WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Dwelling in the Secret Place - Shadowing the Almighty Publishing Date: 2024-04-21T06:00:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/dwelling-in-the-secret-place-shadowing-the-almighty/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.040 All right. Good afternoon, friends. You know, today I'm going to be teaching, and it will 00:00:22.040 --> 00:00:29.040 be Dwelling in the Secret Place, Shadowing the Almighty. If you want a title for today, 00:00:29.040 --> 00:00:37.680 I have entitled as Dwelling in the Secret Place, Shadowing the Almighty. My wife often 00:00:37.680 --> 00:00:46.080 reminds me that every time I start teaching, I do a one-day seminar mode. So I hope I will 00:00:46.080 --> 00:00:56.120 not do that today, or we never know. Yeah. So, you know, today's teaching, Dwelling in 00:00:56.120 --> 00:01:01.680 the Secret Place, Shadowing the Almighty. If you read John chapter 6, John chapter 00:01:01.680 --> 00:01:08.520 6 is when we read about Jesus, the feeding of the 5,000, right? And as you read that 00:01:08.520 --> 00:01:14.800 story, after Jesus fed the 5,000, the next day he went to the other side of the shore. 00:01:14.800 --> 00:01:21.120 And the crowd continued to flock Jesus, and so they came seeking for Jesus, and then they 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:27.200 on the other side of the shore. And that was the occasion when Jesus makes something very 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:32.720 blunt, right? He said, you guys are seeking me not because you have seen the miracles 00:01:32.720 --> 00:01:37.660 and you're beginning to put your faith in me, but because you ate the loaves and had 00:01:37.660 --> 00:01:45.760 your fill, and that's the reason why you are seeking me, right? And he said, your ancestors 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:50.760 have had the manna, you know, the bread, and they all died. But he said, I am the bread 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:58.480 of life, and he who eats of me will live forever. Such a controversial statement that he made, 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:06.640 right? He said, I am the bread of life, and as in life derives from me, yeah? You know, 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:11.320 there are things which are temporary, but the thing that I give is eternal, and I am 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:16.600 the bread of life, and I am that person, yeah? Such a very controversial statement. And that 00:02:16.600 --> 00:02:22.440 unsettled the people, yeah? Like, you know, the people said, isn't he the son of Joseph 00:02:22.440 --> 00:02:29.440 and Mary? And isn't he the guy that we know? And it was blasphemous, yeah? Saying that 00:02:32.740 --> 00:02:38.480 he is the Messiah. And some people said, this is a very hard teaching, we cannot accept. 00:02:38.480 --> 00:02:45.480 Some people found this offensive, yeah? And it was on this occasion when many of his disciples 00:02:49.760 --> 00:02:56.760 decided to stop following Jesus, yeah? It wasn't an easy route that Jesus took. He said, 00:02:58.520 --> 00:03:04.240 I am the bread of life, and that separated the true followers and the people who are 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:12.120 just flocking him for different reasons. Such a blunt statement. And then, at that occasion, 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:18.400 Jesus turns to his disciples, and he said, are you guys going to leave me as well? And 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:25.400 that was the moment when Peter said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of 00:03:25.400 --> 00:03:32.400 eternal life, yeah? And then, mark his words, we have come to believe and to know that you 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:40.400 are the holy one of God. These are the words of Peter, right? Simon Peter. He is the guy 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:47.400 who acknowledged Christ as the Messiah. He is the one who saw Jesus Christ more than 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:54.400 just a man from Nazarene. Peter saw Christ. Jesus Christ, not as a mere human being, but 00:03:55.400 --> 00:04:02.400 he knew that Jesus had the words of eternal life. And he said, we have come to believe 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:08.400 and we have come to know that you are the one, the holy one of God. And this is the 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:13.400 same guy, even after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, this is the same guy, Simon 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:19.400 Peter, who stood on the day of Pentecost, and he preached the gospel. And that's when 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:25.800 the Holy Spirit swept across the room and it resulted in the birthing of the churches, 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:32.800 right? And one chapter later, Acts chapter 3, he's found again with John. And then, you 00:04:33.320 --> 00:04:40.080 know, they were going through Solomon's portico, which is also called the beautiful gate. And 00:04:40.080 --> 00:04:46.800 there was a lame beggar there and expecting some money from Peter and John. And then, 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:52.480 you know what? Peter said, look straight in the eye and said, gold and silver I have 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:59.480 none. And he said, what I have, I give you. What I have, I give you. And he said, rise 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:10.040 up in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up. That's something Peter has, right? And if you continue 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:16.720 to track the life of Peter, it's fascinating, yeah? And that's chapter 3, Acts chapter 3. 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:23.040 Two chapters later in Acts chapter 5, here's the same guy. They were doing so many wonders 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:28.000 and signs and wonders. And then now, you know, they begin to bring the sick people in on 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:35.000 their mats and on their beds so that Peter's shadow might fall on these guys. Crazy stuff, 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:41.480 right? This is not Jesus. Here we're not talking about Jesus. Here we're talking about Peter, 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:47.280 someone who had followed Christ. And now, whose shadows, like, I mean, Peter's shadow 00:05:47.280 --> 00:05:54.280 that falls on these sick guys, they're getting healed. And this is after Christ had resurrected. 00:05:57.540 --> 00:06:04.540 Crazy stuff. And so, if you and I think about a shadow healing people, this is not the shadow 00:06:05.540 --> 00:06:12.540 of Peter. It cannot be. It is the shadow of the Almighty, the shadow of the Shaddai, yeah? 00:06:13.940 --> 00:06:20.940 The mighty one. And this is the story of, you know, Peter. He continued to cling on 00:06:21.620 --> 00:06:28.620 to Jesus no matter what. He saw that in Jesus there is eternal life, and he wouldn't let 00:06:29.460 --> 00:06:36.460 that go. It's breathtaking, guys. And so, this guy, you know, Peter is someone who decided 00:06:39.700 --> 00:06:46.700 to cling on to Jesus no matter what. And you know what? The life, the manifestation, the 00:06:46.700 --> 00:06:52.700 power and the manifestation that came through Peter was the shadow of Christ, the healing 00:06:52.700 --> 00:06:59.700 of Christ, the anointing of Christ. Everything reflected Christ. Mighty, mighty glory of 00:07:02.540 --> 00:07:09.540 power of God displayed through the life of Peter. And so, this teaching comes from Psalm 00:07:10.780 --> 00:07:17.180 91, the idea of Psalm 91 verse 1 where it says, He who dwells in the shelter of the 00:07:17.180 --> 00:07:23.580 most high shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty, yeah? Most versions say, He who 00:07:23.580 --> 00:07:28.380 dwells in the shelter of the most high. And I love the King James Version where it says, 00:07:28.380 --> 00:07:35.380 He who dwells in the secret place of the most high, yeah? I love the word secret place. 