WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Hidden in Christ Publishing Date: 2017-01-15T05:00:44-08:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/hidden-in-christ/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.580 Colossians 3 3 before I left we were on Colossians 3 verse 1 and 2 and so we go to Colossians 3 3 now and 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:15.380 Here's what it says it says for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God 00:00:15.420 --> 00:00:23.260 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God for you have died and your life is 00:00:23.500 --> 00:00:25.620 hidden with Christ in God 00:00:25.620 --> 00:00:27.620 Guys in the New Testament 00:00:29.620 --> 00:00:36.620 Slaves were a non-entity meaning they were not even persons slaves were a non-entity 00:00:37.620 --> 00:00:39.620 They would work and then they would have to disappear 00:00:40.620 --> 00:00:50.620 And in Philippians 2 9 we hear that said about Jesus that he set aside the privilege of deity and took out the status of a slave 00:00:51.620 --> 00:00:56.620 He set aside the privileges of deity and he took on the status of a slave 00:00:58.620 --> 00:01:03.620 And in that Jesus was completely hidden in fact in Isaiah 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:12.620 Maybe one of you knows where the scripture is I forgot to look for it in Isaiah. It says he grew up like a shoot out of the ground 00:01:13.620 --> 00:01:15.620 Does anyone know where that is 00:01:21.620 --> 00:01:26.620 Isaiah 53 verse 1 onwards here's what it says 00:01:26.620 --> 00:01:31.620 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 00:01:32.620 --> 00:01:39.620 He as in Jesus grew up before him like a tender shoot like a root out of dry ground 00:01:40.620 --> 00:01:47.620 He had no beauty of majesty to attract us to him nothing in his appearance that we should desire him 00:01:47.620 --> 00:01:53.620 I love that line. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him 00:01:53.620 --> 00:01:56.620 Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him 00:01:57.620 --> 00:02:02.620 Jesus was such an average looking and perhaps below average guy 00:02:07.620 --> 00:02:10.620 Charisma was not his thing. He was not charismatic 00:02:10.620 --> 00:02:15.620 He was perhaps less than average looking maybe slightly ugly if necessary 00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:23.620 It says there that there was nothing there was no majesty about him 00:02:23.620 --> 00:02:29.620 That his appearance was a kind of appearance that in some versions it says you wouldn't even give him a second look 00:02:33.620 --> 00:02:35.620 No charisma 00:02:36.620 --> 00:02:38.620 No charisma 00:02:39.620 --> 00:02:46.620 Why? Because he came as a slave as a bond servant. He starts life on earth being hidden 00:02:49.620 --> 00:02:55.620 Why is this important? Because you must disappear first if God is to appear through you 00:02:56.620 --> 00:03:04.620 You must disappear first if God is to appear through you and this is completely countercultural to how church is done 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:12.620 I mean what makes a great pastor? What do we look for first charisma? 00:03:13.620 --> 00:03:18.620 Oratorial skills, great talent and ability, management capacity 00:03:19.620 --> 00:03:25.620 The very things that should have been found in the ultimate shepherd the good shepherd the ultimate pastor 00:03:25.620 --> 00:03:30.620 And yet he turns out to be someone in whom there is no majesty who's absolutely unattractive 00:03:30.620 --> 00:03:34.620 Whose appearance wouldn't even draws to him who has no charisma 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:41.620 And yet people who hung out with him would leave and others would say that he must have been with Jesus 00:03:41.620 --> 00:03:46.620 Because he teaches with a certain authority not with charisma, but with authority 00:03:49.620 --> 00:03:52.620 A slave was someone who would not be seen 00:03:53.620 --> 00:03:55.620 He would work he would disappear 00:03:56.620 --> 00:04:03.620 Jesus disappeared first and if Jesus disappeared first and was hidden then I need to disappear and be hidden too 00:04:03.620 --> 00:04:06.620 He was hidden you need to be hidden 00:04:06.620 --> 00:04:10.620 To be spirit effective you must be hidden first 00:04:10.620 --> 00:04:14.620 To be spirit effective you must be hidden first 00:04:14.620 --> 00:04:17.620 To be spirit effective as in with a big S 00:04:17.620 --> 00:04:21.620 To be Holy Spirit effective you must be hidden first 00:04:24.620 --> 00:04:29.620 Which is why for 30 years he was hidden man nobody even knew about him 00:04:29.620 --> 00:04:31.620 Actually concealed 00:04:33.620 --> 00:04:42.620 And Colossians 3.3 says for you have died and your life is hidden in Christ 00:04:42.620 --> 00:04:46.620 To be spirit effective I must be hidden 00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:52.620 Only then does the weightiness of his presence in me become visible 00:04:52.620 --> 00:04:56.620 When I am hidden the weightiness the word is kabod 00:04:56.620 --> 00:05:07.620 The weightiness of his presence or the glory of his presence in me becomes evident when I follow the same pattern that Jesus's life has set 00:05:07.620 --> 00:05:10.620 Guys why is this important because I am telling you something 00:05:10.620 --> 00:05:18.620 The way Acts 29 is going it's going to end up being copied in different parts of the world 00:05:18.620 --> 00:05:25.620 And Acts 29 has to become nothing so that God can become everything so that the world may benefit 00:05:26.620 --> 00:05:31.620 I really think in terms of the world when it comes to Acts 29 00:05:31.620 --> 00:05:34.620 Not because all of us will go to different nations 00:05:34.620 --> 00:05:37.620 But because people like they just said 00:05:37.620 --> 00:05:42.620 Guys everything that they are doing is modeled on what we have done and then they improve it 00:05:42.620 --> 00:05:46.620 Because they don't have to go through the same mistakes we did 00:05:46.620 --> 00:05:49.620 In every nation it is the same 00:05:49.620 --> 00:05:55.620 But what a wonderful thing it will be if we guys were able to go into disappearance and hiddenness 00:05:55.620 --> 00:06:02.620 So that the splendor and the