
I didn't know, I thought wheelchairs were like

00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:48.000
you can push them with a finger.

00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:51.000
No, it's dead weight and this man was literally paralyzed

00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:54.000
and I pushed him all the way. Why?

00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:57.000
I remember sweating through that summer day

00:34:57.000 --> 00:35:00.000
and pushing him for about a kilometer and a half to get to his house.

00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:03.000
Why? Because my passion was this guy must be healed.

00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:06.000
I did not have the faith or the ability at that point

00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:09.000
to lay hands on him and pray for his healing

00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:12.000
but I knew Roland Tan was in town

00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:15.000
and that Roland Tan had done this before so I wanted him.

00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:18.000
They did come for the meeting, the guy did not recover

00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:21.000
and I want to tell you another story.

00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:24.000
The point is passion provokes signs and wonders.

00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:27.000
God loves seeing passion

00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:30.000
when it comes to the provocation of signs and wonders.

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:33.000
God remembers the day

00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:36.000
when a few people dug through the roof.

00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:39.000
It's not digging through the roof that is a big deal.

00:35:39.000 --> 00:35:42.000
It's destroying someone's home.

00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:45.000
Imagine that today.

00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:48.000
Imagine the insurance hassles.

00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:51.000
Imagine doing it during winter,

00:35:51.000 --> 00:35:54.000
breaking through your roof.

00:35:54.000 --> 00:35:57.000
I don't even know if someone compensated the guy.

00:35:57.000 --> 00:36:00.000
Please remember,

00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:03.000
as much as chosen is really interesting to watch,

00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:06.000
it is not the biblical narrative.

00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:09.000
Just remember that. Sometimes we get confused.

00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:12.000
When I was growing up,

00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:15.000
the opening of The Red Sea was defined

00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:18.000
by Charlton Heston and Ben Hur

00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:21.000
and the Moses movie.

00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:24.000
Just be careful of that

00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:27.000
because I love the way they write the story

00:36:27.000 --> 00:36:30.000
but it ain't...

00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:33.000
Where's my pen? Can anyone see a white pen?

00:36:33.000 --> 00:36:36.000
Ah, yes.

00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:39.000
Zeal carries the gospel.

00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:42.000
One last sentence before we move on.

00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:45.000
Realms of faith

00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:48.000
and obedience

00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:51.000
are restricted to you.

00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:54.000
Are restricted to you.

00:36:54.000 --> 00:36:57.000
And you are restricted to yourself.

00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:00.000
You are restricted to yourself.

00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:03.000
You are restricted to you

00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:06.000
when boldness

00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:12.000
or zeal

00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:15.000
is under restraint.

00:37:21.000 --> 00:37:24.000
Realms of faith and obedience

00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:27.000
are restricted to you. As in, it's not that God

00:37:27.000 --> 00:37:30.000
doesn't want you to participate,

00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:33.000
but it realizes that there's absolutely no point

00:37:33.000 --> 00:37:36.000
inviting Jacob into this realm of faith

00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:39.000
or into this realm of obedience because he's not passionate right now

00:37:39.000 --> 00:37:42.000
until he recovers his passion.

00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:45.000
Giving him this, he won't even see it and if he sees it, he won't even attempt it.

00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:48.000
So one of the things that we have to do

00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:51.000
and that I find myself doing every few months

00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:54.000
is realizing that I'm dulling

00:37:54.000 --> 00:37:57.000
in terms of passion.

00:37:57.000 --> 00:38:00.000
But some of us who've been Christians for long enough

00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:03.000
or who have activity happening in our life

00:38:03.000 --> 00:38:06.000
do not realize that passion is dulling and being replaced by activity

00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:09.000
or that you are now

00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:12.000
operating on vapor, but you have

00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:15.000
done it for so long that you can still continue doing it without a problem.

00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:18.000
One of the ways

00:38:18.000 --> 00:38:21.000
you see passion dying is when you see

00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:24.000
that your standards of purity

00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:27.000
are lowering. Passion and purity

00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:30.000
are like two horses running together. They yoke together.

00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:33.000
It is impossible to be passionate

00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:36.000
and lacking in purity. It is impossible to be pure

00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:39.000
and lacking in passion. Not possible.

00:38:39.000 --> 00:38:42.000
Passion and purity run together.

00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:45.000
And so one of the ways I notice a lack of passion in my life

00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:48.000
because my life is full of godly activity, that's what I get paid for.

00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:51.000
But one of the ways I notice

00:38:51.000 --> 00:38:54.000
a lack of passion in my life is when I notice

00:38:54.000 --> 00:38:57.000
my standards of purity lowering.

00:38:57.000 --> 00:39:00.000
As in what I allow into my life, what I'm willing to accommodate.

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:03.000
And that is when I realize something is dulling.

00:39:03.000 --> 00:39:06.000
No one will notice it, Jacob,

00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:09.000
because you can run on vapor for another two months

00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:12.000
and nobody would notice because you're gifted

00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:15.000
or you've done this long enough or whatever.

00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.000
This is how big names in Christianity fall.

00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:22.000
They are gifted,

00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:25.000
but they're now running not on passion but on activity.

00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:28.000
Passion and purity. Purity is an indicator.

00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:31.000
It's like the rapid antigen test.

00:39:31.000 --> 00:39:34.000
It will tell you whether it's positive or negative.

00:39:38.000 --> 00:39:41.000
It's a great measure.

00:39:41.000 --> 00:39:44.000
Have you noticed how in the scriptures we read

00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:47.000
he wraps himself with a cloak of vengeance or zeal,

00:39:47.000 --> 00:39:50.000
but he walks with the breastplate of righteousness.

00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:53.000
Righteousness and zeal always go together.

00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:02.000
Therefore God is not able, he restricts me

00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:05.000
from places of faith and obedience

00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:08.000
because he knows it won't be possible for me to be able to do it.

00:40:08.000 --> 00:40:11.000
So how do I prevent the loss of boldness?

00:40:11.000 --> 00:40:14.000
How do I prevent the loss of boldness?

00:40:14.000 --> 00:40:17.000
One, we've got to realize that self-preservation is the enemy.

00:40:17.000 --> 00:40:20.000
Self-preservation is the greatest enemy

00:40:23.000 --> 00:40:26.000
of zeal.

00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:29.000
Self-preservation is the greatest enemy

00:40:29.000 --> 00:40:32.000
of zeal.

00:40:32.000 --> 00:40:35.000
Self-preservation is the greatest enemy

00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:38.000
of zeal

00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:43.000
in believers.

00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:47.000
Of zeal in believers.

00:40:47.000 --> 00:40:50.000
Self-preservation is the greatest enemy of zeal in believers.

00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:53.000
And what is worse is guys,

00:40:53.000 --> 00:40:56.000
when somebody, a young person or an old person

00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:59.000
becomes zealous, the wise ones

00:40:59.000 --> 00:41:02.000
begin to tone down their zeal

00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:05.000
because they are scared of what may happen.

00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:08.000
It comes out of a good place.

00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:11.000
Simon, did you don't do that? I mean it could be dangerous.