00:07:36.220 --> 00:07:43.220 He who dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 00:07:43.620 --> 00:07:50.620 And so, my statement is, what you dwell on, you shadow that. You know, as in, you shadow 00:07:56.100 --> 00:08:03.100 what you dwell on. Like, the thing that you're feeding on, the habits or the practices, the 00:08:03.100 --> 00:08:10.100 lifestyle that you have learned to cultivate and develop, those things will manifest in 00:08:13.780 --> 00:08:20.780 your life. And that is true for everybody. And so, what we are dwelling on is quite important, 00:08:24.860 --> 00:08:31.860 right? To dwell is not just to visit. To dwell is to live, to recite, and to live out of 00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:39.220 that, to live from that. It is something continuing. It is not a one-time thing, right? To dwell 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:46.220 is where it has become your habitat. It has become your lifestyle, where the very life 00:08:46.580 --> 00:08:53.580 that you are drawing from is where you dwell. And so, this idea of dwelling in the secret 00:08:53.580 --> 00:09:00.580 place, what is this secret place? Yeah? Secret place is not so much of a particular location 00:09:03.060 --> 00:09:09.580 because God can meet you where you are. So, it is more about, the secret place is more 00:09:09.580 --> 00:09:16.580 about a position where you are able to locate God, a position where you are able to find 00:09:16.580 --> 00:09:23.580 God, where there is encounter, where a divine and human meets. Yeah? That's a secret place. 00:09:29.700 --> 00:09:36.700 A secret place is where there is encounter between God and man, where there is manifestation, 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:43.820 where there is conversation, where there is revelation, where there is wrestling, where 00:09:43.980 --> 00:09:50.980 blueprint is received, right? That is what the secret place is about. Yeah? It is where 00:09:51.180 --> 00:09:56.340 God is. It is, so it can be in your wardrobe, it can be in your bedroom, it can be in your 00:09:56.340 --> 00:10:02.500 study room, it doesn't matter, but it is a location where you and I are able to locate 00:10:02.500 --> 00:10:07.540 God and encounter God. That is the secret place, right? So, you know, instead of explaining 00:10:07.540 --> 00:10:14.540 that again, I'm going to use that word, secret place, as we go on. Yeah? For Moses, two of 00:10:15.820 --> 00:10:22.820 his favorite places, where one is the tent of meeting and the other is Mount Sinai. Yeah? 00:10:23.060 --> 00:10:28.460 Every time he ascends Mount Sinai, that is where he removes his sandals, you know, before 00:10:28.460 --> 00:10:33.780 the holy God. That is where he received the Ten Commandments. Yeah? And every time he 00:10:33.820 --> 00:10:38.580 descends from the mountain and descend into the valley, I mean, ascend the mountain and 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:43.780 descend into the valley, that is where the glory of God would radiate through Moses. 00:10:43.780 --> 00:10:49.620 Yeah? We find that in Exodus 34. And every time he enters the tent and come out, his 00:10:49.620 --> 00:10:55.180 face would be radiant and he would put a veil. And people cannot look in the eye because 00:10:55.180 --> 00:11:02.180 the glory of God was manifesting in and through Moses. Yeah? It's fascinating, friends. 00:11:03.020 --> 00:11:10.020 And I would say that the power and the level of authority, the power and the level of authority 00:11:11.620 --> 00:11:18.620 at which Moses operated in the public, yeah? The level and the power of authority at which 00:11:18.620 --> 00:11:25.620 Moses operated in the public is the outflow of his personal dwelling in the secret place. 00:11:25.620 --> 00:11:32.620 That's the secret. Because every time he would pitch a tent outside the camp and then 00:11:36.220 --> 00:11:40.660 the pillar of God would come in a pillar of cloud and he would talk face to face with 00:11:40.660 --> 00:11:47.420 God. No other prophets enjoyed like Moses enjoyed. Yeah? That is his secret place. That 00:11:47.420 --> 00:11:53.540 is where revelations were received. And every time he ascends the holy mountain of the Lord, 00:11:53.540 --> 00:11:58.000 that is where he will receive the Ten Commandments. That is where he will get the strategies. 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:04.340 That is where he will get the blueprint to go and engage in the valley again. What's 00:12:04.340 --> 00:12:11.340 your secret place? Do you practice secret place? This is not just for pastors. This 00:12:13.700 --> 00:12:20.100 is for everybody. Everybody. If you are a believer, if you don't know how to locate 00:12:20.100 --> 00:12:25.740 God, if you don't have a dwelling place where just you and God encounters, something is 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:32.740 wrong. You cannot rely on your pastors. You cannot rely on people alone. This is why Jesus 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:42.380 longs to have a relationship with the body, yet Jesus also longs for a personal one on 00:12:42.380 --> 00:12:47.820 one relationship. This is why Christianity is different from any other religion. Yeah? 00:12:47.820 --> 00:12:54.820 Any other religion. God wants to have a personal relationship with X29 as a family of God. 00:12:55.020 --> 00:13:02.020 True. But God also longs for a one on one relationship with Josh, with Guy. God longs 00:13:02.660 --> 00:13:09.660 for that. And so, you know, today we have a subject and a predicate here. The subject 00:13:09.780 --> 00:13:16.080 is one who dwells in the secret place of the Most High. That's the subject, right? One 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:23.240 who is able to dwell in the secret place. The predicate is they will shadow the Almighty. 00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:30.240 So, one of the reasons why many do not shadow the Almighty, and as in one we are not able 00:13:33.760 --> 00:13:40.760 to display the presence, the power, the majesty, the goodness, the healing of God is because 00:13:41.760 --> 00:13:48.760 we have not learned how to dwell in the secret place. We visit there occasionally. And so 00:13:49.760 --> 00:13:56.760 the manifestation is occasional. Yeah. But we got to learn how to make this a lifestyle. 00:13:59.760 --> 00:14:05.760 The, you know, learning to dwell in the secret place, as in learning to abide in the presence 00:14:05.920 --> 00:14:12.920 of God 24-7. And many have not learned, and because the consequence is that many have 00:14:14.160 --> 00:14:19.320 not learned how to dwell in the secret place, in their personal life, and then they try 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:26.320 to project God life in the public. Right? There's no secret place. There's no dwelling 00:14:27.320 --> 00:14:31.680 in the secret place. Yet they're trying to project a God life in the public. And it's 00:14:31.680 --> 00:14:38.680 just a matter of time when you can pretend for that long. Everything gets exposed. You 00:14:38.800 --> 00:14:45.520 know, I used to follow Ravi Zakaria. He had shaped my thinking to a large extent. I followed, 00:14:45.520 --> 00:14:52.520 and I was devastated when I heard the news. And one can only pretend for a period of time 00:14:52.520 --> 00:14:59.520 if there is an evil intent that you have, if there is gossips, if there is lust, if 00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:09.440 there is greed that you and I haven't dealt with in our personal lives, that will manifest 00:15:11.760 --> 00:15:17.760 to your neighbor, to your friends sooner or later. Everything that is personal gets exposed. 