weightiness of God may be made visible and may be made manifest 00:06:02.620 --> 00:06:06.620 What a way to live 00:06:06.620 --> 00:06:10.620 You are hidden in Christ 00:06:10.620 --> 00:06:14.620 The less I love this line 00:06:14.620 --> 00:06:16.620 The less I strive 00:06:16.620 --> 00:06:18.620 The less I strive 00:06:18.620 --> 00:06:23.620 To make myself known 00:06:23.620 --> 00:06:29.620 The less I strive to make myself known 00:06:29.620 --> 00:06:35.620 Or the less I strive to make myself known 00:06:35.620 --> 00:06:40.620 And taken care of 00:06:40.620 --> 00:06:42.620 The less I strive 00:06:42.620 --> 00:06:47.620 To A. Make myself known 00:06:47.620 --> 00:06:51.620 And B. Strive to be taken care of 00:06:51.620 --> 00:06:55.620 The more 00:06:55.620 --> 00:07:00.620 The more his life emerges 00:07:00.620 --> 00:07:05.620 The more his life emerges 00:07:05.620 --> 00:07:09.620 And I am taken care of 00:07:13.620 --> 00:07:16.620 I love this line it is so true 00:07:16.620 --> 00:07:18.620 The less I strive 00:07:18.620 --> 00:07:23.620 For my life 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:24.620 For my life to be made known 00:07:24.620 --> 00:07:27.620 For my life to be made known 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:28.620 Or make myself known 00:07:28.620 --> 00:07:31.620 For my life to be made known 00:07:31.620 --> 00:07:34.620 The less I strive for my life to be made known 00:07:34.620 --> 00:07:36.620 And the less I strive to be taken care of 00:07:36.620 --> 00:07:38.620 My basic democrats to be taken care of 00:07:38.620 --> 00:07:49.040 care of, the more his life emerges and the more I am taken care of. 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:53.480 I so badly want this because at the end of the day I don't think there's anybody in 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:59.600 this room who doesn't greatly desire that Christ be made manifest and visible through 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:00.600 them. 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:04.540 And what if an entire church began to think like that? 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:08.480 That the less I strive to make myself known, the less I strive to make myself known as 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:12.480 a worship leader, as a pastor, as a this, as a that, as a pianist, as a drummer, as 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:16.920 a sax player, as a children's this thing, the less I strive to make myself known, the 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:21.560 less important my life gets, the more visible he gets. 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:29.800 The less I strive to take care of my needs, the more my needs are met because I have a 00:08:29.800 --> 00:08:36.000 good good father and because a good good father's son dwells in me and the more hidden I am, 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:39.960 the more I disappear, the more he appears, the more you disappear, the more he appears, 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:43.280 the more you disappear, the more he appears. 00:08:43.280 --> 00:08:47.600 I think I've shared this story with you, but it may be a while ago. 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:53.080 When we were at Ross Street or even before Ross Street actually, there was a couple that 00:08:53.080 --> 00:09:01.080 had come from Ontario, well-known couple, like a prophetic couple, and they didn't do anything 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:08.120 but they were doing a meeting at another church here in Vancouver and I was supposed to help 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:13.000 with the meeting and so the person who was organizing it asked me to go pick them up 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:19.760 and so I went to pick them up somewhere in Richmond and they thought I was the driver. 00:09:19.760 --> 00:09:26.760 So they told me to take them here, take them there, go get them Starbucks and I did all 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:31.600 of it and then they told me to wait while they finish some stuff and then they said 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:35.040 okay we'd like to go home and come back at three o'clock to pick us up for the meeting 00:09:35.040 --> 00:09:38.640 so I said okay and so then dropped them home. 00:09:38.640 --> 00:09:45.640 I'm so grateful they didn't give me a tip and then I took them home and then brought 00:09:46.680 --> 00:09:52.640 them to the meeting and it's at the meeting that the person who brought them from Ontario 00:09:52.760 --> 00:09:56.920 introduced me to them and you should have seen their faces man, you should have seen 00:09:56.920 --> 00:10:03.920 their faces, I so enjoyed that part of it but that's why I said I'm so grateful that 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:10.120 they didn't give me a tip because that would be the height of embarrassment and so one 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:17.120 of the prophetic words he had on my life after that was Jacob you have the ability to wear 00:10:17.160 --> 00:10:24.160 different hats and God can ask you to be anything he wants you to be and I really treasure that 00:10:24.160 --> 00:10:31.160 phrase but the point is when you disappear he appears guys, when you disappear he appears. 