00:41:11.000 --> 00:41:14.000
And so I'm doing that because either I care for him

00:41:14.000 --> 00:41:17.000
or I'm scared that if he goes and does it,

00:41:17.000 --> 00:41:20.000
someone may say, Jacob, you should have advised him better.

00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:23.000
But at the end of the day, self-preservation is the greatest enemy

00:41:23.000 --> 00:41:26.000
of believers because we start toning down things

00:41:26.000 --> 00:41:29.000
so that everything is middle of the road.

00:41:32.000 --> 00:41:35.000
So, it's a good thing.

00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:51.000
Enemy of zeal in believers.

00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:05.000
Here's another one.

00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:08.000
Boldness or zeal loses momentum.

00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:11.000
Boldness or zeal loses momentum

00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:17.000
when proclamation is subdued.

00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:20.000
When proclamation is subdued.

00:42:26.000 --> 00:42:29.000
Boldness or zeal loses momentum

00:42:29.000 --> 00:42:32.000
when proclamation is subdued.

00:42:39.000 --> 00:42:42.000
Whatever you're passionate about,

00:42:42.000 --> 00:42:45.000
I will know by the way you speak, guys.

00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:48.000
Zeal always speaks.

00:42:48.000 --> 00:42:51.000
Zeal always speaks.

00:42:51.000 --> 00:42:54.000
You go sit with Don, it'll take hardly a few minutes to know

00:42:54.000 --> 00:42:57.000
that he's a supporter of Real Madrid.

00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:03.000
You go hang out with Pawan,

00:43:03.000 --> 00:43:06.000
you will hear about outdoorsy stuff.

00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:14.000
You'll know instantly.

00:43:14.000 --> 00:43:17.000
You go hang out with Manoj.

00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:23.000
You don't know what he's passionate about

00:43:23.000 --> 00:43:26.000
because there are so many things he talks about.

00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:29.000
The point being that you always talk about your passion

00:43:29.000 --> 00:43:32.000
and therefore zeal loses momentum

00:43:32.000 --> 00:43:35.000
when proclamation is subdued.

00:43:38.000 --> 00:43:41.000
Zeal loses momentum when proclamation is subdued.

00:43:41.000 --> 00:43:44.000
Whatever you're zealous about, you must speak about.

00:43:44.000 --> 00:43:47.000
You must talk through your mask, but you must talk.

00:43:47.000 --> 00:43:50.000
Just find out whether this is something that effects you.

00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:53.000
Zeal is crippled by your need..

00:44:02.000 --> 00:44:16.880
...to appear sophisticated and

00:44:16.880 --> 00:44:18.880
in the eyes of the world.

00:44:22.680 --> 00:44:24.680
In other words,

00:44:24.680 --> 00:44:26.680
zeal is crippled

00:44:26.680 --> 00:44:28.680
by the fear

00:44:28.680 --> 00:44:30.680
of man.

00:44:33.680 --> 00:44:35.680
Zeal is crippled by the fear of man.

00:44:40.680 --> 00:44:42.680
This thing is such a

00:44:42.680 --> 00:44:44.680
crippler, man, it's

00:44:44.680 --> 00:44:46.680
like a flesh-eating disease.

00:44:47.480 --> 00:44:49.480
The fear of man, the desire,

00:44:49.480 --> 00:44:51.480
need to be sophisticated, the need to

00:44:51.480 --> 00:44:53.480
not appear

00:44:55.480 --> 00:44:57.480
square, the need to

00:44:57.480 --> 00:44:59.480
not lose

00:44:59.480 --> 00:45:01.480
acceptance,

00:45:01.480 --> 00:45:03.480
is something that cripples zeal.

00:45:05.480 --> 00:45:07.480
This is why we ask people

00:45:07.480 --> 00:45:09.480
to come and

00:45:09.480 --> 00:45:11.480
spend some time at Acts

00:45:11.480 --> 00:45:13.480
29. Just think of that.

00:45:13.480 --> 00:45:15.480
People are coming from different parts of the world.

00:45:16.280 --> 00:45:18.280
They spend some time here

00:45:18.280 --> 00:45:20.280
and they cannot go back without changing.

00:45:22.280 --> 00:45:24.280
My hope is when they go back changed

00:45:24.280 --> 00:45:26.280
that they immediately create

00:45:26.280 --> 00:45:28.280
a small little test tube

00:45:28.280 --> 00:45:30.280
there where others can be cultured.

00:45:30.280 --> 00:45:32.280
Otherwise they'll have to keep

00:45:32.280 --> 00:45:34.280
coming back.

00:45:34.280 --> 00:45:36.280
So when Larissa came here

00:45:36.280 --> 00:45:38.280
and she was affected the way she does

00:45:38.280 --> 00:45:40.280
and now she goes back and she

00:45:40.280 --> 00:45:42.280
wants to come back for a month and she's bringing some friends

00:45:42.280 --> 00:45:44.280
with her.

00:45:45.080 --> 00:45:47.080
That people can catch it. Passion

00:45:47.080 --> 00:45:49.080
and zeal are caught

00:45:49.080 --> 00:45:51.080
but it happens in the midst of people

00:45:51.080 --> 00:45:53.080
that are that way.

00:45:53.080 --> 00:45:55.080
Always remember this. I've said this before.

00:45:55.080 --> 00:45:57.080
It is only when you hang out with

00:45:57.080 --> 00:45:59.080
a people of passion that your mediocrity

00:45:59.080 --> 00:46:01.080
is exposed.

00:46:01.080 --> 00:46:03.080
If you don't hang out

00:46:03.080 --> 00:46:05.080
that's why guys at Acts 29

00:46:05.080 --> 00:46:07.080
if you are really not trying

00:46:07.080 --> 00:46:09.080
to hang out with people you will

00:46:09.080 --> 00:46:11.080
not see your mediocrity.

00:46:11.880 --> 00:46:13.880
That's why I keep saying this again

00:46:13.880 --> 00:46:15.880
and you hear me say this almost every

00:46:15.880 --> 00:46:17.880
second week.

00:46:17.880 --> 00:46:19.880
That if you are not

00:46:19.880 --> 00:46:21.880
do not think that coming to a service

00:46:21.880 --> 00:46:23.880
is hanging out with the body.

00:46:23.880 --> 00:46:25.880
It's not.

00:46:29.880 --> 00:46:31.880
It's more than that.

00:46:31.880 --> 00:46:33.880
How do you define it? You cannot.

00:46:33.880 --> 00:46:35.880
It's not an activity

00:46:35.880 --> 00:46:37.880
it is the condition of the heart

00:46:37.880 --> 00:46:39.880
that just makes it obvious.

00:46:40.680 --> 00:46:42.680
It's not coming to

00:46:42.680 --> 00:46:44.680
attending a service.

00:46:48.680 --> 00:46:50.680
I just want to end this bit

00:46:50.680 --> 00:46:52.680
by asking a question that

00:46:52.680 --> 00:46:54.680
I've asked

00:46:54.680 --> 00:46:56.680
and I forget

00:46:56.680 --> 00:46:58.680
and I keep asking myself.