00:15:17.760 --> 00:15:24.760 Yeah? So one thing that can happen to a church like X29 is easily is that we are spoon-fed 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:33.000 with good teachings every Sunday from Jacob or Monday from dawn or Tuesday from May. So 00:15:33.760 --> 00:15:40.760 it's easy to be reliant on these guys because they are doing all the studying and all the 00:15:40.840 --> 00:15:45.840 preparation and all the teaching for us that we are just, we are just doing what we can 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:52.240 do for us that we are just receiving from these guys, being spoon-fed. And so once we 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:59.240 go home, you know, we are looking for the next teaching again. And I have, and I am 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:04.880 guilty of that. You know, there was a point of time when I'm receiving these good stuffs 00:16:04.880 --> 00:16:11.880 where worship songs are edifying, prayers are amazing, I'm receiving, you know, prophetic 00:16:12.880 --> 00:16:19.880 words and good teaching. So I go back home and, you know, I was cherishing those moments 00:16:22.280 --> 00:16:28.040 that I had on Sunday and I'm looking forward to the next meeting. But in the process what 00:16:28.040 --> 00:16:35.040 I have lost is I have not learned how to cultivate one-on-one relationship with God. And so we 00:16:36.040 --> 00:16:43.040 need to learn how to dwell in the secret place ourselves, not just from pastors, but learn 00:16:45.040 --> 00:16:52.040 how to feed ourselves with the word. Learn how to engage with God one-on-one. Learn how 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:59.480 to linger in the presence of God. Yeah. Because how you worship here reflects how you worship 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:06.480 at home. I know this is a hard saying as a worship leader, but if you don't learn, 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:15.680 if you don't know how to worship here in this church, that cannot happen when you are alone. 00:17:19.840 --> 00:17:22.840 Because what's practiced in the personal, in the personal practice, is that you have 00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:29.760 that. That cannot happen when you're alone. Because what's practiced in the personal gets 00:17:29.760 --> 00:17:36.760 manifested no matter what. Yeah? So let Sunday and Monday and Tuesday teachings be a cherry 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:47.200 on your top, right? It's like let these teachings be a bonus to what you are already learning 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:53.760 to cultivate. Let the things that you are struggling to learn, the things that you are 00:17:53.760 --> 00:17:59.760 not clear, let Sunday teachings, Monday teachings, Tuesday teachings, let these teachings provide 00:17:59.760 --> 00:18:06.760 you direction and provide you more insights. Yeah? So yeah. So what does it mean for us 00:18:07.780 --> 00:18:13.540 to abide in the shadow of the Almighty? What does the fruit look like? You know, we don't 00:18:13.540 --> 00:18:20.540 need to read any further. Just Psalm 91, which we have, where we have taken the main idea. 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:27.540 In that Psalm, Psalm 91, it's a very common Psalm, but it's a beautiful Psalm. And as 00:18:27.540 --> 00:18:33.940 you read there, there are so many things, what it means to dwell and abide in the shadow 00:18:33.940 --> 00:18:39.840 of the Almighty. Once we learn how to dwell in the shelter of the Most High, shall abide 00:18:39.840 --> 00:18:46.080 in the shadow of the Almighty. And we go on and on. And just a few points here. Verse 00:18:46.080 --> 00:18:52.520 3, God's deliverance from the fowler and the deadly pestilence, right? Deliverance is assured 00:18:52.520 --> 00:18:59.520 there. And the very next verse, there's a divine covering and savor refuge. Yeah? Verse 00:18:59.520 --> 00:19:06.520 4. You know, Pharaoh tried to bring harm to the Israelites. God wouldn't allow that to 00:19:10.080 --> 00:19:17.080 happen. Yeah? King Darius puts Daniel in the lions den. There's a divine covering. And 00:19:22.320 --> 00:19:29.320 the next verse, 5, verse 5, there's no fear. No evil shall fall, shall befall. Right? 00:19:29.840 --> 00:19:36.360 On them. No plague. This is interesting. When the Israelites came out of Egypt, there were 00:19:36.360 --> 00:19:42.280 no sick ones among them. And one thing I find it very fascinating is, even the sandals on 00:19:42.280 --> 00:19:49.280 their feet and the clothes on their bodies did not even wear out. Crazy stuff there. 00:19:49.560 --> 00:19:56.560 No plague. And the next one, angelic protection here. And guarding. This is where Satan codes 00:19:56.560 --> 00:20:03.560 from. Right? In Luke 4, when Satan tempted Jesus, he said, he will command his angels 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:10.400 concerning you so that not even your foot will strike against the stone. Even Satan 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:17.400 knows the scripture. And he quotes it there. There's an angelic protection. Yeah? And the 00:20:17.520 --> 00:20:24.520 power and authority to trample the enemy. Verse 13. And I'm going to go quickly here. 00:20:25.360 --> 00:20:32.360 Assurance for divine intervention in verse 15. When he calls, I will answer. Right? You 00:20:33.360 --> 00:20:40.360 know, Elijah called on God in 1 Kings 18, and then God came as a consuming fire. Right? 00:20:45.120 --> 00:20:52.120 God responded. When we call, God answers. And 9, presence guarantee. And the next one, 00:20:54.520 --> 00:21:01.520 the sandals on his feet. Where it says, I will be with him in trouble. In Psalm 91. 00:21:01.520 --> 00:21:08.520 There's rescuing and honor in verse 15. I will rescue him, and I will honor him. Just 00:21:09.520 --> 00:21:16.520 imagine, instead of you honoring God, God honoring you. Just one story in the Bible, 00:21:17.520 --> 00:21:23.520 the prodigal son story. The person who is the most undeserving to be honored is the 00:21:23.520 --> 00:21:30.520 father. He asked for his share, went away, squandered it, returned to the father, and 00:21:31.520 --> 00:21:36.520 he felt he was not even worthy to be a son. And you know what the father does? Honored 00:21:36.520 --> 00:21:43.520 him. Put him on the best rope. Have a feast. God honoring you. God honoring me. And I will 00:21:43.520 --> 00:21:50.520 satisfy him with long life. Verse 16. David also says, God, you will prepare a table before 00:21:51.520 --> 00:21:58.520 me in the presence of my enemies. Satisfaction. God satisfying us. And then the last one in 00:21:59.520 --> 00:22:04.520 verse 16 where it says, I will show them my salvation. It doesn't say, I will give you 00:22:04.520 --> 00:22:10.520 my salvation. Give is a future, and I will give you my salvation. God will give you my 00:22:10.520 --> 00:22:16.520 salvation. Give is a future, and I will give. But here it says, I will show you my salvation, 00:22:16.520 --> 00:22:21.520 as in, it will be your present reality. It will be your present experience. So these 00:22:22.520 --> 00:22:28.520 are just some stuffs of what it means to abide in the shadow of the Almighty. There's going 00:22:28.520 --> 00:22:32.520 to be divine deliverance. There's going to be divine covering and safe refuge. There 00:22:32.520 --> 00:22:36.520 will be no fear. There will be no evil that will be allowed to befall on us. There will 00:22:36.520 --> 00:22:42.520 be no plague. There will be angelic command and protection. There will be power and authority 00:22:42.520 --> 00:22:47.520 to trample the enemy. There will be assurance for divine intervention. The presence is guaranteed. 00:22:47.520 --> 00:22:51.520 There's going to be rescuing. There's going to be honoring. There's going to be satisfaction. 00:22:51.520 --> 00:22:56.520 And there's going to be the experience of salvation here on earth. This is someone who 00:22:56.520 --> 00:23:01.520 walks in the shadow of the Almighty. These are some of the benefits that I'm just pointing 00:23:01.520 --> 00:23:07.520 out here, just from Psalm 91. And who is this for? It is for someone who knows. It is for 00:23:11.520 --> 00:23:17.520 someone who dwells in the shelter of the Most High. It is for those who learns how to dwell 00:23:18.520 --> 00:23:24.520 in the secret place of the Most High. It's crazy stuff. Any disagreements or any question 00:23:24.520 --> 00:23:29.520 or any thoughts? Any comments? 00:23:29.520 --> 00:23:34.520 How is the secret place and the throne room? 00:23:34.520 --> 00:23:39.520 Secret place and the throne room? 00:23:39.520 --> 00:23:44.520 You talked about entering the throne room. Also you mentioned the secret place. Is the secret place more 00:23:44.520 --> 00:23:49.520 here and the throne room gives you access to the throne room? 00:23:49.520 --> 00:23:55.520 I don't have a definitive answer for that, but as far as my mind is concerned, as far as my understanding is concerned, 00:24:05.520 --> 00:24:11.520 for my own clarity's sake, yeah, I would differentiate those two. As in throne room, as in it's where God dwells. 