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:40.840 Disappear, disappear, be hidden, let Christ become the first filter that meets everything 00:10:40.840 --> 00:10:47.840 in your life. We'll talk about that a little. Let Christ be the filter that meets everything 00:10:54.840 --> 00:11:01.840 in life. There's a scripture that says put on, put on Christ, put on Christ. The whole 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:09.240 idea of put on is to sink into a garment that's the idea of put on. Put on is to sink into 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:14.040 a garment, that's the idea of put on. To put on something the actual sense of it is why 00:11:14.040 --> 00:11:18.520 don't you sink into this garment and so when it says put on Christ it's saying why don't 00:11:18.520 --> 00:11:25.520 you sink into Christ, S-I-N-K, sink into Christ and once you sink into Christ you disappear, 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:34.920 you disappear and so then Christ becomes the first filter that meets the world you're walking 00:11:34.920 --> 00:11:41.920 in. What does that mean? That when you say something nasty he's the first one who meets 00:11:42.160 --> 00:11:49.160 the nastiness and so Jacob then still stays hidden. When you shower me with tons of money 00:11:50.280 --> 00:11:57.280 he's still the first one who opens the door and receives it and Jacob is hidden. When 00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:03.000 you give me accolades for what I've done well he's the first one who receives it and Jacob 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:10.000 is hidden. When you rebuke me rightfully for things that I've done wrong he's the first 00:12:10.440 --> 00:12:17.440 one who meets it and brings it to me so that I can examine it and deal with it well. When 00:12:17.520 --> 00:12:22.720 you offend me he's the one who opens the door and takes the offense and then I don't have 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:28.000 to deal with it the way I would deal with it if I didn't have this filter called Christ. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:33.040 Put on Christ is to sink into Christ so that he becomes the filter through which I meet 00:12:33.040 --> 00:12:38.600 the world. It's not my personality then that meets the world because the world can really 00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:45.600 trigger off my personality. It's not the pastor Jacob that meets the world because the pastor 00:12:46.340 --> 00:12:53.340 Jacob has his own thoughts about being a pastor. Hiddenness. What's his name? What's his name? 00:12:58.760 --> 00:13:05.520 Watchman Nee writes in one of his articles that because I live an exchanged life when 00:13:05.520 --> 00:13:12.520 the devil comes knocking at my door Jesus opens it. In Galatians 3.27, no Colossians 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:26.120 3.10 it says therefore put on your new self as in put on Christ who is being renewed. 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:30.640 Put on your new self that is being renewed in the image of God. As in this is the way 00:13:30.640 --> 00:13:37.400 to live guys. It's a daily practice. It is very very possible to do this. Where you understand 00:13:37.400 --> 00:13:43.320 that you have to put on someone not something. You put on someone so that every time you 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:49.320 meet the world he meets it. So now imagine what happens when disease comes your way. 00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:56.320 When sadness comes your way. When depression comes your way. When a boorish husband comes 00:13:58.160 --> 00:14:03.980 your way or a nagging wife comes your way. And wives and husbands can come sometimes 00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:10.980 be like that. Each one is met with by someone else. That is your first filter. How many 00:14:10.980 --> 00:14:17.980 thereafter do you react? Hidden in Christ. How do you hide yourself in Christ? By putting 00:14:18.580 --> 00:14:21.580 him on every day and realizing that you have been. One of the Galatians 3.27 says put on 00:14:21.580 --> 00:14:28.580 Christ. How do you put on Christ? You put on Christ by being baptized into Christ. One 00:14:30.580 --> 00:14:35.580 of the ways we put on Christ is by being part of the body guys. You cannot put on Christ 00:14:35.580 --> 00:14:40.580 all by yourself. You cannot put on Christ all by yourself. You can only put on Christ 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:47.580 if you are part of the body. Because Christ does not. I mean you are not the sole proprietor 00:14:47.580 --> 00:14:53.580 of Christ. The sole proprietor of Christ is his body. The sole proprietor of a bridegroom 00:14:53.580 --> 00:14:59.580 is the bride. The sole proprietor of the bride is the bridegroom. The sole proprietor of 00:14:59.580 --> 00:15:05.580 the bride. The sole proprietor of the bride is the bridegroom. The sole proprietor of 00:15:05.580 --> 00:15:11.380 Christ is the body. You cannot put on Christ if you are not part of the body. It is impossible 00:15:11.380 --> 00:15:18.380 for you to meet all your needs. Impossible. But in a body your needs, your location, your 00:15:18.380 --> 00:15:24.220 direction, your ways, everything can be met guys. It can be met. I want to tell you that 00:15:24.220 --> 00:15:28.580 all my needs are met in the body of Christ. It has been that way since the beginning of 00:15:28.580 --> 00:15:35.580 Acts 29 and it continues. All my needs, I am not talking about finances. All my needs 00:15:35.580 --> 00:15:45.580 are met in the body of Christ. The wisdom I need, the prayers I need, the healing I 00:15:45.580 --> 00:15:52.580 need, the essentials of life I need, I find in my dependence on the body of Christ. The 00:15:52.580 --> 00:15:59.580 body of Christ is not just Acts 29, it can be outside Acts 29 too. So hide yourself 00:16:01.380 --> 00:16:08.380 in Christ and in the body of Christ. Disappear. Disappear. How do we, here are some other 00:16:12.300 --> 00:16:17.300 things we can look at and then I want to show you something. To come to this place where 00:16:17.300 --> 00:16:22.260 your life disappears into the background. That's another way of looking at it. Your 00:16:22.260 --> 00:16:29.260 life must disappear into the background. Your life must disappear into the background. Hey, 00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:40.080 you walk into an Indian restaurant and your nose starts smelling these spices. Then it 00:16:40.400 --> 00:16:47.400 disappears into the background. Then your hands come out and start breaking the naan 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:53.720 and you pinch a little bit of butter chicken and you put it in your mouth and the hand 00:16:53.720 --> 00:17:00.720 disappears into the background. Then your 32 teeth, some of us less, starts chomping 00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:08.580 on the butter chicken and the meat and the naan and then they disappear, no they stay 00:17:08.580 --> 00:17:12.460 where they are. If they disappear