00:47:06.680 --> 00:47:08.680
What if you had no fear?

00:47:10.680 --> 00:47:12.680
What would you plan

00:47:16.680 --> 00:47:18.680
if you had no fear?

00:47:26.680 --> 00:47:28.680
What would you plan

00:47:28.680 --> 00:47:30.680
if you had no fear?

00:47:36.680 --> 00:47:38.680
And no fear would

00:47:38.680 --> 00:47:40.680
be exemplified with confidence

00:47:42.680 --> 00:47:44.680
and joy. That's what non-fear

00:47:44.680 --> 00:47:46.680
looks like.

00:47:46.680 --> 00:47:48.680
Non-fear has to be a mixture of confidence and joy.

00:47:48.680 --> 00:47:50.680
Both have to be present.

00:47:54.680 --> 00:47:56.680
You can't just be

00:47:56.680 --> 00:47:58.680
confident, you can't just be

00:47:58.680 --> 00:48:00.680
joyful. You have to be

00:48:00.680 --> 00:48:02.680
confident and joyful where there is no fear.

00:48:02.680 --> 00:48:04.680
What if you had no fear?

00:48:04.680 --> 00:48:06.680
Do you know something? This was how

00:48:06.680 --> 00:48:08.680
Jesus lived. He had

00:48:08.680 --> 00:48:10.680
no fear.

00:48:10.680 --> 00:48:12.680
He was a man of sorrows

00:48:12.680 --> 00:48:14.680
who was very confident and joyful.

00:48:16.680 --> 00:48:18.680
This is how Jesus lived.

00:48:18.680 --> 00:48:20.680
Every so often I ask myself, Jacob

00:48:20.680 --> 00:48:22.680
if you had no fear, how would you be

00:48:22.680 --> 00:48:24.680
living right now? How would you be handling the situation?

00:48:24.680 --> 00:48:26.680
If you had no fear?

00:48:28.680 --> 00:48:30.680
What would it look like, guys?

00:48:36.680 --> 00:48:38.680
What if you had no fear?

00:48:42.680 --> 00:48:44.680
What if you had no fear?

00:48:46.680 --> 00:48:48.680
What if you knew, and this is not

00:48:48.680 --> 00:48:50.680
my quote or anything, it's

00:48:50.680 --> 00:48:52.680
I don't know who said it but I read this some time

00:48:52.680 --> 00:48:54.680
ago, what if you knew that Jesus

00:48:54.680 --> 00:48:56.680
was in the next room interceding

00:48:56.680 --> 00:48:58.680
for you?

00:48:58.680 --> 00:49:00.680
If he was in the next

00:49:00.680 --> 00:49:02.680
room

00:49:02.680 --> 00:49:04.680
praying for you in your

00:49:04.680 --> 00:49:06.680
present situation,

00:49:06.680 --> 00:49:08.680
what would, I mean, would you

00:49:08.680 --> 00:49:10.680
be able to take on millions?

00:49:14.680 --> 00:49:16.680
Because he said he intercedes for you

00:49:16.680 --> 00:49:18.680
and aren't his prayers answered?

00:49:20.680 --> 00:49:22.680
Is there a prayer that Jesus prayed that

00:49:22.680 --> 00:49:24.680
isn't answered?

00:49:24.680 --> 00:49:26.680
Especially if your will

00:49:26.680 --> 00:49:28.680
is

00:49:28.680 --> 00:49:30.680
surrendered to his prayer.

00:49:30.680 --> 00:49:32.680
The only time a prayer is not answered is when

00:49:32.680 --> 00:49:34.680
the will is not surrendered to Jesus' prayer

00:49:34.680 --> 00:49:36.680
because Jesus desired that everyone be saved.

00:49:48.680 --> 00:49:50.680
Okay.

00:49:50.680 --> 00:49:52.680
I could say more about

00:49:52.680 --> 00:49:54.680
this but let's move on and conclude.

00:49:54.680 --> 00:49:56.680
Because

00:49:56.680 --> 00:49:58.680
with only 14 or 15 people

00:49:58.680 --> 00:50:00.680
in church it feels like I can go on forever.

00:50:02.680 --> 00:50:04.680
So

00:50:04.680 --> 00:50:06.680
to stay

00:50:06.680 --> 00:50:08.680
in boldness, guys,

00:50:10.680 --> 00:50:12.680
intentionally

00:50:12.680 --> 00:50:14.680
remain, intentionally

00:50:14.680 --> 00:50:16.680
remain

00:50:16.680 --> 00:50:18.680
at the center

00:50:18.680 --> 00:50:20.680
of

00:50:20.680 --> 00:50:22.680
God's affection.

00:50:22.680 --> 00:50:24.680
Intentionally remain at the center

00:50:24.680 --> 00:50:26.680
of God's

00:50:26.680 --> 00:50:28.680
affection.

00:50:28.680 --> 00:50:30.680
How do I

00:50:30.680 --> 00:50:32.680
explain this with an example?

00:50:32.680 --> 00:50:34.680
When children want to be

00:50:34.680 --> 00:50:36.680
bold,

00:50:36.680 --> 00:50:38.680
when children want to feel safe,

00:50:38.680 --> 00:50:40.680
they intentionally

00:50:40.680 --> 00:50:42.680
come to their parent and stay

00:50:42.680 --> 00:50:44.680
right near the parent and once you're

00:50:44.680 --> 00:50:46.680
right near the parent, you're bold.

00:50:48.680 --> 00:50:50.680
Any child

00:50:50.680 --> 00:50:52.680
does this. Doesn't matter whether the parent

00:50:52.680 --> 00:50:54.680
has disciplined them two minutes ago

00:50:54.680 --> 00:50:56.680
or got angry with them

00:50:56.680 --> 00:50:58.680
any child who wants to be bold

00:50:58.680 --> 00:51:00.680
immediately finds boldness

00:51:00.680 --> 00:51:02.680
within the circle

00:51:02.680 --> 00:51:04.680
of the parent's proximity.

00:51:04.680 --> 00:51:06.680
Suddenly the child is not afraid

00:51:06.680 --> 00:51:08.680
anymore.

00:51:08.680 --> 00:51:10.680
So one of the first things you need to do

00:51:10.680 --> 00:51:12.680
when you're afraid, when you lack

00:51:12.680 --> 00:51:14.680
zeal, when you're not passionate

00:51:14.680 --> 00:51:16.680
is go back to the center of God's

00:51:16.680 --> 00:51:18.680
affection. Go back to the

00:51:18.680 --> 00:51:20.680
center of God's affection.

00:51:20.680 --> 00:51:22.680
Retrace your steps back to the

00:51:22.680 --> 00:51:24.680
center of God's affection.

00:51:24.680 --> 00:51:26.680
I just want to say something

00:51:26.680 --> 00:51:28.680
so that you remember it for the future

00:51:28.680 --> 00:51:30.680
and use it as a measure.

00:51:32.680 --> 00:51:34.680
If faith comes by hearing,

00:51:34.680 --> 00:51:36.680
zeal and passion also come by

00:51:36.680 --> 00:51:38.680
hearing.