00:24:11.520 --> 00:24:17.520 And throne room, like I wear the throne room, I wear the throne room, 00:24:19.520 --> 00:24:25.520 is it me entering into the presence of God or God allowing me to be with him, to be at his presence, to be at his throne room, 00:24:27.520 --> 00:24:33.520 and God giving me the access to enter the throne room? Or I as a son have the relationship and the audacity to walk into my father's throne room? 00:24:37.520 --> 00:24:43.520 Whereas secret place is where I can locate or I can position myself to meet God. Yeah? I don't know if that helps. 00:24:49.520 --> 00:24:55.520 And so then, you know, what are you saying to me? Do we have a biblical argument for this? 00:24:59.520 --> 00:25:05.520 What are you teaching? What are the stories that you can back up your argument with, right? 00:25:05.520 --> 00:25:11.520 And you will see a pattern from the Old Testament to the New Testament. I can give you a few. 00:25:11.520 --> 00:25:17.520 Just to set an example, Moses. I had shared a little bit, but Moses is someone who knows how to read the Bible. 00:25:19.520 --> 00:25:25.520 He knows how to dwell in a secret place. And this is why he would enter the tent of meeting. 00:25:25.520 --> 00:25:31.520 That is where he gets the strategies, where he would get the prophecies, where he would get the blueprint, be it in the mountain or in the tent. 00:25:33.520 --> 00:25:39.520 And this is why that's the secret for him to engage in the public square, right? 00:25:41.520 --> 00:25:47.520 And this is why his face would radiate because in Exodus 34 it clearly says, 00:25:47.520 --> 00:25:53.520 because he had spent time with the Lord. Isn't that interesting? 00:25:53.520 --> 00:25:59.520 Because, right? His face was radiant because he had spent time in the presence of the Lord. 00:25:59.520 --> 00:26:05.520 This is why we will radiate God's glory when we spend time with him. 00:26:07.520 --> 00:26:11.520 And that's Moses. What about David? 00:26:11.520 --> 00:26:17.520 We think that killing Goliath is a surprise. It's not really a surprise. 00:26:17.520 --> 00:26:23.520 When you know David, when you know his upbringing, when you know his story. 00:26:23.520 --> 00:26:29.520 David had killed bears and lions in private. 00:26:29.520 --> 00:26:35.520 And killing Goliath did not come as a surprise. 00:26:35.520 --> 00:26:39.520 You know, when David became the king of Israel, 00:26:39.520 --> 00:26:47.520 you know, the Philistines came with full army, full force to attack David. 00:26:47.520 --> 00:26:55.520 And you know what? David, instead of panicking, instead of responding, what did David do? 00:26:55.520 --> 00:27:03.520 In 2 Samuel 5, it says, David, instead of panicking, instead of responding, what did David do? 00:27:03.520 --> 00:27:09.520 In 2 Samuel 5, it says, David went down into his stronghold. 00:27:09.520 --> 00:27:14.520 As in, David went down into his secret place where he encounters God. 00:27:14.520 --> 00:27:20.520 He says, Lord, should I go and fight the Philistines? 00:27:20.520 --> 00:27:25.520 Will you deliver them into my hands? That's the question he asks. 00:27:25.520 --> 00:27:32.520 And you know what the Lord said? Go, fight. I will do what you said. 00:27:32.520 --> 00:27:37.520 I will deliver them into your hands. And David goes and fights. 00:27:37.520 --> 00:27:42.520 And what's the result? Easy victory for him. 00:27:42.520 --> 00:27:45.520 David knows how to dwell in the secret place. 00:27:45.520 --> 00:27:49.520 This is why he would say, better one day in the court of the Lord, 00:27:49.520 --> 00:27:52.520 where there is the presence of God, than thousands elsewhere. 00:27:52.520 --> 00:27:55.520 He knew the secret place. This is why. 00:27:55.520 --> 00:27:57.520 Where can I hide from your presence? Yeah. 00:27:57.520 --> 00:27:59.520 Even if I go to the depths of Israel, you are there. 00:27:59.520 --> 00:28:01.520 Even if I ascend to the highest mountains, you are there. 00:28:01.520 --> 00:28:04.520 Even if I go to the farthest ocean, you are there. 00:28:04.520 --> 00:28:07.520 Where can I hide from your presence? 00:28:07.520 --> 00:28:14.520 David knows. David knows how to dwell in the abiding presence of God. 00:28:14.520 --> 00:28:20.520 And so this is why it did not come as a surprise. 00:28:20.520 --> 00:28:25.520 Next, Daniel. In Daniel chapter 6, right? 00:28:25.520 --> 00:28:28.520 Daniel knows the secret place. 00:28:28.520 --> 00:28:32.520 He would practice this, practicing of going to his room, 00:28:32.520 --> 00:28:36.520 opening the window towards Jerusalem, and pray three times a day. 00:28:36.520 --> 00:28:39.520 He would have conversations with God. Three times a day. 00:28:39.520 --> 00:28:42.520 It doesn't matter. And then you know what? 00:28:42.520 --> 00:28:45.520 What the King Darius did was, they made a decree, 00:28:45.520 --> 00:28:52.520 saying that for the next 30 days, you cannot pray to any other gods or to any human. 00:28:52.520 --> 00:28:56.520 And you know what David did? Sorry, Daniel did. 00:28:56.520 --> 00:29:00.520 Went home, did what he usually does. Yeah. 00:29:00.520 --> 00:29:07.520 Crazy stuff. And then King Darius puts him in a lion's den. 00:29:07.520 --> 00:29:10.520 God protects. There was a divine covering there. 00:29:10.520 --> 00:29:12.520 Fiery furnace, it doesn't matter. 00:29:12.520 --> 00:29:14.520 Be it interpretation of dreams, it doesn't matter. 00:29:14.520 --> 00:29:17.520 Be it visions, it doesn't matter. 00:29:17.520 --> 00:29:21.520 The shadow of the Almighty begins to manifest in the life of Daniel. 00:29:21.520 --> 00:29:25.520 Why? He knows how to dwell in the secret place. 00:29:25.520 --> 00:29:28.520 That is where intimacy is built. 00:29:28.520 --> 00:29:30.520 That is where revelations are given. 00:29:30.520 --> 00:29:37.520 That is where the empowerment of the transfusion of God life happens. Yeah. 00:29:40.520 --> 00:29:43.520 We can go on and on and on. What about New Testament? 00:29:43.520 --> 00:29:45.520 Jesus is a perfect example of that. 00:29:45.520 --> 00:29:49.520 Jesus will not shadow anything on his own. 00:29:49.520 --> 00:29:51.520 He will only shadow the Father. 00:29:51.520 --> 00:29:54.520 This is why he has said, I only came to do my Father's will. 00:29:54.520 --> 00:29:57.520 Nothing that I do is on my own. Nothing. 00:29:57.520 --> 00:29:59.520 He said, nothing that I do is on my own. 00:29:59.520 --> 00:30:02.520 Whatever the Father tells him, he does it. 00:30:02.520 --> 00:30:05.520 This is why he said, I must be in my Father's business. 00:30:05.520 --> 00:30:09.520 I came to reveal the Father. Yeah. 00:30:09.520 --> 00:30:13.520 And every time he withdraws and connects with the Father, 00:30:13.520 --> 00:30:17.520 in Luke 4 where it says, he returned in power. 00:30:17.520 --> 00:30:21.520 That's the secret of having a powerful life, eh? 00:30:21.520 --> 00:30:24.520 When you learn how to dwell in this secret place, 00:30:24.520 --> 00:30:27.520 the life of God begins to manifest in you and in me. 00:30:27.520 --> 00:30:31.520 Take the life of Stephen, the first martyr in the Bible. 00:30:31.520 --> 00:30:36.520 If you study his life, it is mind-blowing, I would say. 00:30:36.520 --> 00:30:40.520 Because I think it's in Acts chapter 1, 00:30:40.520 --> 00:30:44.520 when Judas hanged himself and they need to replace him, 00:30:44.520 --> 00:30:47.520 what they did was they cast lots. 00:30:47.520 --> 00:30:51.520 And then the lot fell on Matthias, and Matthias was elected 00:30:51.520 --> 00:30:56.520 to be the one who would take the place of Judas. 00:30:56.520 --> 00:30:59.520 That was prior to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 00:30:59.520 --> 00:31:01.520 because that was in Acts chapter 1. 00:31:01.520 --> 00:31:05.520 And the outpouring of the Holy Spirit happens in Acts chapter 2. 00:31:05.520 --> 00:31:09.520 And now the Apostles were so busy preaching and teaching, 00:31:09.520 --> 00:31:11.520 and then the food distribution. 00:31:11.520 --> 00:31:13.520 So they were doing everything. 00:31:13.520 --> 00:31:17.520 We've got to focus on a few things, which is the preaching of the Gospel, 00:31:17.520 --> 00:31:22.520 and we need some help to distribute the foods. 00:31:22.520 --> 00:31:28.520 Stephen was chosen on the ground that he was a man full of grace, 00:31:28.520 --> 00:31:35.520 full of truth, sorry, full of grace and full of the Holy Spirit. 00:31:35.520 --> 00:31:39.520 What we noticed was there was no casting of lots after that. 00:31:39.520 --> 00:31:43.520 Why? Because the Spirit was poured out. 00:31:43.520 --> 00:31:45.520 It's crazy. 00:31:45.520 --> 00:31:46.520 And you know what? 00:31:46.520 --> 00:31:54.520 And when you compare the life of Stephen and Jesus, very identical. 