into the background we'd have a problem. And then 00:17:12.460 --> 00:17:18.420 there is this intricate system inside you that begins to grind it down. You don't even 00:17:18.420 --> 00:17:25.420 see it. Every part of the body making an appearance and disappearing. None for a second thinking 00:17:26.580 --> 00:17:31.420 that it needs to be known. None for a second thinking it needs to be known. I would love 00:17:31.420 --> 00:17:36.920 for us to get to a place where this whole idea of the body of Christ and Christ being 00:17:36.920 --> 00:17:41.880 always evident in you disappearing and becoming hidden becomes so normal for us that you have 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:47.160 no desire for anything else but Christ and the body being known. For Christ and the body 00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:51.520 being known. For Christ and the body being known. I want to show you a picture. Can you 00:17:51.520 --> 00:17:56.320 put up that picture please Ryan? Isn't that a really cool picture? That is the body of 00:17:56.320 --> 00:18:01.440 Christ. That is Christ. That is Christ and the body. This picture was taken by a guy 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:08.440 called Liu Bolin. Liu Bolin. Liu Bolin. I think he is from China. I really love this 00:18:13.600 --> 00:18:19.240 picture because it really tells us all that we know about disappearing and making Christ 00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:24.160 and the body evident. This is Christ and the body. That bulldozer is Christ and the body 00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:31.160 being evident because you can hardly see him. This is Christ and the body. This is Christ 00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:38.640 and the body. Can you see him now? Can you see him? That is Liu Bolin. These are his 00:18:47.800 --> 00:18:54.800 feet. This is his body. This is his head. Can you see him? He is there. Oh sorry. I 00:19:02.040 --> 00:19:09.040 didn't even talk to you. Guys the point is that we have this huge instrument which is 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:24.200 supposed to represent Christ and the body and yet you don't see him. I saw this picture 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:28.040 the first time and I thought boy this guy is an expert at camouflaging. He has done 00:19:28.040 --> 00:19:34.040 this in so many places. He will go to a supermarket, stand against the soup cans and paint himself 00:19:34.040 --> 00:19:38.200 and stand there still and people will walk past him not realizing that they are walking 00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:45.200 past a person. Check him out. You should see his work. He is a camouflaged photographer 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:50.640 and in this he has painted himself against the black of the tire of the bulldozer so 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:57.640 that none of you saw him and this is one of his best pictures. Hidden in the dark, he 00:19:58.040 --> 00:20:03.400 is in Christ where you shouldn't even be made. People shouldn't remember you. People 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:10.400 should not remember you. How I want to get to a place where people don't remember me. 00:20:15.360 --> 00:20:22.360 And so learn how to be hidden in Christ guys. Just disappear. How do we disappear? Here 00:20:23.360 --> 00:20:30.360 are four ways to disappear. Guys here is the thing. The whole world cries out for self-determination. 00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:37.160 Yesterday millions of women marched in different parts of the US. Self-determination. Saying 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:43.480 that they had all kinds of funny and vulgar posters that they were carrying but the whole 00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:50.480 idea was self-determination. We have the right to determine our own lives but you must understand 00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:58.480 the moment you declared Christ to be your Kyrios or Lord you were saying this day I 00:21:00.080 --> 00:21:07.080 forego self-determination. I no longer have the right to determine things for myself. 00:21:08.080 --> 00:21:14.920 Self-determination ended the moment you declared Jesus Christ your savior as Lord. You no longer 00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:21.920 have the right of self-determination. You serve at the pleasure of another. Your self-determination 00:21:23.040 --> 00:21:30.040 ends the moment you declare him as Lord. And what freedom there is in that. Philippians 00:21:33.520 --> 00:21:40.520 1 verse 21. You can take the picture off Ryan. His name is so you guys can check it out later 00:21:40.520 --> 00:21:47.520 please don't open your phones right now to check it. L-I-U-B-O-L-I-N and the work he 00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:57.680 does. Guys here's some of the ways that the first one is Philippians 1 verse 21. It says 00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:06.640 in Philippians 1 verse 21 that to live is Christ, to die is gain. To live is Christ, 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:12.360 to die is gain. So we're talking about how do we disappear? How do we become hidden? 00:22:12.360 --> 00:22:19.360 It is when Christ becomes my life. The first step is Christ becomes my life. Christ becomes 00:22:20.800 --> 00:22:27.800 my life. When someone comes knocking on my door with offence Christ will meet it. When 00:22:29.820 --> 00:22:34.160 someone comes knocking with accolades Christ will meet it. When someone comes knocking 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:38.200 on my doors with money, Christ will meet it. When someone comes knocking on my door with 00:22:38.200 --> 00:22:42.320 sickness, Christ will meet it. When someone comes knocking on my door with accusation, 00:22:42.320 --> 00:22:48.000 Christ will meet it. Christ becomes my life. He is the one who meets the world on my behalf. 