00:51:38.680 --> 00:51:40.680
If faith comes by hearing of the

00:51:40.680 --> 00:51:42.680
past,

00:51:42.680 --> 00:51:44.680
it comes by hearing of the present.

00:51:44.680 --> 00:51:46.680
If faith comes by hearing of the

00:51:46.680 --> 00:51:48.680
past, it comes by hearing of the

00:51:48.680 --> 00:51:50.680
past.

00:51:50.680 --> 00:51:52.680
If faith comes by hearing of the

00:51:52.680 --> 00:51:54.680
past, it comes by hearing of the

00:51:54.680 --> 00:51:56.680
past. If faith comes by hearing of the

00:51:56.680 --> 00:51:58.680
word, then zeal and

00:51:58.680 --> 00:52:00.680
passion also come

00:52:00.680 --> 00:52:02.680
with the hearing of the word because

00:52:02.680 --> 00:52:04.680
it is a word that begins to do something

00:52:04.680 --> 00:52:06.680
inside you. The Spirit of God takes the

00:52:06.680 --> 00:52:08.680
word and begins to stir up something

00:52:08.680 --> 00:52:10.680
within you.

00:52:10.680 --> 00:52:12.680
Throughout the Old Testament and the New

00:52:12.680 --> 00:52:14.680
Testament, the stirring of the Spirit

00:52:14.680 --> 00:52:16.680
came because the word was heard and the

00:52:16.680 --> 00:52:18.680
Spirit began to work inside you.

00:52:18.680 --> 00:52:20.680
Therefore,

00:52:20.680 --> 00:52:22.680
the Spirit of God is able to hear

00:52:22.680 --> 00:52:24.680
how you hear

00:52:24.680 --> 00:52:26.680
and if you can hear

00:52:26.680 --> 00:52:28.680
long.

00:52:28.680 --> 00:52:30.680
Let me write that down.

00:52:30.680 --> 00:52:32.680
You need to figure out

00:52:32.680 --> 00:52:34.680
how you hear

00:52:36.680 --> 00:52:38.680
and if you

00:52:38.680 --> 00:52:40.680
can

00:52:40.680 --> 00:52:42.680
hear

00:52:42.680 --> 00:52:44.680
long.

00:52:44.680 --> 00:52:46.680
How you hear as in,

00:52:46.680 --> 00:52:48.680
am I able to hear the word

00:52:48.680 --> 00:52:50.680
God is bringing so that the Spirit of

00:52:50.680 --> 00:52:52.680
God can take it and stir up a

00:52:52.680 --> 00:52:54.680
passion in me? Because

00:52:54.680 --> 00:52:56.680
throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament,

00:52:56.680 --> 00:52:58.680
either a voice came

00:52:58.680 --> 00:53:00.680
or a teaching was heard or God

00:53:00.680 --> 00:53:02.680
said something through a prophet and

00:53:02.680 --> 00:53:04.680
something began to stir up within the person.

00:53:04.680 --> 00:53:06.680
That's how it always happened in the

00:53:06.680 --> 00:53:08.680
Old Testament and the New Testament.

00:53:08.680 --> 00:53:10.680
So, how

00:53:10.680 --> 00:53:12.680
you hear is

00:53:12.680 --> 00:53:14.680
basically

00:53:14.680 --> 00:53:16.680
jivan may hear

00:53:16.680 --> 00:53:18.680
thirty-fold,

00:53:18.680 --> 00:53:20.680
pavan may hear sixty-fold,

00:53:20.680 --> 00:53:22.680
jon may hear ninety-fold. As in,

00:53:22.680 --> 00:53:24.680
you have the ability to open

00:53:24.680 --> 00:53:26.680
your spirit to hear what the Holy Spirit

00:53:26.680 --> 00:53:28.680
is saying.

00:53:28.680 --> 00:53:30.680
How you hear is important and we hear

00:53:30.680 --> 00:53:32.680
differently guys. Some hear thirty, some hear

00:53:32.680 --> 00:53:34.680
sixty, some hear ninety and accordingly

00:53:34.680 --> 00:53:36.680
you will produce fruit. You will produce

00:53:36.680 --> 00:53:38.680
tons of activity. Tons of activity

00:53:38.680 --> 00:53:40.680
does not mean fruit.

00:53:40.680 --> 00:53:42.680
You and I can work

00:53:42.680 --> 00:53:44.680
the same number of hours

00:53:44.680 --> 00:53:46.680
over a seed in a pot and yours

00:53:46.680 --> 00:53:48.680
will bear fruit, mine will bear

00:53:48.680 --> 00:53:50.680
a pot. That's it. Mine will

00:53:50.680 --> 00:53:52.680
remain a pot.

00:53:52.680 --> 00:53:54.680
Activity does not mean

00:53:54.680 --> 00:53:56.680
fruit.

00:53:56.680 --> 00:53:58.680
So, how you hear is important. Second,

00:53:58.680 --> 00:54:00.680
do you hear long?

00:54:00.680 --> 00:54:02.680
The

00:54:02.680 --> 00:54:04.680
problem,

00:54:04.680 --> 00:54:06.680
these are such precious truths, the problem

00:54:06.680 --> 00:54:08.680
is if you don't hear long,

00:54:08.680 --> 00:54:10.680
you can

00:54:10.680 --> 00:54:12.680
ignite

00:54:12.680 --> 00:54:14.680
passion,

00:54:14.680 --> 00:54:16.680
but you

00:54:16.680 --> 00:54:18.680
cannot

00:54:18.680 --> 00:54:20.680
fuel

00:54:20.680 --> 00:54:22.680
it.

00:54:22.680 --> 00:54:24.680
You start well,

00:54:26.680 --> 00:54:28.680
you do not finish.

00:54:32.680 --> 00:54:34.680
I must use this

00:54:34.680 --> 00:54:36.680
as a measure. Do I have

00:54:36.680 --> 00:54:38.680
the ability to hear long?

00:54:38.680 --> 00:54:40.680
Can I

00:54:40.680 --> 00:54:42.680
stay at it? Can I

00:54:42.680 --> 00:54:44.680
continuously hear?

00:54:44.680 --> 00:54:46.680
Both the Holy Spirit and

00:54:46.680 --> 00:54:48.680
the written word and

00:54:48.680 --> 00:54:50.680
the teaching word right now, can you

00:54:50.680 --> 00:54:52.680
hear long or does your

00:54:52.680 --> 00:54:54.680
mind begin to get

00:54:54.680 --> 00:54:56.680
this bit, get ignited,

00:54:56.680 --> 00:54:58.680
get passionate

00:54:58.680 --> 00:55:00.680
and that's about the end of it.

00:55:00.680 --> 00:55:02.680
I'd like to see

00:55:02.680 --> 00:55:04.680
the fall on the ground against the children.

00:55:04.680 --> 00:55:06.680
Yeah.

00:55:06.680 --> 00:55:08.680
Maturity is

00:55:08.680 --> 00:55:10.680
one of the measures of

00:55:10.680 --> 00:55:12.680
maturity is can you hear long?