00:31:54.520 --> 00:31:57.520 Jesus performed many signs and wonders. 00:31:57.520 --> 00:32:00.520 Stephen, who was chosen for food distribution, 00:32:00.520 --> 00:32:03.520 started performing signs and wonders. 00:32:03.520 --> 00:32:08.520 Then, you know, opposition arose for Jesus. 00:32:08.520 --> 00:32:11.520 For Stephen, people became jealous. 00:32:11.520 --> 00:32:14.520 The opposition arose. 00:32:14.520 --> 00:32:19.520 Jesus had to deal with the scholars of his day, like the Pharisees and the scribes. 00:32:19.520 --> 00:32:27.520 And for Stephen, scholars from the synagogue, the Freedmen, from Cyrene, 00:32:27.520 --> 00:32:33.520 from Alexandria, from Cilicia, all the scholars from these places came up 00:32:33.520 --> 00:32:35.520 and argued against Stephen. 00:32:35.520 --> 00:32:40.520 And they were not able to win against him because God was giving him the wisdom. 00:32:40.520 --> 00:32:42.520 And so what was the strategy? 00:32:42.520 --> 00:32:47.520 The strategy was they falsely accused Jesus as blasphemous. 00:32:47.520 --> 00:32:50.520 What they did with Stephen was the same thing. 00:32:50.520 --> 00:32:57.520 They falsely accused him and presented Jesus before the Pilate and Herod, 00:32:57.520 --> 00:33:02.520 presented Stephen before the Sanhedrin. 00:33:03.520 --> 00:33:08.520 Jesus was asked to be crucified. Stephen was asked to be stoned. 00:33:08.520 --> 00:33:13.520 And you know what? Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. 00:33:13.520 --> 00:33:17.520 Stephen said, Father, do not hold their sin against them. 00:33:17.520 --> 00:33:22.520 Jesus said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. 00:33:22.520 --> 00:33:28.520 Stephen said, Jesus, receive my spirit. 00:33:28.520 --> 00:33:32.520 How can such life be possible? 00:33:32.520 --> 00:33:39.520 An excellent example of how Stephen can shadow the footsteps of Jesus. 00:33:39.520 --> 00:33:41.520 It is mind-blowing. 00:33:41.520 --> 00:33:50.520 An ordinary man, an ordinary man who was initially elected for food distribution, 00:33:50.520 --> 00:33:54.520 lived an extraordinary life. 00:33:54.520 --> 00:33:58.520 This is what it means to shadow Christ, eh, friends? 00:33:58.520 --> 00:34:04.520 This is what shadowing looks like, going into the footsteps of Jesus and shadowing that, 00:34:04.520 --> 00:34:09.520 mirroring him or reflecting Christ. 00:34:09.520 --> 00:34:13.520 We can go on and on and on. 00:34:13.520 --> 00:34:16.520 Take the life of Paul. 00:34:16.520 --> 00:34:20.520 The very Christ he hated. 00:34:20.520 --> 00:34:28.520 And the believers that he is persecuting, later he goes on and says, 00:34:28.520 --> 00:34:34.520 to live is Christ and to die is gain. 00:34:34.520 --> 00:34:37.520 He shadowed Christ till his death. 00:34:37.520 --> 00:34:40.520 In Philippians 1, you read that. 00:34:40.520 --> 00:34:43.520 You know, we can go back to the Old Testament and come back in the New Testament, 00:34:43.520 --> 00:34:47.520 but it doesn't matter whether it's before the resurrection or after the resurrection. 00:34:47.520 --> 00:34:51.520 It doesn't matter whether it's the New Testament or the Old Testament, it doesn't matter. 00:34:51.520 --> 00:34:55.520 One who knows how to dwell in the secret place. 00:34:55.520 --> 00:35:02.520 One, those people manifest the life of God in their lives. 00:35:02.520 --> 00:35:04.520 Yeah? 00:35:04.520 --> 00:35:07.520 Any thoughts before we move on? 00:35:07.520 --> 00:35:12.520 I wonder how many minutes do I have? 00:35:12.520 --> 00:35:14.520 This is a warm-up. 00:35:14.520 --> 00:35:20.520 Because we are having a one-day seminar, right? 00:35:20.520 --> 00:35:29.520 So, my question is, whose shadow am I casting? 00:35:29.520 --> 00:35:32.520 Whose shadow am I casting? 00:35:32.520 --> 00:35:39.520 Or a corporate question would be, what kind of shadow are we casting as a body? 00:35:39.520 --> 00:35:44.520 Yeah? 00:35:44.520 --> 00:35:51.520 So, I want to leave you with some practical questions 00:35:51.520 --> 00:35:55.520 and maybe a few things that we can practice and cultivate. 00:35:55.520 --> 00:36:02.520 How do I learn to dwell in the secret place of the Most High? 00:36:02.520 --> 00:36:07.520 Individually, corporately, how do I learn how to dwell? 00:36:07.520 --> 00:36:15.520 If I can see the benefit, if I can see the glory and the beauty of what it means to reflect Christ 00:36:15.520 --> 00:36:22.520 and shadow the Almighty, then the more important question is, how can I learn how to dwell? 00:36:22.520 --> 00:36:31.520 And so, the first point would be, it requires a deliberate choice and an intentionality. 00:36:31.520 --> 00:36:35.520 It requires a deliberate choice and an intentionality. 00:36:35.520 --> 00:36:41.520 You know, we are encouraged as a body to withdraw for 15 minutes, right? 00:36:41.520 --> 00:36:48.520 And I know some of you guys are practicing that, and 15 minutes have become 30 and more. 00:36:48.520 --> 00:36:55.520 I know some of us are sincerely practicing that, and I really applaud you for that. 00:36:55.520 --> 00:37:08.520 Yeah? But my question is, if 15 minutes seems a lot to us, 00:37:08.520 --> 00:37:17.520 it will be hard for you and for me to shadow the Almighty well. 00:37:17.520 --> 00:37:23.520 Because this is not a part-time job that you and I can take up and reflect a little bit here and there. 00:37:23.520 --> 00:37:26.520 That's not going to work. 00:37:26.520 --> 00:37:31.520 This is a serious business. This is a serious invitation. 00:37:31.520 --> 00:37:39.520 And so, I think Bonhoeffer who said, when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. 00:37:39.520 --> 00:37:46.520 Not an easy statement, eh? When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. 00:37:46.520 --> 00:37:50.520 Same words from Jesus. Jesus said, if you cannot take up your cross daily, 00:37:50.520 --> 00:37:57.520 if you cannot deny yourself, you cannot be my disciple. 00:37:57.520 --> 00:38:05.520 There is no complacent Christianity here. If you and I are to shadow Christ, it comes with a cost. 00:38:05.520 --> 00:38:13.520 And so, the question would be, do you want it? Do you have a desire for it? 00:38:13.520 --> 00:38:21.520 Will you actually train for it? Do you have the aggression to pay the price for this? 00:38:21.520 --> 00:38:31.520 Yeah? Where, you know, Paul writes in 2 Timothy that a soldier does not get entangled in the civil affairs 00:38:31.520 --> 00:38:36.520 and the athlete has to compete to the rules of the game. 00:38:36.520 --> 00:38:42.520 It's like there's no time for other unimportant things. 00:38:42.520 --> 00:38:48.520 If this is what Christ wants you and I, are you fully in? Are you willing to pay the price? 00:38:48.520 --> 00:38:52.520 Many wants it. No doubt about it. 00:38:52.520 --> 00:38:56.520 And if I ask the same question, everybody would want it for sure. 00:38:56.520 --> 00:39:00.520 Oh yeah, of course, I want to shadow Christ. I want to reflect Christ. 00:39:00.520 --> 00:39:04.520 Because that's the main purpose of why we are believers in the first place. 00:39:04.520 --> 00:39:09.520 So, desire? Yes, everybody wants a desire for this. 00:39:09.520 --> 00:39:14.520 Is everybody passionate about it? No. 00:39:14.520 --> 00:39:17.520 Is everybody passionate about this? No. 00:39:17.520 --> 00:39:21.520 Is everybody desperate about this? No. 00:39:21.520 --> 00:39:26.520 Is everybody willing to pay the price? No. 00:39:26.520 --> 00:39:31.520 Hard truth. What about you? 00:39:31.520 --> 00:39:35.520 Which category are you in? I'm not judging here. 00:39:47.520 --> 00:39:51.520 Like we often talk about the M3. 00:39:51.520 --> 00:39:56.520 About, are you desperate to make the Father known? Because the world needs the Father. 00:39:56.520 --> 00:40:00.520 The world needs to know the Father. Yeah? 00:40:00.520 --> 00:40:05.520 Jesus said before leaving earth, Jesus said go and make disciples. 00:40:05.520 --> 00:40:10.520 You don't say unimportant things when you're about to leave. 00:40:10.520 --> 00:40:17.520 There are some important things, central things that need to be conveyed before you're leaving. 00:40:17.520 --> 00:40:21.520 And Jesus is saying here he is about to ascend to the Father. 00:40:21.520 --> 00:40:25.520 And what did he decide to say? He said go and make disciples. 00:40:26.520 --> 00:40:32.520 And the thing is, we often forget, like I'm doing some research on discipleship. 00:40:32.520 --> 00:40:36.520 But discipleship has been ignored in many of the churches. 