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:52.960 He is the filter through which I operate. You think that is not happening? Guys, think 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:59.960 of all the filters that are at work in our lives. This is, let's pick on Dawn. This is 00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:07.080 Dawn. Derek's handsome brother, in case you didn't know who I'm talking about. Yeah. So 00:23:07.080 --> 00:23:13.680 this is Dawn. Look at the filters in Dawn's life. First, philosophies of men. You think 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:20.680 it doesn't affect the way he does things. Second, deception. You think the devil doesn't 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:25.760 want to deceive him. Third, traditions of men. You think he doesn't come from a place 00:23:25.760 --> 00:23:30.440 where there are traditions active in his life. I saw it in both Derek and Dawn's life. 00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:34.600 Four, principles of the world. You think the principles of the world don't tell him that, 00:23:34.600 --> 00:23:37.920 hey, if you don't do this, you're not going to make it. If you study this, you'll get 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:44.400 a better job. Six, elemental spirits of the world. We talked about this two weeks ago. 00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:47.660 Elemental spirits of the world. You think the spirit world is not out to try and build 00:23:47.660 --> 00:23:53.600 strongholds in his mind. Everything that comes to him from the world, these are the filters 00:23:53.600 --> 00:23:59.500 that he has to destroy so that at the end of the day, he does not operate by these. 00:23:59.500 --> 00:24:05.640 The only filter he has is Christ has become his life. Christ becomes a filter. Christ's 00:24:05.640 --> 00:24:12.200 word becomes a filter. To everything, Christ and Christ's word becomes a filter. This is 00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:18.160 when you disappear and Christ begins to make an appearance. You think Jeff and Mariam don't 00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:23.960 have Iranian left in them. You think I don't have Indian left in me. You think Rosalind 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:28.400 doesn't have a Brit left in her. You think Heidi doesn't have some Germaness left in 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:35.400 her. It is when we abandon clan, country, reputation and every which way of living, 00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:43.480 you think Betty doesn't have, where are you from Betty? Malaysia and left in her. The 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:51.320 point being guys, these filters are actually operating in our lives. We have gotten so 00:24:51.320 --> 00:24:55.920 used to them that we think they are a natural part of life and now Jesus is saying put on 00:24:55.920 --> 00:25:02.920 as in sink into this garment called Christ. Put on. We put all these filters on and we 00:25:02.920 --> 00:25:07.760 think it is natural and the moment we say put on Christ, we think not in this world, 00:25:07.760 --> 00:25:11.960 in the next world. Hey, this world, this world, this world because we won't need it in the 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:18.960 next world. Put on Christ. Put on this filter of Christ and his word. Relate to the world 00:25:19.040 --> 00:25:26.040 through Christ and his word. For me to live is Christ. To die is game. No, in that scripture 00:25:32.360 --> 00:25:35.800 it is saying if I die I am with Christ. If I live I am going to live for Christ. If I 00:25:35.800 --> 00:25:42.600 die I am going to be with Christ anyways. So Philippians 1.21 is where we start. Christ 00:25:42.600 --> 00:25:49.160 becomes my life. Next one is Philippians 2.5. Philippians 2.5. Man, have they turned on 00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:56.160 the air conditioning? Philippians 2.5. Does anyone know how to make this place a little 00:25:56.360 --> 00:26:03.360 warmer other than jumping and stuff like that? Isn't the director of heat here? He is the 00:26:05.800 --> 00:26:12.800 director of the heat. Oh, there you are. Thanks Wayne. Philippians 2.5. Philippians 2.5. What 00:26:24.040 --> 00:26:31.040 does it say? Sorry. I don't want to paraphrase it. Philippians 2.5. Philippians 2.5. Philippians 00:26:36.200 --> 00:26:43.200 2.5. Here's what it says. It says your attitude should be same as that of Christ or your mind 00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:51.680 should be the same as that of Christ. Guys, the second part of disappearing is when your 00:26:51.920 --> 00:26:58.920 attitude and mind is that of Christ. Another simple way of putting it is think like God. 00:26:58.920 --> 00:27:05.920 Think like God. Think like God. It's absolutely possible to think like God. We have the mind 00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:11.920 of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2. We have the mind of Christ. Let this attitude or this mind 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:17.920 be new as was in Christ. And then it goes on to say he set aside the privileges of deity 00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:24.920 to take on the form of a born servant and became like us. He became like us. He became 00:27:24.920 --> 00:27:31.920 like us. Take on the mind of Christ. Begin to think like God. I'll never tire of saying 00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:40.920 this to myself and to us. Think like God. Think like God. In your marriage, in your 00:27:40.920 --> 00:27:46.520 work, think like God. When God tells you to give $50 and you want to give $40, start thinking 00:27:46.520 --> 00:27:53.520 like God. Think like God. And you will begin to disappear. What are we saying? That as 00:27:53.520 --> 00:28:00.520 these things begin to happen, you begin to disappear and God begins to appear. Third 00:28:01.160 --> 00:28:08.160 one. Philippians 3.8. Philippians 3.8. Philippians 3.8. Philippians 3.8. Here's what it says. 00:28:14.200 --> 00:28:21.200 Philippians 3.8. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing 00:28:21.560 --> 00:28:28.560 greatness of knowing Jesus my Lord for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them 00:28:28.560 --> 00:28:35.560 rubbish that I might gain Christ. That I might gain Christ. Philippians 3.8. Christ becomes 00:28:35.920 --> 00:28:41.360 is that and then it goes on to say I lay aside things behind pressing on towards the goal 00:28:41.360 --> 00:28:45.400 in front in verse 12. Not that I've already obtained all this or have already been made 00:28:45.400 --> 00:28:49.840 perfect but I press on to take hold of that for with Christ Jesus took hold of me. Verse 00:28:49.840 --> 00:28:55.560 12. I press on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of me. Guys, the third thing 00:28:55.560 --> 00:29:02.560 is Christ becomes my goal. Christ becomes my goal. So the first one is Christ becomes 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:11.720 my life. The second one is Christ becomes my mind or I take on the mind of Christ or 00:29:11.720 --> 00:29:16.840 my thinking. Christ becomes my mind or thinking. The third one is Christ becomes my goal. Christ 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:22.320 becomes my goal. It doesn't matter whether you're working at Telus trying to fix software 00:29:22.320 --> 00:29:28.040 or working at Telus trying to take care of customers or working at Kumaon where you're 00:29:28.040 --> 00:29:33.640 taking care of students or working at a church where you're trying to teach or working at 00:29:33.640 --> 00:29:39.000 a warehouse or working in a hospital. Your goal is Christ. And what do you mean your 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:44.640 goal is Christ? Every day, every week, every year I have the magnificent opportunity to 00:29:44.640 --> 00:29:50.160 ask God what is your goal through my life this year? That is what I want to press towards. 00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:53.400 That is what I want to press towards. And we'll talk about that where our work, our 00:29:53.400 --> 00:30:00.400 possession, our family becomes subservient to Christ and the church. Our work, our possessions, 00:30:01.480 --> 00:30:06.360 our family becomes subservient to Christ and the church. Your only goal should be Christ. 00:30:06.360 --> 00:30:12.240 Otherwise, let me put it in the words Jesus put it in. In Luke chapter 9 verse 57 or so 00:30:12.440 --> 00:30:17.280 He said, if you keep looking back while you're plowing my field, you, Jacob, are not even 00:30:17.280 --> 00:30:24.280 worthy to be my disciple. We're talking about just basic discipleship. Basic discipleship 00:30:24.360 --> 00:30:30.640 guys. We're not even talking about level two or two. Just one or one. If while you're plowing 00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:36.200 the field that I've sent you to plow, if you keep looking back at work, possessions, family 00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:39.880 and stuff like that, then know this, that you're not even worthy to be my disciple. 00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:45.680 I love the fact that those are the standards He set for us. And I know that if I were in 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:51.320 your place doing what you do, I would still have the same goal. That Christ and His body 00:30:51.320 --> 00:30:58.320 be known. This is not a pastor's pet sermon. I've said this in Bible study groups. Guys, 00:31:01.800 --> 00:31:07.320 this was not what I did for a living. I used to work three jobs. I finished work at a quick 00:31:07.360 --> 00:31:12.320 copy printing. Then I would go work at another place and then I would do a third job and 00:31:12.320 --> 00:31:19.320 then on some days I would work at Emmanuel Baptist. So it's not like this is what I've 00:31:19.640 --> 00:31:23.840 been doing. But here's the beautiful thing. Had someone taught me this then, I'd have 00:31:23.840 --> 00:31:30.840 run with this then. Because there's a tendency sometimes to think that pastors have a disconnect 00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:36.400 that what they're asking of us is way too much. It is not. This is not me asking you 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:40.920 to come to the church and volunteer. This is me saying, guys, you have no other goal 00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:47.920 than Christ and the body of Christ. To make Christ and His body visible and made known 00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:55.300 is your only goal, regardless of who you are, what you do. That is the only goal. The Spirit 00:31:55.300 --> 00:31:59.440 of the Lord is upon me. Why? So that I be a nurse at VGH? No. The Spirit of the Lord 00:31:59.440 --> 00:32:06.000 is upon me, a nurse at VGH. That I might preach the good news to the poor, heal the broken-hearted. 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:11.040 That I might set the captives free, open blind eyes, garment of praise for the Spirit of 00:32:11.040 --> 00:32:15.200 heaviness, orcs of righteousness raised. This is what the Spirit of the Lord is upon me 00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:19.800 as a nurse at VGH. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me as one who's retired and living 00:32:19.800 --> 00:32:25.300 in Richmond. Why? So that my retirement is peaceful? No. So that I might preach the good 00:32:25.300 --> 00:32:28.160 news. That I might heal the broken-hearted. That I might set the captives free. That I 00:32:28.160 --> 00:32:35.160 might open blind eyes. It's the only goal we have. If there is a need to be a nurse 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:39.680 if you think you have any other goal then know that you are not even worthy to be his 00:32:39.680 --> 00:32:46.680 disciple. Sometimes I think going away for two weeks sets me on fire when I come back. 00:32:50.560 --> 00:32:57.560 That's not me. That's the fire. Guys, this is the way we need to live. How do you want 00:32:57.560 --> 00:33:04.560 to take that? Okay, let it ring. Any questions guys? Any questions? As we do this, as Christ 00:33:17.240 --> 00:33:21.440 becomes my life, as Christ becomes my thinking and my mind, as Christ becomes my goal, do 00:33:21.440 --> 00:33:25.040 you see why you disappear? Suddenly people will see the bulldozer and they won't see 00:33:25.240 --> 00:33:32.240 you. Because Christ and the body becomes foremost. You don't even, you don't appear. And it's 00:33:34.760 --> 00:33:38.800 in the context of the body that Christ really moves. He will move through you but he moves 00:33:38.800 --> 00:33:44.360 so much more powerfully. I mean imagine a spade and that bulldozer. You are a spade. 