00:55:14.680 --> 00:55:16.680
Any questions?

00:55:16.680 --> 00:55:18.680
Any push back?

00:55:20.680 --> 00:55:22.680
Any conviction?

00:55:22.680 --> 00:55:24.680
If you're being convicted, stay silent.

00:55:24.680 --> 00:55:26.680
That's that way I'll feel happy.

00:55:26.680 --> 00:55:28.680
No, I'm just kidding.

00:55:28.680 --> 00:55:30.680
These are such critical

00:55:30.680 --> 00:55:32.680
truths, man.

00:55:32.680 --> 00:55:34.680
I'm so, yeah go ahead.

00:55:34.680 --> 00:55:36.680
So how do you

00:55:36.680 --> 00:55:38.680
hear long? Yeah, great.

00:55:38.680 --> 00:55:40.680
How do you hear long?

00:55:40.680 --> 00:55:42.680
Habit

00:55:42.680 --> 00:55:44.680
forming.

00:55:46.680 --> 00:55:48.680
Seeking

00:55:50.680 --> 00:55:52.680
the voice

00:55:52.680 --> 00:55:54.680
and words.

00:55:54.680 --> 00:55:56.680
Practicing

00:55:58.680 --> 00:56:00.680
in bits.

00:56:02.680 --> 00:56:04.680
Going back

00:56:06.680 --> 00:56:08.680
for fuel.

00:56:10.680 --> 00:56:12.680
Running

00:56:12.680 --> 00:56:14.680
in the steps

00:56:16.680 --> 00:56:18.680
carved by others.

00:56:18.680 --> 00:56:20.680
One, it's habit forming.

00:56:20.680 --> 00:56:22.680
If you do not have the habit

00:56:22.680 --> 00:56:24.680
of hearing long,

00:56:24.680 --> 00:56:26.680
bits.

00:56:26.680 --> 00:56:28.680
As in whatever I now

00:56:28.680 --> 00:56:30.680
hear I have to put into practice.

00:56:30.680 --> 00:56:32.680
Otherwise I'm like a man who looks

00:56:32.680 --> 00:56:34.680
into a mirror and forgets what he looks

00:56:34.680 --> 00:56:36.680
like. One who looks into the world and does

00:56:36.680 --> 00:56:38.680
not practice it. So that's the practicing

00:56:38.680 --> 00:56:40.680
bits. Habit forming is hearing long

00:56:40.680 --> 00:56:42.680
as in do I have the habit

00:56:42.680 --> 00:56:44.680
of hearing long?

00:56:44.680 --> 00:56:46.680
I have to put into practice.

00:56:46.680 --> 00:56:48.680
So hearing long as in do I have the habit

00:56:48.680 --> 00:56:50.680
of sitting under the

00:56:50.680 --> 00:56:52.680
word, reading the word?

00:56:52.680 --> 00:56:54.680
Do I have the habit of it? If you don't

00:56:54.680 --> 00:56:56.680
cultivate the habit of it, you may be

00:56:56.680 --> 00:56:58.680
gifted but that's about it.

00:57:00.680 --> 00:57:02.680
It pains me to see giants

00:57:02.680 --> 00:57:04.680
in the making who

00:57:04.680 --> 00:57:06.680
end up stunted in their growth

00:57:06.680 --> 00:57:08.680
because they will not

00:57:08.680 --> 00:57:10.680
cultivate the habit

00:57:10.680 --> 00:57:12.680
of hearing long, reading

00:57:12.680 --> 00:57:14.680
long, studying long,

00:57:14.680 --> 00:57:16.680
meditating long.

00:57:22.680 --> 00:57:24.680
Second one is seeking the voice and the word.

00:57:24.680 --> 00:57:26.680
Seek comes out of desperation

00:57:26.680 --> 00:57:28.680
or hunger.

00:57:28.680 --> 00:57:30.680
Seek doesn't come out of hide and seek.

00:57:30.680 --> 00:57:32.680
Hide and seek is a nice game.

00:57:32.680 --> 00:57:34.680
Seeking comes out of desperation.

00:57:34.680 --> 00:57:36.680
Either you're desperate

00:57:36.680 --> 00:57:38.680
because

00:57:38.680 --> 00:57:40.680
it's like a treasure

00:57:40.680 --> 00:57:42.680
or you're hungry.

00:57:42.680 --> 00:57:44.680
It's like you will die.

00:57:44.680 --> 00:57:46.680
One or the other.

00:57:48.680 --> 00:57:50.680
Third, practicing it in bits.

00:57:50.680 --> 00:57:52.680
Otherwise I'll forget.

00:57:52.680 --> 00:57:54.680
Fourth, going back for fuel.

00:57:54.680 --> 00:57:56.680
Father, I've come to this

00:57:56.680 --> 00:57:58.680
place where I feel like Elijah.

00:57:58.680 --> 00:58:00.680
I've got no more strength. Alright?

00:58:00.680 --> 00:58:02.680
Just wait there. I'm sending an angel.

00:58:02.680 --> 00:58:04.680
He'll give you a bit of mana. You'll get fueled again.

00:58:04.680 --> 00:58:06.680
Man, Jacob was

00:58:06.680 --> 00:58:08.680
almost exhausted. Hadn't

00:58:08.680 --> 00:58:10.680
any idea that his son was alive.

00:58:10.680 --> 00:58:12.680
The brothers come back and they say,

00:58:12.680 --> 00:58:14.680
Jacob, your son is alive. The guy won't believe it.

00:58:14.680 --> 00:58:16.680
And then Joseph sends the wagons.

00:58:16.680 --> 00:58:18.680
And when Joseph sends the wagons, Jacob saw

00:58:18.680 --> 00:58:20.680
the wagons and his heart was refreshed.

00:58:20.680 --> 00:58:22.680
Fist size

00:58:22.680 --> 00:58:24.680
token of

00:58:24.680 --> 00:58:26.680
a cloud in the sky. These are the things

00:58:26.680 --> 00:58:28.680
that fuel you.

00:58:30.680 --> 00:58:32.680
You keep going back to a sign,

00:58:32.680 --> 00:58:34.680
a prophecy, a word, a teaching.

00:58:34.680 --> 00:58:36.680
But if I do not

00:58:36.680 --> 00:58:38.680
cultivate hearing, Jesus had to say

00:58:38.680 --> 00:58:40.680
it this way,

00:58:40.680 --> 00:58:42.680
be careful of how you hear.

00:58:44.680 --> 00:58:46.680
How you hear.

00:58:48.680 --> 00:58:50.680
I cannot hear

00:58:50.680 --> 00:58:52.680
what I want. I must hear what is spoken.

00:58:54.680 --> 00:58:56.680
You don't

00:58:56.680 --> 00:58:58.680
know the agony in me right now.

00:58:58.680 --> 00:59:00.680
You cannot hear what you want.

00:59:00.680 --> 00:59:02.680
You must hear what is spoken.

00:59:02.680 --> 00:59:04.680
Otherwise, guys, here's the problem

00:59:04.680 --> 00:59:06.680
with being at Acts 29.