00:40:36.520 --> 00:40:47.520 And what I've seen a pattern is that the decline for North American churches is the failure in the church to equip sons and daughters. 00:40:47.520 --> 00:40:51.520 Discipleship is lacking and this is why the church are not thriving. 00:40:51.520 --> 00:40:57.520 Because converts, I remember a church in India, like my home church when we were in India. 00:40:57.520 --> 00:41:03.520 We had a mission field in one of the regions in North India. 00:41:03.520 --> 00:41:08.520 And we planted a church there, we started a school there, and we would send missionaries there. 00:41:08.520 --> 00:41:11.520 Funding was there. So things were going well. 00:41:11.520 --> 00:41:16.520 And that went on for more than a decade. And things were going well. 00:41:16.520 --> 00:41:22.520 And just when the church felt like, I think it can stand on its own. 00:41:22.520 --> 00:41:30.520 The funding stopped because the entire island, it was an island, the entire island became believers. 00:41:30.520 --> 00:41:39.520 And then once the funding stopped and once we pulled back the missionaries, thinking that the locals can run it, everything crumbled. 00:41:39.520 --> 00:41:43.520 There were a little over 3,500 believers. 00:41:43.520 --> 00:41:50.520 And it didn't even take a year for the entire island to be Hindus again. 00:41:50.520 --> 00:41:55.520 Crowds will ask for Barabbas again at the end of the day. 00:41:55.520 --> 00:41:58.520 Crowds will ask for Barabbas. 00:41:58.520 --> 00:42:07.520 If we don't learn how to disciple mature sons and daughters, they will ask for Barabbas again. 00:42:07.520 --> 00:42:08.520 Yeah? 00:42:08.520 --> 00:42:13.520 So it requires a deliberate choice and an intentionality. 00:42:13.520 --> 00:42:25.520 Second, to learn how to dwell in the secret place is to learn how to remove my sandals before the Lord. 00:42:25.520 --> 00:42:31.520 To learn how to dwell is to learn how to remove my sandals before the Holy God. 00:42:31.520 --> 00:42:36.520 And as in, learn how to be bare and naked. 00:42:36.520 --> 00:42:43.520 Learn how to be truly honest with God so that there is no hidden agenda. 00:42:43.520 --> 00:42:47.520 So that secret place becomes secret place. 00:42:47.520 --> 00:42:53.520 So that secret place is not accommodating secret sin. 00:42:53.520 --> 00:43:08.520 Because I've seen many, many people, and I had come out of this several years ago. 00:43:08.520 --> 00:43:14.520 I won God, but I won God with something else. 00:43:14.520 --> 00:43:20.520 I adore and I cherish the holiness of God, the power of God. 00:43:20.520 --> 00:43:27.520 Yet at the same time, there is also the secret sin that is existing in my life. 00:43:27.520 --> 00:43:34.520 And this is why if you and I are to permanently dwell in the secret place of the Most High, 00:43:34.520 --> 00:43:43.520 we need to learn how to come before this Holy God and learn to remove our sandals before this holy ground like what Moses did. 00:43:43.520 --> 00:43:46.520 Because the ground that he is standing is holy. 00:43:46.520 --> 00:44:03.520 Because if you and I continue to coexist with some habitual sins, some secret sins along the secret place, 00:44:03.520 --> 00:44:09.520 secret sin will drift you away. 00:44:09.520 --> 00:44:12.520 Because habitual sin curves the soul. 00:44:12.520 --> 00:44:14.520 It curves the soul. 00:44:14.520 --> 00:44:19.520 It gives you a posture that is hard to straighten. 00:44:19.520 --> 00:44:25.520 Secret sin, habitual sin, dulls your hearing. 00:44:25.520 --> 00:44:29.520 It distorts your sight. 00:44:29.520 --> 00:44:34.520 It neutralizes the glory of God to manifest in your life. 00:44:34.520 --> 00:44:40.520 It awakens an appetite for more sin. 00:44:40.520 --> 00:44:42.520 This is what secret sin does. 00:44:42.520 --> 00:44:45.520 Some habitual sins that are coexisting. 00:44:45.520 --> 00:44:55.520 Though you want the life of God, though I want the life of God, and yet there are some secret sins that are still prevailing in our lives. 00:44:55.520 --> 00:45:03.520 One day I am in the presence of God, and then the other day I'm down. 00:45:03.520 --> 00:45:05.520 And I'm in darkness again. 00:45:05.520 --> 00:45:11.520 And then I go to a worship service and I'm up again. 00:45:11.520 --> 00:45:16.520 And then back to work and I am down again, spiritually down again. 00:45:16.520 --> 00:45:25.520 How can you and I fight the battle against the enemy when there is a secret sin prevailing in our own lives? 00:45:25.520 --> 00:45:28.520 It's not going to be possible. 00:45:28.520 --> 00:45:31.520 We will be beaten. 00:45:31.520 --> 00:45:34.520 Yeah? 00:45:34.520 --> 00:45:37.520 The enemy trembles at the holiness of God. 00:45:37.520 --> 00:45:42.520 The enemy trembles at the holiness of God. 00:45:42.520 --> 00:45:46.520 And I know people who had some habitual sins. 00:45:46.520 --> 00:45:51.520 That continues to plague them for years. 00:45:51.520 --> 00:45:53.520 No transformation, no breakthroughs. 00:45:53.520 --> 00:46:00.520 Some of the struggles that they have been struggling and sharing with me 20 years ago, still. 00:46:00.520 --> 00:46:03.520 That continues to plague them. Why? 00:46:03.520 --> 00:46:06.520 Because there is the secret sin that continues. 00:46:06.520 --> 00:46:09.520 He has not learned how to get rid of that. 00:46:09.520 --> 00:46:11.520 Yeah? 00:46:11.520 --> 00:46:14.520 I've been with this very erroneous teaching, I would say. 00:46:14.520 --> 00:46:19.520 That, oh yeah, we all go through spiritual dryness in our lives. 00:46:19.520 --> 00:46:23.520 That was the teaching I received when I grew up. 00:46:23.520 --> 00:46:27.520 And later I found out that what an erroneous teaching is that. 00:46:27.520 --> 00:46:31.520 There's no room for spiritual dryness in your life and in my life. 00:46:31.520 --> 00:46:32.520 Why? 00:46:32.520 --> 00:46:36.520 Because the Holy Spirit doesn't come and go. 00:46:36.520 --> 00:46:40.520 He has made a dwelling place in you and in me. 00:46:40.520 --> 00:46:43.520 It's permanent. 00:46:43.520 --> 00:46:46.520 This is why my body has become the temple of the living God. 00:46:46.520 --> 00:46:51.520 Meaning God is always residing in me. 00:46:51.520 --> 00:46:57.520 So that means like, do I have to go through dryness and high and low? 00:46:57.520 --> 00:47:00.520 No, really. Because God is in me. 00:47:00.520 --> 00:47:02.520 But are the challenges real? Yes. 00:47:02.520 --> 00:47:05.520 The temptations are real? Yes. 00:47:05.520 --> 00:47:06.520 Yeah? 00:47:06.520 --> 00:47:08.520 The enemy attacks? Yes. 00:47:08.520 --> 00:47:12.520 Am I tempted because of my own sins? Yes. 00:47:12.520 --> 00:47:15.520 But that doesn't mean I need to go through a spiritual low. 00:47:15.520 --> 00:47:19.520 That's not true. That's not what the Bible teaches. 00:47:19.520 --> 00:47:21.520 Yeah? 00:47:21.520 --> 00:47:24.520 And so why? 00:47:24.520 --> 00:47:29.520 Why consistency is a struggle for many of us? 00:47:29.520 --> 00:47:32.520 Yeah? Why consistency? 00:47:32.520 --> 00:47:35.520 My question, it's a very hard question. 00:47:35.520 --> 00:47:38.520 Why consistency is a struggle for you and for me? 00:47:38.520 --> 00:47:40.520 Why? Right? 00:47:40.520 --> 00:47:44.520 If God has made his dwelling place in you and in me, 00:47:44.520 --> 00:47:47.520 why am I not consistent? 00:47:47.520 --> 00:47:50.520 Why am I not always on fire for God? 00:47:50.520 --> 00:47:52.520 My struggles may be real. Yeah. 00:47:52.520 --> 00:47:55.520 I'm not saying that we have to live unrealistically. 00:47:55.520 --> 00:47:57.520 I'm not saying that. 00:47:57.520 --> 00:47:59.520 But can't we be on fire? 00:47:59.520 --> 00:48:02.520 Though our struggles can be real. 00:48:04.520 --> 00:48:10.520 You know, yesterday I was talking with our Aaron Hipp. 00:48:10.520 --> 00:48:19.520 And he said he and Reni doesn't take any decision before inquiring the Lord. 00:48:19.520 --> 00:48:22.520 They don't take any decision before inquiring the Lord. 00:48:22.520 --> 00:48:25.520 And I was like, wow. 00:48:25.520 --> 00:48:28.520 Can that be our lifestyle? 00:48:29.520 --> 00:48:35.520 Can consistency be so normal for you and for me? 00:48:35.520 --> 00:48:37.520 Yeah? 00:48:38.520 --> 00:48:47.520 Because if I don't learn how to fight and destroy the bears and the lions in my private life, 00:48:47.520 --> 00:48:51.520 I cannot slay the giant in the public. 