00:33:44.360 --> 00:33:51.360 The body is the bulldozer. I'd suggest that we hire a bulldozer to get things done. 00:33:56.000 --> 00:34:00.560 That's why this whole household thinks that we are meeting in the small groups. Yeah, 00:34:00.560 --> 00:34:06.160 you'll have teething problems. Yeah, there'll be days when Heidi and Derek's teaching sucks 00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:13.160 but there'll be other days when it'll be good. You should listen to my sermons from ten years 00:34:14.080 --> 00:34:21.080 ago man. I shudder. You should listen to them from fifteen years ago. I burned them. I burned 00:34:25.560 --> 00:34:31.560 them. Sue and Heidi, Sue and Joan and Ruth have heard them. There'll be a lot of props 00:34:31.560 --> 00:34:36.680 and stuff like that. It used to be so innocent and simple but at the end of the day people 00:34:36.680 --> 00:34:41.720 didn't know what I was talking about. There are still very rare Sundays like that but 00:34:41.720 --> 00:34:48.720 today is not one of them. The next one. Yeah, you can throw away some of those old CDs. 00:34:49.040 --> 00:34:55.560 Philippians 413. Philippians 413. I'm grateful to the guys who still gave me a chance to 00:34:55.560 --> 00:35:02.560 speak. Philippians 413. Philippians 413. It says I can do all things through Christ. This 00:35:05.320 --> 00:35:11.160 is when Christ becomes my strength and my sustenance. Christ becomes my strength and 00:35:11.160 --> 00:35:17.360 my sustenance. Christ becomes my strength and my sustenance. Christ becomes my strength 00:35:17.360 --> 00:35:22.580 and my sustenance. First, Christ becomes my life. Two, Christ becomes my mind or my 00:35:22.580 --> 00:35:28.000 way of thinking. Three, Christ becomes my goal. Four, Christ becomes my strength and 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:35.000 sustenance. I am no longer fueled by my fat cells or my grey cells. I am fueled by the 00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:44.000 spirit of God. This body is quickened for what it is supposed to do. God will give me 00:35:44.560 --> 00:35:49.160 strength according to my days. There is a passion and a fire that is lit within you 00:35:49.160 --> 00:35:54.360 by the sheer presence of the spirit of God and you begin to accomplish in limited time 00:35:54.360 --> 00:36:00.840 what others would take long to do. You don't jump into Ahab's chariot but you run faster 00:36:00.840 --> 00:36:06.720 than that and you get to Jezreel before the clouds break and pour rain. The fig trees 00:36:06.720 --> 00:36:12.400 don't blossom. The cattle are not in the stall. The olive trees have cast their fruit and 00:36:12.400 --> 00:36:15.880 there is nothing to show but you are doing cartwheels of joy because there is something 00:36:15.880 --> 00:36:20.160 inside you that tells you that your strength and your sustenance comes from God and we 00:36:20.160 --> 00:36:24.640 do not operate by the systems of the world, the deceptions of the world, the philosophies 00:36:24.640 --> 00:36:28.620 of the world, the traditions of the world, the words that men speak because we operate 00:36:28.620 --> 00:36:35.620 by the spirit of God and the words of God, man. That's how we live. I don't mind a couple 00:36:36.420 --> 00:36:43.420 of hallelujahs at the end of something like that. Yeah. Guys, this is how we live guys. 00:36:45.740 --> 00:36:49.900 Where we now begin to disappear. We get hidden. Christ and his body. Christ and his body. 00:36:49.900 --> 00:36:56.300 Christ and his body. You know when you want to serve somebody really well, you disappear. 00:36:56.300 --> 00:37:03.300 It is only when you want your service to be noticed that you appear. Very odd that is. 00:37:06.300 --> 00:37:13.300 Go ahead Miriam. It is kind of the same where it is no longer important to me. In fact, 00:37:15.700 --> 00:37:21.340 Colossians 3.3 puts it this way. You have died in Christ. You are now hidden. I mean 00:37:21.340 --> 00:37:26.900 strange thing happens there at most funerals. Everyone is crying and all that stuff but 00:37:26.900 --> 00:37:33.900 the person has disappeared. And then you are not there. You are not there. You are not 00:37:36.180 --> 00:37:43.180 there. That's what happens when you die. When you serve somebody, I have seen this. There 00:37:44.740 --> 00:37:50.420 will be husbands who will serve their wives so faithfully on an occasion where the wife 00:37:50.420 --> 00:37:56.940 is doing a Tupperware thing or a baking thing. And you hardly notice the husband. Why? Because 00:37:56.940 --> 00:38:03.940 his only intent is to make sure that the party goes so well and that she is an amazing hit. 00:38:04.300 --> 00:38:11.300 And then there are some husbands who want every woman there to know that he is the husband. 00:38:14.260 --> 00:38:20.620 And when that happens, it's not the Tupperware party that is important. It's his really sad 00:38:20.620 --> 00:38:27.620 flat jokes. And I am not talking about Kamal. Guys, I am not talking about Kamal. I am talking 00:38:33.940 --> 00:38:40.140 about Kamal. This is how it works. I sometimes marvel at some of you who do things at Acts 00:38:40.140 --> 00:38:45.860 29 and no one even notices how and when and what happened and how it came and where it 00:38:45.860 --> 00:38:51.940 disappeared but it happens. Nobody even knows about it. Because your intent is I want to 00:38:51.940 --> 00:38:56.780 serve Christ and the body. Once you serve someone lovingly with a desire to make the 00:38:56.780 --> 00:39:03.780 other person shine, you don't care and you disappear. I dislike the idea of serving the 00:39:03.940 --> 00:39:08.980 other person like joint Good Friday meetings and stuff like that. Because you will have 00:39:08.980 --> 00:39:12.700 six pastors and everybody has to be given something. So you start with prayer and you 00:39:12.700 --> 00:39:16.060 say the opening prayer and you say the closing prayer and a prayer and then there is one 00:39:16.060 --> 00:39:20.100 pastor left who comes last and they say you can say the closing prayer after the last 00:39:20.100 --> 00:39:27.100 song. Why? Because everyone has to be given something. Why not just disappear? 