WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Jordan-Mantle Publishing Date: 2022-08-07T06:00:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/jordan-mantle/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.000 We conclude the whole series of Elijah and Elisha walking together, 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:08.000 and we get to the place where they are in Jordan. 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:13.000 Last time we talked about what needs to happen to be positioned as Elisha was. 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:17.000 Today we talk about the mantle, and then we conclude this series and move on to something else. 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:20.000 So today we want to talk about the mantle. 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:27.000 What does the mantle mean? How does it work? 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:32.000 So a mantle indicates simply the extent of your responsibility. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:44.000 The mantle indicates or kind of roughly defines the extent of your responsibility and authority. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:53.000 The extent of your responsibility and authority. 00:00:53.000 --> 00:01:00.000 Extent of your responsibility and authority assigned by God. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:04.000 Assigned by God at a particular phase in your life. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:12.000 At a particular phase in your life. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:17.000 So that's what a mantle may be explained as. 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:22.000 It makes it very non-mystical, non-spiritual. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:32.000 It indicates the extent, as in the scope or the vastness or the boundaries of your responsibilities and your authority. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:37.000 And it's assigned by God and it's specific to a particular time in your life. 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:40.000 But it must be grown into. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:43.000 It must be grown into. 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:46.000 Because it's bigger than you are, but you're capable of growing into it. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:48.000 It must be grown into. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:52.000 It's bigger than you are. It's never something that fits perfect. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:55.000 It's bigger than you are, but you grow into it. 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:57.000 It must be grown into it. 00:01:57.000 --> 00:01:59.000 And Elisha understood this. 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:06.000 In 1 Kings 19, 19, when Elijah comes, takes off his cloak, and most prophets used to have a mantle that they used to wear. 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:09.000 So he took off his cloak or mantle and put it on Elisha. 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:11.000 Elisha knew what it meant. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.000 This wasn't a mystery to Elisha. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:20.000 I remember when Paul's dad, Eddie, was here in 2007. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:24.000 We were at the Viva Java room in Richmond. 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:27.000 And at some point on the last day that he was here, he began to weep. 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:30.000 And he took off his coat and he threw it on me. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:33.000 And I knew what it meant. 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:35.000 So Elisha knew what it meant. 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:40.000 And the response, though, is what we need to pay attention to. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:42.000 He wasn't confused about what it meant. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:46.000 And so he immediately started training under Elijah. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:49.000 He immediately started training under Elijah. 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:55.000 Because you cannot grow into the responsibility and authority unless you train. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:03:00.000 And he immediately started training under Elijah. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:05.000 And sometimes the mantle, sometimes the mantle... 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:09.000 Shoot. How do I make this go back to normal? 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:17.000 Two fingers. I'm using many fingers. 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:21.000 Where is Jeevan when I need him? 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:24.000 Can someone help me, please? 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:29.000 Nick, you're on camera and you don't get this, right? 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:32.000 Everybody in the world is watching. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:35.000 That is weird. 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:38.000 Pardon? Double tap. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:41.000 And then pinch? 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:44.000 I think it's a tool that maybe... I don't know. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:48.000 Where'd it go? Where's the thingy? 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:51.000 Okay. Now it's really small. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:58.000 Landscape? 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:01.000 Okay. While you play with it. 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:05.000 I can do without this. I don't know why I'm so dependent on this. 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:09.000 So the mantle falls from you, the mantle falls on you. 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:15.000 And the word often used is the same word that was used when the Holy Spirit fell on people. 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:20.000 So the mantle falls on Elisha as Elijah is being taken up in the whirlwind. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:22.000 The mantle falls on Elisha. 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:31.000 And we need to understand that no mantle can be walked in without the empowering of the Holy Spirit. 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:35.000 No mantle can be walked in without the empowering of the Holy Spirit. 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:38.000 The mantle falls on you from the Holy Spirit. 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:40.000 This is important to understand. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:44.000 Any mantle that is given to you, as in any responsibility that is given to you, 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:49.000 and the authority that comes with the responsibility given to you, comes from the Holy Spirit. 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:53.000 It does not come from man. It cannot be given to you by man. 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:56.000 It comes from the Holy Spirit. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:05:01.000 Because there is a tendency nowadays to have people give you mantles. 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:07.000 And while it is nice and it looks quite heavy, it is not true. 