00:59:06.680 --> 00:59:08.680
That

00:59:08.680 --> 00:59:10.680
if you don't cultivate

00:59:10.680 --> 00:59:12.680
this habit, you will

00:59:12.680 --> 00:59:14.680
be called to account.

00:59:16.680 --> 00:59:18.680
Not by me.

00:59:22.680 --> 00:59:24.680
Because to whom much is given,

00:59:26.680 --> 00:59:28.680
much is expected.

00:59:28.680 --> 00:59:30.680
And if you are not able to,

00:59:30.680 --> 00:59:32.680
then what you have will also be taken

00:59:32.680 --> 00:59:34.680
away. Jesus's

00:59:34.680 --> 00:59:36.680
commandments.

00:59:38.680 --> 00:59:40.680
And the first person that will be measured

00:59:40.680 --> 00:59:42.680
like this and cannot afford to come short

00:59:42.680 --> 00:59:44.680
is me, because it will start

00:59:44.680 --> 00:59:46.680
with me.

00:59:46.680 --> 00:59:48.680
Teachers, be careful

00:59:48.680 --> 00:59:50.680
that what you teach is how you live

00:59:50.680 --> 00:59:52.680
because you will be held to a higher

00:59:52.680 --> 00:59:54.680
standard.

00:59:54.680 --> 00:59:56.680
Everything I say, I'm setting

00:59:56.680 --> 00:59:58.680
myself up to be measured by it.

01:00:00.680 --> 01:00:02.680
I beg you,

01:00:04.680 --> 01:00:06.680
please.

01:00:10.680 --> 01:00:12.680
Going back for fuel, and then the other one is

01:00:12.680 --> 01:00:14.680
running in the steps carved.

01:00:14.680 --> 01:00:16.680
Like T.J. was saying, follow the car

01:00:16.680 --> 01:00:18.680
in front of you. They've beaten the

01:00:18.680 --> 01:00:20.680
snow down. Just follow that track.

01:00:20.680 --> 01:00:22.680
It becomes much easier.

01:00:22.680 --> 01:00:24.680
They were sent so that they could be four

01:00:24.680 --> 01:00:26.680
runners who could create a pathway for you.

01:00:28.680 --> 01:00:30.680
So intentionally

01:00:30.680 --> 01:00:32.680
remain in the center of God's

01:00:32.680 --> 01:00:34.680
path.

01:00:34.680 --> 01:00:36.680
And then you can finish in about six minutes.

01:00:38.680 --> 01:00:40.680
Draw on the Spirit, eh?

01:00:40.680 --> 01:00:42.680
Draw on the Spirit.

01:00:42.680 --> 01:00:44.680
When I say draw on the Spirit,

01:00:44.680 --> 01:00:46.680
what I mean is, oh no, no, I don't have to

01:00:46.680 --> 01:00:48.680
finish in six minutes. We started at 11.

01:00:50.680 --> 01:00:52.680
Sorry, my bad, guys.

01:00:52.680 --> 01:00:54.680
Don't want to rob you of precious time

01:00:54.680 --> 01:00:56.680
spent in the world.

01:00:56.680 --> 01:00:58.680
Draw on the Spirit.

01:01:00.680 --> 01:01:02.680
Draw on the Spirit.

01:01:02.680 --> 01:01:04.680
Why? Because God has given us

01:01:04.680 --> 01:01:06.680
the Spirit of love,

01:01:06.680 --> 01:01:08.680
of power,

01:01:08.680 --> 01:01:10.680
of a sound mind.

01:01:10.680 --> 01:01:12.680
And so draw on the Spirit

01:01:12.680 --> 01:01:14.680
as in Spirit of God,

01:01:14.680 --> 01:01:16.680
you and I have become one.

01:01:16.680 --> 01:01:18.680
Can I now please have

01:01:18.680 --> 01:01:20.680
that oneness become

01:01:20.680 --> 01:01:22.680
more important than the fears of

01:01:22.680 --> 01:01:24.680
my soul?

01:01:24.680 --> 01:01:26.680
2 Timothy 1.7, God has not given us

01:01:26.680 --> 01:01:28.680
the Spirit of fear

01:01:28.680 --> 01:01:30.680
or timidity, but a Spirit

01:01:30.680 --> 01:01:32.680
of love, power, and a sound mind.

01:01:34.680 --> 01:01:36.680
Introverted doesn't mean timidity.

01:01:36.680 --> 01:01:38.680
You can be introverted.

01:01:38.680 --> 01:01:40.680
That's okay. Some of us aren't

01:01:40.680 --> 01:01:42.680
extroverted and that is personality.

01:01:42.680 --> 01:01:44.680
But when personality takes on,

01:01:44.680 --> 01:01:46.680
when introversion takes on timidity,

01:01:46.680 --> 01:01:48.680
then now we are not operating.

01:01:48.680 --> 01:01:50.680
2 Timothy 1.7,

01:01:50.680 --> 01:01:52.680
then we are not operating the way we need to.

01:01:54.680 --> 01:01:56.680
God has not given me a Spirit of fear,

01:01:56.680 --> 01:01:58.680
but a Spirit of love, power, and a sound mind.

01:01:58.680 --> 01:02:00.680
Why is it that I am still

01:02:00.680 --> 01:02:02.680
afraid? It is because my

01:02:02.680 --> 01:02:04.680
soul begins to reign over my spirit.

01:02:04.680 --> 01:02:06.680
So I must draw on the Spirit

01:02:06.680 --> 01:02:08.680
because His Spirit and my Spirit

01:02:08.680 --> 01:02:10.680
have become one.

01:02:10.680 --> 01:02:12.680
And in actual reality and truth,

01:02:12.680 --> 01:02:14.680
my spirit is not afraid.

01:02:14.680 --> 01:02:16.680
It is full of power,

01:02:16.680 --> 01:02:18.680
full of love as in ability to love

01:02:18.680 --> 01:02:20.680
in all circumstances, and full of

01:02:20.680 --> 01:02:22.680
a sound mind as in sufficient

01:02:22.680 --> 01:02:24.680
clarity. But

01:02:24.680 --> 01:02:26.680
my soul begins to get

01:02:26.680 --> 01:02:28.680
so afraid.

01:02:28.680 --> 01:02:30.680
Draw on the Spirit.

01:02:30.680 --> 01:02:32.680
Your mind is renewed

01:02:32.680 --> 01:02:34.680
by the Word of God and the drawing

01:02:34.680 --> 01:02:36.680
on the nature of the Spirit of God in you,

01:02:36.680 --> 01:02:38.680
which is your true nature.

01:02:42.680 --> 01:02:44.680
This is what I mean by we have to

01:02:44.680 --> 01:02:46.680
practice these things in bits.

01:02:46.680 --> 01:02:48.680
One of the coolest ways to be bold,

01:02:48.680 --> 01:02:50.680
and this is perhaps

01:02:50.680 --> 01:02:52.680
the most powerful way I find,

01:02:52.680 --> 01:02:54.680
is that you can be bold

01:02:54.680 --> 01:02:56.680
if you received your commission from God.