00:39:27.460 --> 00:39:34.460 Anyways, let me wrap up. Next week we will continue this. There is so much more to say 00:39:44.660 --> 00:39:51.660 and such nice things God has for us. Guys, remember this picture? This is the picture 00:39:57.100 --> 00:40:05.100 of Christ and his body. My family, my money, my family, my family, my family, my family, 00:40:28.100 --> 00:40:35.100 my work, my possessions. We are talking about disappearing. The only way to disappear is 00:40:43.580 --> 00:40:50.580 when my family has only one reason for existence to serve Christ and his body. When my money 00:40:50.580 --> 00:40:57.580 has only one reason for existence to serve Christ and his body. When my work as in my 00:40:59.340 --> 00:41:04.820 job and my work timings and everything else has only one reason for existence to serve 00:41:04.820 --> 00:41:09.580 Christ and his body and my possessions has only one reason for existence to serve Christ 00:41:09.580 --> 00:41:16.580 and his body. This is when Christ becomes visible and all these things multiply and 00:41:16.580 --> 00:41:23.580 do well. This is why it does not disappear. Me and my family, Christ and the body. This 00:41:23.580 --> 00:41:30.580 is why it does not disappear because this is how most Christians including us at Acts 00:41:30.580 --> 00:41:37.580 29 think that me and my family will find time to serve Christ and his body. This is why 00:41:37.580 --> 00:41:44.580 me and my family, Christ and the body. This is why it does not disappear because this 00:41:48.740 --> 00:41:55.740 is how most Christians including us at Acts 29 think that me and my family will find time 00:42:00.020 --> 00:42:05.800 to serve Christ and the body. Me and my family, I will make sure that I save enough money 00:42:05.800 --> 00:42:12.360 for my family so that my family is taken care of. My work is so that my family will 00:42:12.360 --> 00:42:18.120 have provision and I will be a responsible husband or a responsible wife and my possessions 00:42:18.120 --> 00:42:24.320 are so that I will leave my children and inheritance for the future. Oh by the way, I will give 00:42:24.320 --> 00:42:30.440 Christ and the body 10% and yeah occasionally I will come after work to attend a household 00:42:30.440 --> 00:42:37.440 meeting. This is how we normally think and it's a good way of thinking. This is how 00:42:38.560 --> 00:42:45.560 good Christian lives and this is absolutely unbiblical. 00:43:00.560 --> 00:43:07.560 It's next week we will be talking about that. How when I, guys one of the things we lack 00:43:10.440 --> 00:43:17.440 is prioritizing. It's surprising how many of you moved countries, provinces to enter 00:43:18.360 --> 00:43:25.360 an educational institution spending thousands of dollars leaving family clan country just 00:43:26.360 --> 00:43:33.360 because you wanted to become an engineer, a nurse, a teacher or a pastor. You died to 00:43:33.640 --> 00:43:40.280 your clan, your country, your family, your mother, your father and your bank account 00:43:40.280 --> 00:43:47.280 and moved 10,000 kilometers to start a new life for your children even if it meant a 00:43:48.160 --> 00:43:55.160 hard difficult life here. We prioritized what was important. We prioritized what was important 00:43:55.360 --> 00:44:02.360 and we prioritized what was important. Christians have only one priority, the rule of God through 00:44:04.760 --> 00:44:11.760 a submission to Christ and his body. Until that is not prioritized, this is how we live 00:44:14.600 --> 00:44:21.600 and it is a good Christian life but it is an unbiblical Christian life. A biblical Christian 00:44:21.880 --> 00:44:27.920 model is when Christ and the body is at center and all that is me begins to disappear. Me 00:44:27.920 --> 00:44:34.920 and my family begin to disappear because Christ and the body are more important. My work and 00:44:35.080 --> 00:44:41.500 my attachment and security and my complete immersion in my work begins to disappear because 00:44:41.500 --> 00:44:48.500 Christ and the body demand the best of what I have. My possessions are no longer primary 00:44:48.580 --> 00:44:54.700 and important because Christ and the body, that is what my possessions are for and my 00:44:54.700 --> 00:45:00.380 money is no longer something that I give 10% off because all my money belongs to Christ 00:45:00.380 --> 00:45:07.380 and the moment you say Christ, Christ and the body and when you do this, Mark 10, 28 00:45:07.460 --> 00:45:13.700 comes swooshing out of heaven and just creates a whirlwind around you and when it disappears, 00:45:13.700 --> 00:45:19.460 you say, alas, alas, the chariots of, what the chariots of? Heaven is chariots of Israel 00:45:19.460 --> 00:45:24.820 and the horsemen of Israel and around you, you see the possessions, the family, the money 00:45:24.820 --> 00:45:31.820 and the work multiplied many times over with absolutely no effort. That's what Mark 10, 00:45:32.380 --> 00:45:38.340 28 says. For whoever gives up this and this and this and this shall have hundred fold 00:45:38.380 --> 00:45:45.380 in this life and persecution and eternal life. Next week we'll talk about prioritizing 00:45:50.380 --> 00:45:57.380 but remember guys, can you go back to that picture? I've got it on my phone now to remind 00:46:00.340 --> 00:46:07.340 me. Not this picture. I've got it on my phone now to remind me. Not this picture. I've got 00:46:08.340 --> 00:46:15.340 it on my phone now to remind me. Yeah. Christ my life, Christ my mind, Christ my goal, 00:46:18.220 --> 00:46:25.220 Christ my sustenance, Christ my life, Christ my mind, Christ my goal, Christ my sustenance. 00:46:25.220 --> 00:46:32.220 Christ my goal, Christ my sustenance. All for the sake of Christ and his body, will 00:46:38.020 --> 00:46:45.020 I rally my life, my family, my possessions and my work to serve Christ and his body so 00:46:45.540 --> 00:46:52.540 that Christ and his body become primary. I disappear into the background. I play my function 00:46:53.420 --> 00:47:00.420 but I disappear into the background. People don't remember me. Any questions? I'm done. 00:47:01.420 --> 00:47:08.420 Any questions? We'll just leave it open for questions. Anything you want to ask? Next 00:47:10.500 --> 00:47:14.900 week we'll talk about okay so how do we prioritize this? How do we work it out? What are some 00:47:14.900 --> 00:47:21.100 of the secrets to get this going? Questions?