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:11.000 Mantles come from the Holy Spirit. 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:15.000 It may come through man, but it comes from the Holy Spirit. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:21.000 He is the one who cloaks you with the power that is required to walk in your responsibility and your authority. 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:23.000 He cloaks you. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:27.000 So when man gives it to you, it ain't real. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:29.000 Thanks. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:39.000 So in 2 Kings 2.14, we see that as Elijah is being taken, as he ascends, the mantle descends. 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:42.000 And it's this pattern of the Holy Spirit. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:46.000 Whenever Jesus ascends, the Holy Spirit descends. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:53.000 In Acts chapter 8, with the Samaritans, the Holy Spirit fell upon them. 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:57.000 In Acts chapter 10, with Cornelius, the Holy Spirit fell upon them. 00:05:57.000 --> 00:06:01.000 In Luke chapter 4, with Jesus, the Holy Spirit fell upon them. 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:05.000 And with each falling, a new mandate started for them. 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:09.000 With Jesus, it was the beginning of his role ministering to people. 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:11.000 That is when he was revealed. 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:21.000 I keep coming back to the simple thing that any responsibility and authority that is given to you at any phase in your life is given by the Holy Spirit. 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:29.000 Man may explain it to you, man may convey it to you, man may lead you into it, man may equip you for it, but it comes from the Holy Spirit. 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:35.000 It is not created by some leader or some pastor or some some. 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:37.000 It's not. 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:49.000 So the mantle falls on you from the Spirit, it falls on you from the Spirit. 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:56.000 He's the one who cloaks you with power for it. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:07:01.000 And then after he does that, he trains you through human equipers. 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:13.000 He trains you through human equipers. 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:17.000 So there can't be a disconnect with the Spirit, there can't be a disconnect with people. 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:23.000 If you want to step into the responsibility and authority assigned by God at a particular phase in your life, 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:33.000 which is basically how I want to define mantle, you cannot do without the Holy Spirit and you cannot do without the human equipers here on earth that the Holy Spirit sends. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:42.000 Any questions? Anything you want to add or anything you want to disagree with? 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:55.000 Yeah, so can I get any mantle I want if it's not my portion? 00:07:55.000 --> 00:08:05.000 Because it's the Holy Spirit who gives it. I can want, I can desire, I can desperately crave it and it won't fit. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:12.000 Because it's the Spirit of God who tailors it. It is the Spirit of God who tailors it. 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:20.000 And if he tailors it, then I can't want what I want. I want what I'll have to want what he wants. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.000 But sometimes it's revealed through people to you. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:31.000 Because I'm not good at hearing every day. There are times when I'm not hearing. 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:36.000 There are other times when God will deliberately keep things from me so that I'm dependent on you. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:50.000 Please hear me. There'll never be a day when I will be able to hear, do, act completely on myself even if I had as perfect a relationship with God as Jesus had. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:09:00.000 Even on that day, he will not allow me to be so completely tuned to him, hearing him, acting like him without being dependent on you. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:06.000 He will not give me pieces of information. The missing link is one of his favorite games to play. 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:12.000 He'll always keep something missing so that I will always need you. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:17.000 You. 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:21.000 Yeah, you. Go ahead. 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:39.000 The fascinating thing about Jackie Pullinger is she tried so hard to depend on people around her. 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:44.000 And they chose not to let her depend on her. And then the Lord leads her out. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:46.000 That's what I find fascinating about that woman. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:52.000 The Lord rewarded her for trying really hard to work with people around her. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:55.000 And then when nobody listened to her, she goes on her own. 00:09:55.000 --> 00:10:02.000 And then God gives her the cloaking of the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:06.000 After. Yeah, after. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:10.000 But the but the crazy thing is these guys got it right initially. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:19.000 And then when it didn't work, they go off on their own. 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:21.000 She tried so hard. 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:37.000 I mean, she would go and man dominated mission boards would basically tell her to go pray some more. 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:46.000 The mantle is responsibility and authority assigned by God during a certain phase of your life. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:48.000 We pass through multiple mantles. Yes. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:51.000 But there are main things in our lives that God has us focus on. 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:57.000 And it's good when you discover the main thing, because then other things can take their right place. 00:10:57.000 --> 00:11:00.000 But I don't know the main thing that God has for me in my life. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:05.000 The main the all the overarching purpose is very three entry. 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:06.000 It's very, very easy. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:11.000 M3. Make the father known. 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:13.000 Make disciples multiply churches. 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:17.000 That's the overarching theme that covers every believer that exists. 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:19.000 And in that, what is the main thing? 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:26.000 And if I can know the main thing, then I can cause everything else that demands my time to fall into the right place. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.000 That's the that's the cool thing about the main thing. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:35.000 If we think in terms of responsibility and authority, it demystifies it. 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:37.000 Mantle carries this. 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:44.000 Yeah, I don't know whether that expression conveyed anything, but basically it is responsibility and authority. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:47.000 What is my main responsibility and authority? 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:52.000 What is my main responsibility that I'm supposed to focus on at this stage in my life assigned by God? 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:55.000 And with that responsibility, I'm supposed to be able to do something. 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:58.000 Yeah, you know that this is the main thing. 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:07.000 Soon in Reni's life, the main thing will be the baby. 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:10.000 The main thing will be Aaron, but the main thing will be the baby, too. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:14.000 Yeah, because the baby shouldn't displace Aaron and rightfully so. 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:16.000 But the main thing will be the baby. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:18.000 And that's the main thing. 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:20.000 And that's the main thing. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:23.000 Yeah, because the baby shouldn't displace Aaron and rightfully so. 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:27.000 But the main thing will be that it won't be the BMW. 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:31.000 It won't be the Mustang. 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:33.000 It won't be the Colorado Alves. 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:34.000 Praise the Lord. 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:35.000 It won't be these things. 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:36.000 The main thing will be the baby. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:39.000 So we quickly know what the main thing is. 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:44.000 And at different times in our lives, if we know the main thing, it's very helpful. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:47.000 I can then concentrate on it. 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:52.000 So I want to look at it as responsibility that God has assigned to me at a particular stage in my life. 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:54.000 It makes it much easier. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:59.000 Because the mantle thing is a little too spiritual and too much has been said about it. 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:01.000 And we don't use words like mantle. 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:06.000 The only time we use words like mantle in India is when we put stuff on our mantle. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:10.000 At least in India, that's what mantles are used for. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:11.000 Where are your keys? 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:13.000 Check the mantle. 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:23.000 So you don't get responsibility and authority. 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:30.000 You don't get the responsibility assigned to you. 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:34.000 I think the battery is dying. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:40.000 You don't get the responsibility assigned to you by God. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:49.000 By being at the right place or being opportunistic or being connected. 00:13:49.000 --> 00:14:00.000 By being connected or opportunistic or at the right place. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:02.000 That's not how you get these assignments. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:06.000 Because nowadays there's a tendency in churches to think if you are connected to the pastor, 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:11.000 if you're in the inner circle, if you are opportunistic and grab every chance you get, 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:13.000 that's how you get mantles. 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:14.000 That's not how you get it. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:16.000 This is given by the Holy Spirit. 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:25.000 With Elisha, the strange thing is in 1 Kings 19, 19, he already knew that he was going to be the next prophet and successor. 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:27.000 He already knew it. 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:31.000 He already knew it. 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:41.000 What he can do is he can develop, you can develop, you can develop what you've been appointed to. 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:51.000 You can develop what you've been appointed to with hunger and pursuit. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:57.000 With hunger and pursuit. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:01.000 You can develop what you've been appointed to with hunger and pursuit. 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:05.000 Hunger is something God gives. 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:10.000 Pursuit is something you cultivate. 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:12.000 You never have to worry about hunger. 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:13.000 God gives that. 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:14.000 Strange God. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:18.000 Blessed are those that hunger and thirst and then he gives you the hunger and the thirst. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:24.000 But after he gives you the hunger and thirst, he also kind of warns you with that scripture from Proverbs which says, 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:30.000 Some men are so lazy that they can't bring the spoon to their mouth. 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:44.000 And so you don't get your mantle or your responsibility and authority from God by being opportunistic, by being favored, by being connected. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:45.000 You don't get it because of that. 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:48.000 You don't get it because you were at the right place at the right time. 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:54.000 You get it simply because it was prepared for you before the foundations of the earth. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:58.000 And it is something that God has shaped you to operate in really well. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:59.000 How do you obtain it? 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:02.000 You obtain it through pursuit and hunger. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:05.000 Hunger God gives, pursuit you have to cultivate. 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:08.000 This is what Elisha distinguishes himself in. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:15.000 You develop God's appointing through hunger that God gives and pursuit that you cultivate. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:17.000 So you look at Elisha, you see that. 