01:03:02.680 --> 01:03:04.680
If you received

01:03:04.680 --> 01:03:06.680
your commission

01:03:08.680 --> 01:03:10.680
from God.

01:03:10.680 --> 01:03:12.680
From God.

01:03:16.680 --> 01:03:18.680
As in if God says,

01:03:18.680 --> 01:03:20.680
I go before you, and I will drive them out,

01:03:20.680 --> 01:03:22.680
and I will be with you, even though you go

01:03:22.680 --> 01:03:24.680
against fortified cities,

01:03:24.680 --> 01:03:26.680
and even though there are

01:03:26.680 --> 01:03:28.680
fears, giants,

01:03:28.680 --> 01:03:30.680
and resistance, I go with you.

01:03:30.680 --> 01:03:32.680
I will drive them out.

01:03:32.680 --> 01:03:34.680
I'll be like a hornet's nest against them.

01:03:34.680 --> 01:03:36.680
Once you receive a commission from God,

01:03:36.680 --> 01:03:38.680
you can take on a strength

01:03:38.680 --> 01:03:40.680
boldness.

01:03:40.680 --> 01:03:42.680
This is why it's so critical that anything

01:03:42.680 --> 01:03:44.680
we do, individually or corporately,

01:03:44.680 --> 01:03:46.680
that if you know God said it,

01:03:46.680 --> 01:03:48.680
then you can go about it boldly,

01:03:48.680 --> 01:03:50.680
even if it means you die in the process.

01:03:50.680 --> 01:03:52.680
Because you know who's backing you.

01:04:00.680 --> 01:04:02.680
This then allows you to go into any nation

01:04:02.680 --> 01:04:04.680
into any country,

01:04:04.680 --> 01:04:06.680
and you can go to any country

01:04:06.680 --> 01:04:08.680
This then allows you to go into any nation,

01:04:08.680 --> 01:04:10.680
into any situation, because a commission

01:04:10.680 --> 01:04:12.680
is from the ruler of heaven and earth.

01:04:14.680 --> 01:04:16.680
Then if you die, you're dying for

01:04:16.680 --> 01:04:18.680
a greater cause.

01:04:18.680 --> 01:04:20.680
It's okay.

01:04:28.680 --> 01:04:30.680
And the early church was marked

01:04:30.680 --> 01:04:32.680
by this, eh? In Acts

01:04:32.680 --> 01:04:34.680
Chapter 1, 8, you shall have power

01:04:34.680 --> 01:04:36.680
to witness in every part of the world.

01:04:36.680 --> 01:04:38.680
In Acts Chapter 4, 31, they prayed

01:04:38.680 --> 01:04:40.680
saying, give us boldness, and the whole place shook.

01:04:40.680 --> 01:04:42.680
Hebrews 13, Verse 6,

01:04:42.680 --> 01:04:44.680
The Lord is my helper, why should I be

01:04:44.680 --> 01:04:46.680
afraid of man?

01:04:46.680 --> 01:04:48.680
2 Corinthians 3, 17, where the spirit of God

01:04:48.680 --> 01:04:50.680
is, there is liberty, both from the

01:04:50.680 --> 01:04:52.680
legal requirements

01:04:52.680 --> 01:04:54.680
of the law, and there is freedom

01:04:54.680 --> 01:04:56.680
that the Holy Spirit brings. Romans 8, 35,

01:04:56.680 --> 01:04:58.680
What can separate us from the love

01:04:58.680 --> 01:05:00.680
of God? Can this and that

01:05:00.680 --> 01:05:02.680
and the other, but in all things we are conquerors

01:05:02.680 --> 01:05:04.680
through Christ.

01:05:04.680 --> 01:05:06.680
The early church had these

01:05:06.680 --> 01:05:08.680
ways of functioning.

01:05:10.680 --> 01:05:12.680
So, here's

01:05:12.680 --> 01:05:14.680
how we're going to end.

01:05:14.680 --> 01:05:16.680
I'm going to read Acts 4,

01:05:16.680 --> 01:05:18.680
Verse 29,

01:05:18.680 --> 01:05:20.680
and then I'm going to ask maybe

01:05:24.680 --> 01:05:26.680
Jillian and Sue

01:05:26.680 --> 01:05:28.680
and

01:05:28.680 --> 01:05:30.680
Jeevan and May and Betty to come up

01:05:30.680 --> 01:05:32.680
and just pray

01:05:32.680 --> 01:05:34.680
for a boldness

01:05:34.680 --> 01:05:36.680
and a zeal and a passion to

01:05:36.680 --> 01:05:38.680
descend on us. And then we'll

01:05:38.680 --> 01:05:40.680
sing something if need be.

01:05:40.680 --> 01:05:42.680
Yeah? So let me read

01:05:42.680 --> 01:05:44.680
Acts Chapter 4, Verse 29.

01:05:44.680 --> 01:05:46.680
Guys, remember,

01:05:46.680 --> 01:05:48.680
eh, sometimes we need to

01:05:48.680 --> 01:05:50.680
wait on the Lord.

01:05:50.680 --> 01:05:52.680
This is not connected

01:05:52.680 --> 01:05:54.680
to this, but prayer

01:05:54.680 --> 01:05:56.680
should become conversations.

01:05:56.680 --> 01:05:58.680
Prayer should become

01:05:58.680 --> 01:06:00.680
conversations

01:06:00.680 --> 01:06:02.680
and continuous unceasing

01:06:02.680 --> 01:06:04.680
conversations.

01:06:04.680 --> 01:06:06.680
So that's one side of prayer. The other side of

01:06:06.680 --> 01:06:08.680
prayer is waiting on the Lord

01:06:08.680 --> 01:06:10.680
as in being persistent in conversation,

01:06:10.680 --> 01:06:12.680
not in a harassing kind of

01:06:12.680 --> 01:06:14.680
way, but in a desperate

01:06:14.680 --> 01:06:16.680
kind of way.

01:06:16.680 --> 01:06:18.680
And there's an excerpt in Psalm 27,

01:06:18.680 --> 01:06:20.680
Verse 4, which says, wait on the Lord

01:06:20.680 --> 01:06:22.680
and be patient

01:06:22.680 --> 01:06:24.680
and He will strengthen your heart.

01:06:24.680 --> 01:06:26.680
Sometimes the waiting on the Lord is

01:06:26.680 --> 01:06:28.680
not because He's reluctant to give,

01:06:28.680 --> 01:06:30.680
but because what He gives

01:06:30.680 --> 01:06:32.680
needs to trickle down.

01:06:34.680 --> 01:06:36.680
That is why

01:06:36.680 --> 01:06:38.680
waiting on the Lord is

01:06:38.680 --> 01:06:40.680
allowing what He's pouring

01:06:40.680 --> 01:06:42.680
to flow down from the head

01:06:42.680 --> 01:06:44.680
to the beard, to the robes, to the rest

01:06:44.680 --> 01:06:46.680
of you. And very

01:06:46.680 --> 01:06:48.680
often we wait

01:06:48.680 --> 01:06:50.680
on the Lord and it hits our forehead

01:06:50.680 --> 01:06:52.680
and you know there's oil on your forehead

01:06:52.680 --> 01:06:54.680
and you get up and run, and then

01:06:54.680 --> 01:06:56.680
you find out that it did not trickle

01:06:56.680 --> 01:06:58.680
all the way down to the heart

01:06:58.680 --> 01:07:00.680
or the feet. And so at some

01:07:00.680 --> 01:07:02.680
point you realize what you have

01:07:02.680 --> 01:07:04.680
you don't fully grasp.