00:48:51.520 --> 00:48:56.520 If I don't learn how to slay the bears and the lions in private, 00:48:56.520 --> 00:49:00.520 I will not be able to slay the giant in the public. Yeah? 00:49:01.520 --> 00:49:03.520 The third one. 00:49:03.520 --> 00:49:06.520 Learning to dwell is learning to train. 00:49:06.520 --> 00:49:12.520 If you and I are to dwell in the sacred place, 00:49:12.520 --> 00:49:15.520 we've got to learn how to train. 00:49:15.520 --> 00:49:18.520 We've got to learn how to train. Why? 00:49:18.520 --> 00:49:21.520 Because the enemy is full-time. 00:49:21.520 --> 00:49:23.520 There's no part-time enemy. 00:49:23.520 --> 00:49:25.520 Satan is coming with full force. 00:49:25.520 --> 00:49:27.520 There's no part-time Christianity too. 00:49:27.520 --> 00:49:34.520 This is why the enemy will do anything, everything to draw you away from this. 00:49:34.520 --> 00:49:39.520 And so learning to dwell is learning to train. 00:49:41.520 --> 00:49:43.520 So train what? 00:49:43.520 --> 00:49:52.520 For lack of a better word and for me to be able to cover holistic covering, 00:49:52.520 --> 00:49:54.520 as in not missing out on anything, 00:49:54.520 --> 00:49:57.520 I would use the head, the hands and the heart. 00:49:57.520 --> 00:49:59.520 Train for what? Train my head. 00:49:59.520 --> 00:50:04.520 Train my head as in my understanding of the Word, my understanding of who God is. 00:50:04.520 --> 00:50:09.520 As in not about how much I've read or not about how much I know of the Bible, 00:50:09.520 --> 00:50:15.520 but as I read the Word, is my understanding, my knowing of God increased? 00:50:15.520 --> 00:50:18.520 Have my understanding of the nature of God increased? 00:50:18.520 --> 00:50:25.520 Has my understanding of the truth, the principles, the order, 00:50:25.520 --> 00:50:27.520 and the principles which God operates, 00:50:27.520 --> 00:50:34.520 am I familiarizing and am I getting to equip my understanding of who God is? 00:50:35.520 --> 00:50:42.520 So equipping my head, and as in because the renewing of the mind brings transformation. 00:50:42.520 --> 00:50:45.520 So am I training my head? 00:50:45.520 --> 00:50:49.520 Second, am I training my hands? 00:50:49.520 --> 00:50:54.520 As in the things that I know now, the things that I have heard about God, 00:50:54.520 --> 00:51:03.520 the things that God's truth, God's promises, God's plans, God's strategies, 00:51:03.520 --> 00:51:06.520 do I live it now? 00:51:06.520 --> 00:51:12.520 Can I learn the things that I am being taught on Monday or on Tuesday or on Sunday? 00:51:12.520 --> 00:51:14.520 Can I now live them out? 00:51:14.520 --> 00:51:16.520 Can I apply? 00:51:16.520 --> 00:51:18.520 Can I apply them in my everyday life? 00:51:18.520 --> 00:51:19.520 Am I training my hands? 00:51:19.520 --> 00:51:25.520 As in am I living them out that I have heard, that I have been taught, that I know? 00:51:25.520 --> 00:51:27.520 Yeah? 00:51:32.520 --> 00:51:35.520 Because like, let me quickly go back to the first one. 00:51:35.520 --> 00:51:46.520 Because knowing, knowing is so important because I will limit the Holy Spirit 00:51:46.520 --> 00:51:52.520 and His work in and through me because of my limited understanding of the Word. 00:51:53.520 --> 00:51:56.520 Yeah? Yeah? Is that clear? 00:51:56.520 --> 00:52:02.520 I will limit the work of the Holy Spirit in me and through me 00:52:02.520 --> 00:52:06.520 because of my limited understanding of the Word. 00:52:06.520 --> 00:52:12.520 Sometimes the Spirit does, even though I don't fully understand, 00:52:12.520 --> 00:52:17.520 but the Word of God provides the framework. 00:52:17.520 --> 00:52:20.520 Because it's the Spirit of, Spirit is the Spirit of truth. 00:52:20.520 --> 00:52:23.520 God's Word is the Word of truth. 00:52:23.520 --> 00:52:27.520 The Word will provide how the Spirit works. 00:52:27.520 --> 00:52:30.520 The Spirit might want to go back and forth. 00:52:30.520 --> 00:52:31.520 Yeah? 00:52:31.520 --> 00:52:35.520 Like the Spirit might want to show how He did with Elijah, how He resurrected Christ, 00:52:35.520 --> 00:52:39.520 how He would go with back and forth, how the Spirit had manifested 00:52:39.520 --> 00:52:46.520 and how the Spirit had operated in the lives of these many, many believers that we can pick from. 00:52:46.520 --> 00:52:49.520 But you know, the Spirit wants to go here, go there, go there, 00:52:49.520 --> 00:52:53.520 but you have no idea of how the Spirit works 00:52:53.520 --> 00:52:59.520 because you have no knowledge of how the Word teaches. 00:52:59.520 --> 00:53:01.520 It will limit you. 00:53:01.520 --> 00:53:04.520 The Spirit can only do thus far. 00:53:04.520 --> 00:53:09.520 Yes, there are things that the Spirit, by the grace of God, still does things. True. 00:53:09.520 --> 00:53:12.520 Yeah? Yeah? 00:53:13.520 --> 00:53:20.520 And so, training my head, training my hands, training my heart. 00:53:20.520 --> 00:53:26.520 In the process of knowing who God is, in the process of living them out, 00:53:26.520 --> 00:53:30.520 am I different now? 00:53:30.520 --> 00:53:33.520 Is my character formed? 00:53:33.520 --> 00:53:39.520 Like, as in, just use any example, say, let's say love. 00:53:39.520 --> 00:53:41.520 The Bible often teaches about love. 00:53:41.520 --> 00:53:46.520 God first loved us, and that love has to be unconditional, love has to be sacrificial. 00:53:46.520 --> 00:53:49.520 These are things which are very familiar for all of us, right? 00:53:49.520 --> 00:53:53.520 Do we practice? Do I practice? 00:53:53.520 --> 00:53:55.520 That's the second question. 00:53:55.520 --> 00:54:02.520 But then, I'm not known for loving people, but God commands us to love, 00:54:02.520 --> 00:54:05.520 and now I am deliberately making choices to love, 00:54:05.520 --> 00:54:11.520 and now, I used to be not a very loving person, but I am now. 00:54:11.520 --> 00:54:16.520 I do love. I do love people. I do care for people. 00:54:16.520 --> 00:54:20.520 Is that who you are? Have you changed? 00:54:20.520 --> 00:54:23.520 Is your character developed? Right? 00:54:23.520 --> 00:54:28.520 Take for example, Galatians 5, the fruit of the Spirit. 00:54:28.520 --> 00:54:35.520 Those qualities, those nine qualities, can you associate one quality more than the others? 00:54:35.520 --> 00:54:41.520 Yeah? Is it kindness? Is it loving kindness? Is it forbearance? Is it self-control? 00:54:41.520 --> 00:54:48.520 Or is it peace? Is it joy? What is it that you're more known for? 00:54:48.520 --> 00:54:55.520 And then, what are the qualities in those that you are least known for? 00:54:55.520 --> 00:54:59.520 You should develop those. Yeah? 00:54:59.520 --> 00:55:07.520 Because, you know, at the end of the day, Christ, the stature of Christ, is the standard. 00:55:07.520 --> 00:55:13.520 Nothing short, yeah? The standard of Christ is the stature of Christ. 00:55:13.520 --> 00:55:17.520 So it means, oh, I'm not so loving, I'm not so generous. 00:55:17.520 --> 00:55:21.520 Then, learn to be generous. 00:55:21.520 --> 00:55:26.520 My wife is a lot more generous than I am. 00:55:26.520 --> 00:55:32.520 I try to be generous. And I know I will be more generous. 00:55:32.520 --> 00:55:35.520 I haven't arrived yet. 00:55:35.520 --> 00:55:40.520 Let's say I wanted to grow and enjoy. 00:55:40.520 --> 00:55:47.520 Do you have anything practical? How would I start to go about doing that? 00:55:47.520 --> 00:55:52.520 I think that's another right question. 00:55:52.520 --> 00:56:00.520 I mean, training your hands, you know, like, the letting your heart and the letting the whole Spirit do a certain part of the stage. 00:56:00.520 --> 00:56:15.520 Yeah. 00:56:15.520 --> 00:56:19.520 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:56:19.520 --> 00:56:26.520 I would say that it has to start with the truth. 00:56:26.520 --> 00:56:29.520 Start with God's word as the truth. 00:56:29.520 --> 00:56:35.520 Because my reality may not match with the truth. 00:56:35.520 --> 00:56:40.520 So if I start with my reality, my reality is I'm not joyful. 00:56:40.520 --> 00:56:44.520 So all I'm doing is I'm cheering myself up. 00:56:44.520 --> 00:56:48.520 So it may work, it may not work. Yeah? 00:56:48.520 --> 00:56:53.520 But if I start with the truth, where it says joy comes in the morning, 00:56:53.520 --> 00:56:58.520 there may be sorrow, there may be grief, but the joy of the Lord is my strength. 00:56:58.520 --> 00:57:03.520 Can we root ourselves? Can we find our footing in the word again? 00:57:03.520 --> 00:57:11.520 And embrace that, sing that, sing that out, declare that out, and allow that to be our reality. 