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:30.000 And Joseph, Joseph was another guy who knew right from when he was born that he was going to be numero uno, that his family would bow before him, that lands would bow before him. 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:31.000 He knew that right off the bat. 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:33.000 He knew that before he was 14. 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:37.000 And then once he knows that, he begins to hold on to that. 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:38.000 Joshua was the same way. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:41.000 Joshua knew that Moses has called me out. 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:43.000 And now the hunger is there. 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:44.000 What does he do? He begins to pursue. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:45.000 Where does he pursue? 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:47.000 He pursues anywhere Moses goes, he will go. 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:49.000 Goes to the tent of meeting, he's standing outside. 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:52.000 Goes up the mountain, he goes as far as he can go. 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:54.000 He's always there. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:56.000 That's what pursuit looks like. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:57.000 What does pursuit look like in your life? 00:16:57.000 --> 00:17:01.000 Pursuit will look like one, moving forward. 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:04.000 And when you look back, you see a lot of debris. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:06.000 A lot of old stuff behind you. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:11.000 Pursuit is always seen by the junk you leave behind. 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:13.000 Pursuit is always seen. 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:16.000 How do you evidence pursuit in someone's life? 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:20.000 When you look behind them, there will be a lot of debris. 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:22.000 A lot of old stuff. 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:26.000 Old habits, old ways, old friends, old thinking. 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:30.000 Behind them, you'll find, you'll know they've traveled this way 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:34.000 because behind them, there's a lot of stuff floating around. 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:38.000 It's like being completely non-environmentally friendly. 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:42.000 You just keep chucking all the garbage overboard. 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:45.000 It's not a good thing. 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:51.000 That's how you know pursuit. 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:54.000 So do you know? 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:59.000 These are questions just to provoke us, not to make us feel bad. 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:04.000 Do you know your responsibility and your authority? 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:06.000 Forget even authority. 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:10.000 Do you know your responsibility that is assigned by God to you at this present time? 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:12.000 I'm not talking about your occupation. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.000 I'm not talking about your career. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:16.000 I'm not talking about your job. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:19.000 I'm talking about what is the main thing that at present is active in your life 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:21.000 that you think God has assigned to you? 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:23.000 You begin by thinking that perhaps it's that. 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:25.000 That's where you start. 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:27.000 You've got to place it somewhere on a sheet of paper. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:29.000 That's where you start, and then you can develop it. 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:31.000 But do you know? 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:34.000 The question then is, is it important to know? 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:36.000 There's only two ways to go about it. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:38.000 If you know, then you can be intentional about it 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:42.000 or walk in such righteousness that every step of yours is ordered by God 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:44.000 and you don't have to worry about it. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:47.000 Rejoice for the steps of a righteous man are ordered by God. 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:51.000 If you're walking in righteousness, you will keep walking in it anyways. 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:55.000 But if you know it, then you can be a little more intentional about it. 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:58.000 So do you know? 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:01.000 Or begin. If you don't know, begin by putting things down on a sheet of paper. 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:03.000 It's got nothing to do with your job. 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:08.000 Your job is just a petri dish or how ever you pronounce it 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:11.000 in which things can be cultured. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:17.000 And what if you don't have a job? Does that mean you can't function? 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:20.000 That's absurd. So the job really doesn't have anything to do with it. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:23.000 Sheldon doesn't have a job. I don't have a job. 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:32.000 So do you know? 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:36.000 Are you showing signs of hunger, signs of pursuit? 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:39.000 Are you showing signs of hunger, signs of pursuit? 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:42.000 These questions I must answer. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:45.000 I mustn't go to someone else to answer this. 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:48.000 I must try and answer them honestly because all we're trying to do is, 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:52.000 Father, I'd really like to partake in your nature at this stage in my life 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:56.000 by being where you wanted me to be at this stage in my life. 00:19:56.000 --> 00:20:00.000 So, am I hungry? Am I pursuing? 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:03.000 And then the question is, but what? 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:07.000 Yes, Christ, yes, but is there any phase of this that I am, 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:09.000 I know now and I'm beginning to pursue? 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:13.000 And third question that I need to ask is, can I handle an Elijah in my life? 