01:07:04.680 --> 01:07:06.680
And so waiting

01:07:06.680 --> 01:07:08.680
on the Lord is not, oh God, please

01:07:08.680 --> 01:07:10.680
give, please give, come on Lord,

01:07:10.680 --> 01:07:12.680
give, no. Waiting on the Lord is, Father,

01:07:12.680 --> 01:07:14.680
I'm just going to have this continuous

01:07:14.680 --> 01:07:16.680
conversation with you about this so

01:07:16.680 --> 01:07:18.680
that you can talk back to me so I can understand

01:07:18.680 --> 01:07:20.680
it and you can understand it.

01:07:20.680 --> 01:07:22.680
I mean, whenever I have any questions about

01:07:22.680 --> 01:07:24.680
COVID or the

01:07:24.680 --> 01:07:26.680
SARS, the virus and all

01:07:26.680 --> 01:07:28.680
this stuff, I usually,

01:07:28.680 --> 01:07:30.680
even though I'm meeting them for completely different

01:07:30.680 --> 01:07:32.680
reasons, I'll ask Manoj and Prashant

01:07:32.680 --> 01:07:34.680
questions. And they explain it

01:07:34.680 --> 01:07:36.680
in simple terms. And I actually make notes.

01:07:38.680 --> 01:07:40.680
Why? Because if I wait

01:07:40.680 --> 01:07:42.680
on asking them to understand it,

01:07:42.680 --> 01:07:44.680
I'll get an actual picture of what is

01:07:44.680 --> 01:07:46.680
happening. You can ask them.

01:07:46.680 --> 01:07:48.680
Last time I met Prashant at Denny's,

01:07:48.680 --> 01:07:50.680
I'm asking him to, and he's pulling out diagrams

01:07:50.680 --> 01:07:52.680
and showing me. Thank God, I

01:07:52.680 --> 01:07:54.680
am an amazing

01:07:54.680 --> 01:07:56.680
graduate of zoology

01:07:56.680 --> 01:07:58.680
before I decided to change track.

01:07:58.680 --> 01:08:00.680
But the point being this,

01:08:00.680 --> 01:08:02.680
that sometimes waiting is

01:08:02.680 --> 01:08:04.680
simply having a persistent

01:08:04.680 --> 01:08:06.680
conversation about the same topic

01:08:06.680 --> 01:08:08.680
with someone till it gets

01:08:08.680 --> 01:08:10.680
down to your head, your heart and your feet.

01:08:10.680 --> 01:08:12.680
If your head and heart and feet

01:08:12.680 --> 01:08:14.680
and hands are affected, you're ready.

01:08:14.680 --> 01:08:16.680
But most of us have

01:08:16.680 --> 01:08:18.680
conversations with God that affects the head.

01:08:18.680 --> 01:08:20.680
But we do not allow it to go further.

01:08:20.680 --> 01:08:22.680
Therefore, we lose out on it quickly.

01:08:24.680 --> 01:08:26.680
But I really believe prayer must become

01:08:26.680 --> 01:08:28.680
conversation.

01:08:32.680 --> 01:08:34.680
I'm beginning to find prayer that's not conversation

01:08:34.680 --> 01:08:36.680
tedious.

01:08:36.680 --> 01:08:38.680
It has to have promises

01:08:38.680 --> 01:08:40.680
and the word has to be full of faith,

01:08:40.680 --> 01:08:42.680
has to be serious. What if it's

01:08:42.680 --> 01:08:44.680
a conversation? How do kids

01:08:44.680 --> 01:08:46.680
learn? Through conversations.

01:08:48.680 --> 01:08:50.680
Questions.

01:08:52.680 --> 01:08:54.680
Teaching was never like this.

01:08:54.680 --> 01:08:56.680
Teaching was always questions

01:08:56.680 --> 01:08:58.680
and answers.

01:09:02.680 --> 01:09:04.680
So, here's a scripture

01:09:04.680 --> 01:09:06.680
and then I'll ask the five that I mentioned

01:09:06.680 --> 01:09:08.680
to come up and pray.

01:09:08.680 --> 01:09:10.680
Acts 429, I think.

01:09:12.680 --> 01:09:14.680
And this is what they can

01:09:14.680 --> 01:09:16.680
pray down however they want to

01:09:16.680 --> 01:09:18.680
for us as a people.

01:09:18.680 --> 01:09:20.680
Hearing the report, they lifted

01:09:20.680 --> 01:09:22.680
their voices in a wonderful harmony

01:09:22.680 --> 01:09:24.680
in prayer.

01:09:24.680 --> 01:09:26.680
Strong God,

01:09:26.680 --> 01:09:28.680
what report? The report that

01:09:28.680 --> 01:09:30.680
people were out to get them,

01:09:30.680 --> 01:09:32.680
to persecute them. There were threats.

01:09:32.680 --> 01:09:34.680
Hearing the threats in the report,

01:09:34.680 --> 01:09:36.680
they lifted their voices in a wonderful

01:09:36.680 --> 01:09:38.680
harmony

01:09:38.680 --> 01:09:40.680
in prayer. Strong God,

01:09:40.680 --> 01:09:42.680
you made heaven and earth

01:09:42.680 --> 01:09:44.680
and sea

01:09:44.680 --> 01:09:46.680
and everything in them.

01:09:46.680 --> 01:09:48.680
Give your servants fearless confidence

01:09:48.680 --> 01:09:50.680
in preaching

01:09:50.680 --> 01:09:52.680
your message as you stretch out

01:09:52.680 --> 01:09:54.680
your hand to us in healings

01:09:54.680 --> 01:09:56.680
and miracles and wonders

01:09:56.680 --> 01:09:58.680
done in the name of your holy servant

01:09:58.680 --> 01:10:00.680
Jesus. Ask God for zeal.

01:10:00.680 --> 01:10:02.680
Go back to Isaiah 59, 15-17.

01:10:02.680 --> 01:10:04.680
It appalled

01:10:04.680 --> 01:10:06.680
God that there was nobody. Appalled

01:10:06.680 --> 01:10:08.680
him. He expected to

01:10:08.680 --> 01:10:10.680
find someone. May he not be

01:10:10.680 --> 01:10:12.680
appalled that Acts 429 wasn't there.

01:10:12.680 --> 01:10:14.680
So if you can come up, grab a mic

01:10:14.680 --> 01:10:16.680
and start speaking. Then we'll see

01:10:16.680 --> 01:10:18.680
if you need to sing, otherwise we'll end with that.

01:10:20.680 --> 01:10:22.680
Yalla, yalla!