00:57:11.520 --> 00:57:21.520 And now that that kerygma, that proclamation of God's promises, God's truth, now God begins to manifest that in my life. 00:57:21.520 --> 00:57:26.520 Or what about people who are way more joyful than you are? 00:57:26.520 --> 00:57:29.520 Joy is very contagious. Yeah? 00:57:29.520 --> 00:57:35.520 You hang out with people who are always complaining and nagging and see always the dark side of life. 00:57:35.520 --> 00:57:41.520 It's hard to find joy with those people. 00:57:41.520 --> 00:57:44.520 Same thing with joyful people. 00:57:44.520 --> 00:57:49.520 Because they know joy is their reality, and so joy would emanate in these guys. 00:57:49.520 --> 00:57:58.520 And so I don't think there's one strategy, but I would say that it is best that we start with the truth. 00:57:58.520 --> 00:58:06.520 Which is like, because for us to be sad and angry, that is never God's intent. 00:58:06.520 --> 00:58:10.520 The Father wants us to be joyful, right? Yeah. 00:58:10.520 --> 00:58:13.520 So two more points and we're done. 00:58:13.520 --> 00:58:16.520 Learning to dwell. Oh, sorry. 00:58:16.520 --> 00:58:19.520 I want to leave this one last line. 00:58:19.520 --> 00:58:24.520 So here's a cycle, right? A cycle is my knowing. 00:58:24.520 --> 00:58:30.520 Now, if I'm training my head, my knowing affects my doing. 00:58:30.520 --> 00:58:35.520 Right? I used to be ignorant, but now I know. 00:58:35.520 --> 00:58:38.520 Now I know that God heals. Now I know that God does this way. 00:58:38.520 --> 00:58:41.520 Now my knowing affects my doing. 00:58:41.520 --> 00:58:47.520 And my doing transforms my being. 00:58:47.520 --> 00:58:51.520 Yeah? My knowing affects my doing. 00:58:51.520 --> 00:58:56.520 And now the things that I do, now it transforms who I am. 00:58:56.520 --> 00:59:03.520 And the next two points is learning to dwell is learning to commune. 00:59:03.520 --> 00:59:09.520 Learning to commune. If you want to learn how to dwell, you've got to learn how to commune. 00:59:09.520 --> 00:59:15.520 As in pray or learn how to commune with God. 00:59:15.520 --> 00:59:18.520 Because the Holy Spirit communes, right? 00:59:18.520 --> 00:59:24.520 And has my prayer changed over the last three to four months? 00:59:24.520 --> 00:59:29.520 Has my prayer changed over the last few months? 00:59:29.520 --> 00:59:36.520 Now I grew up with one kind of prayer. Prayer is always with petitions. 00:59:36.520 --> 00:59:41.520 Lord, give me this. Lord, give me that. Lord, do this for me. 00:59:41.520 --> 00:59:44.520 Lord, do that for me. That's what I grew up with, right? 00:59:44.520 --> 00:59:50.520 All my prayers are like that. When I need, when I'm praying, I'm asking God for something. 00:59:50.520 --> 00:59:57.520 I don't know how to pray any other prayer. When I'm praying, I'm asking God for something. 00:59:57.520 --> 01:00:01.520 Is that your prayer? 01:00:01.520 --> 01:00:06.520 Does your prayer involve conversation? 01:00:06.520 --> 01:00:10.520 Abba, what do you think of this? 01:00:10.520 --> 01:00:14.520 I'm thinking this way, but what do you think, Abba? Why? 01:00:14.520 --> 01:00:20.520 Does your prayer have conversations? Does your prayer have wrestling? 01:00:20.520 --> 01:00:28.520 Lord, I didn't really like what you said or I didn't really feel like that's fair. 01:00:28.520 --> 01:00:35.520 What do you think? Come on, I know you said you will do that, but now 30 days have passed by, nothing happened. 01:00:35.520 --> 01:00:43.520 What's happening, Abba? Does your prayer involve wrestling, contending? 01:00:43.520 --> 01:00:51.520 Back and forth conversations. Do you sometimes even pray to God without having any agenda? 01:00:51.520 --> 01:00:58.520 Because you just want to spend some time with him, face to face, father and son, father and a daughter. 01:00:58.520 --> 01:01:04.520 Has your prayer changed over the years or over the last three months? 01:01:04.520 --> 01:01:16.520 It's so easy to be able to listen to someone's prayer and be able to gauge their level of intimacy with God. 01:01:16.520 --> 01:01:26.520 Father, if it's your will, so be it. If it's not your will, it's okay. 01:01:26.520 --> 01:01:36.520 It reflects, I mean that's not a bad prayer for sure, but it lacks intimacy. 01:01:36.520 --> 01:01:41.520 How specific are your prayers sometimes? 01:01:41.520 --> 01:01:52.520 And last one, learning to dwell in the secret place is learning to be both God dependent and body reliant. 01:01:52.520 --> 01:01:57.520 Which Jacob also says, right? God dependent and body reliant. 01:01:57.520 --> 01:02:08.520 As in, yes, God is a personal God, but in order to shadow Christ, we do that as a body. 01:02:08.520 --> 01:02:18.520 Because there's no shadowing of Christ as a solo Christianity, solo display of who you are. 01:02:18.520 --> 01:02:26.520 Because if you are so independent and doesn't need anybody, but you just want to shadow Christ, 01:02:26.520 --> 01:02:34.520 and then the enemy comes and blows off your flame, there's none to lit up the flame again. 01:02:34.520 --> 01:02:42.520 This is why it requires three levels here. One is shadowing under. 01:02:42.520 --> 01:02:56.520 As in, Elisha had Elijah, Timothy had Paul, right? 01:02:56.520 --> 01:03:03.520 Timothy is learning how to shadow Christ by learning from Paul. 01:03:03.520 --> 01:03:09.520 So shadowing under. Yes, of course we all are trying to shadow Christ, 01:03:09.520 --> 01:03:15.520 but are there people in your life who is helping you to shadow Christ more accurately? 01:03:15.520 --> 01:03:19.520 Keeping you accountable, helping you? Under. 01:03:19.520 --> 01:03:26.520 The second one, shadow under, and then the next one is shadow with or alongside. 01:03:26.520 --> 01:03:31.520 Like how Daniel and his friends would stand together. 01:03:31.520 --> 01:03:35.520 No matter what, Darius says, we're standing together. 01:03:35.520 --> 01:03:39.520 Do you have friends? Do you have colleagues? 01:03:39.520 --> 01:03:43.520 Do you have people who are also running and walking alongside, who will hold your hand and say, 01:03:43.520 --> 01:03:47.520 no matter what, we're going to be like this? The apostles did that. 01:03:47.520 --> 01:03:51.520 After the beating, they praise, they worship together. 01:03:51.520 --> 01:03:56.520 They have friends that will stood by their side. 01:03:56.520 --> 01:04:04.520 So that's with or along. Under, along, and then the next one is for. 01:04:04.520 --> 01:04:10.520 Like how Moses would take Joshua to the tent of meeting or when ascending the hill, 01:04:10.520 --> 01:04:15.520 he would deliberately take his assistant Joshua, which is very deliberate, right? 01:04:15.520 --> 01:04:22.520 Because he is showing the way of the sacred place, the Joshua. 01:04:22.520 --> 01:04:26.520 When Moses ascends the hill because God calls him to ascend the hill. 01:04:26.520 --> 01:04:31.520 And then I've been reading again and again. I'm searching whether it's written or not. 01:04:31.520 --> 01:04:37.520 But the invitation was for Moses to ascend the hill, not Joshua. 01:04:37.520 --> 01:04:42.520 There was nothing written in the Bible where God invites Joshua. No. 01:04:42.520 --> 01:04:47.520 God invites Moses. So it was not God's invitation for sure. 01:04:47.520 --> 01:04:56.520 God, but Moses would take Joshua along, teaching him the way of the sacred place. 01:04:56.520 --> 01:05:00.520 The tent of meeting, Moses would take Joshua to the tent of meeting. 01:05:00.520 --> 01:05:04.520 And after the conversation was done, Moses leaves. 01:05:04.520 --> 01:05:08.520 Joshua would continue to linger in the presence of God. 01:05:08.520 --> 01:05:16.520 Are you helping shadow anybody? Are you taking along Joshua's and Timothy's along your side? 01:05:16.520 --> 01:05:21.520 I mean, along your walk with God. Do you take people alongside? 01:05:21.520 --> 01:05:25.520 Yeah. So all these three are important. 01:05:25.520 --> 01:05:31.520 A final line that I want to leave with you guys is pay any price. 01:05:31.520 --> 01:05:38.520 Pay any price to dwell under the covering of the Almighty. 01:05:38.520 --> 01:05:43.520 Pay any price, any cost to dwell under the covering of the Almighty. 01:05:43.520 --> 01:05:49.520 For the secret of victory is to abide where the victor abides. 01:05:49.520 --> 01:05:56.520 For the secret of victory is to abide where the victor abides. 01:05:56.520 --> 01:05:59.520 And for us, that's Christ. 01:05:59.520 --> 01:06:07.520 So any comments or any final thoughts from anybody? 01:06:07.520 --> 01:06:10.520 Yeah, or else I'm done. Yeah. 01:06:13.520 --> 01:06:15.520 Thank you.