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:16.000 Can I handle an Elijah in my life? 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:18.000 Can I handle it? Because it's not easy, eh? 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:21.000 Can I handle an Elijah in my life? 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:24.000 Can I handle an Elijah in my life? 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:31.000 As the world gets more and more modern, 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:35.000 it is harder and harder for us because of our individuality 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:38.000 to handle Elijahs in our lives. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:41.000 In the olden days, it was taken for granted. 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:43.000 Apprenticeship was normal. 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:46.000 Nowadays, it's become really hard, eh? 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:49.000 Because we are so highly individualistic. 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:52.000 Can I handle an Elijah in my life? 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:58.000 Because nowadays people desire prophecy from Elijahs, not pruning. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:02.000 They desire a prophecy from Elijah, but not pruning. 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:07.000 They desire Elijah's mantle, but not his sackcloth. 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:14.000 They desire Elijah's favor, but they don't want to walk in Elijah's faith. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:20.000 They desire independence that Elijah operated with as a man of God, 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:25.000 but they don't want to engage in service. 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:28.000 One of the things you notice about Elijah, when God... 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:30.000 Yeah. 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.000 So we've got to ask this question, can I handle an Elijah in my life? 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:36.000 And it's a critical question. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:39.000 And if the answer is not a resounding yes, 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:41.000 then I must make that adjustment, 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:46.000 because otherwise I will not be able to walk in the fullness of my responsibility and authority, 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:50.000 because whether you like it or not, it is a pattern that God uses. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:55.000 You know, God could have provided rain out of the leaves of a tree. 00:21:55.000 --> 00:22:00.000 Whenever it's rainy season, God decides that all the water under the ground 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:03.000 will come spraying out from the leaves of the trees. 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:05.000 But he chose not to do that. 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:08.000 He decided there'll be these fluffy little things that you eat cheese on 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:11.000 that will appear in the sky and they'll shed rain. 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:15.000 So he made clouds and clouds deliver rain. 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:18.000 And Philadelphia, right? Yeah. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:21.000 So at least in Philadelphia, that's what they do. 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:24.000 So this is really getting bad. These jokes are getting really bad. I'm getting old. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:30.000 And so he decided that the way rain will be supplied on Earth is through clouds. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.000 In the same way that he decides something, then you cannot change it. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:39.000 In the same way God decided that the only way you, Jacob, are going to be trained, 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:43.000 you, Jacob, are going to be recognized, trained and established, 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:47.000 the only way it's going to happen is through someone else. He's decided that. 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:51.000 This is why if I don't ask myself, can I handle an Elijah, 00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:56.000 I may have to make that change first before anything else can happen. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:23:02.000 And more and more we're getting books and programs and YouTube videos and how-tos to get there. 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:06.000 God is laughing his head off saying, ha ha ha, poor guys. 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:15.000 God appointed Elijah, but he used Elijah to recognize Elijah, 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.000 prepare Elijah, establish Elijah in his appointment. 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:23.000 There's no way around it. 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:28.000 God used Jacob, God used Potiphar, God used a prison warden, 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:32.000 God used Pharaoh to bring Joseph into his appointment. 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:38.000 Sometimes he even uses non-believers. 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:47.000 He uses those in oversight and authority over you to recognize and then establish you at the right time. 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:50.000 There's no getting around it, guys. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:58.000 I'm saying that the ones who are in oversight are the ones who help you get to your appointment. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:05.000 Occasionally they are not godly people, occasionally. 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:11.000 And again, like I said last time, do not think that this is an attempt to tell you that, 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:18.000 listen, I am the Elijah in your life. I am not saying that because I am not too many of you. 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:21.000 I cannot be too many of you. 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:27.000 But I'm saying there's no way around this unless you go down this route. 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:31.000 Any questions? 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:37.000 They will find you when your heart changes. 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:43.000 It is not the job of sons to look for fathers. It is always the job of fathers to look for sons. 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:48.000 But when a son's heart is positioned right, son is a genderless term, 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:55.000 when a son's heart is positioned right, God will send. It's absolute. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:25:02.000 In this church, for sure, by this church for sure, again, it doesn't mean I'm talking about me. 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:06.000 In this church for sure, meaning this is some of the fundamental building blocks of this church. 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:08.000 It's impossible for it not to happen to you. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:11.000 It may happen to someone, but it will happen. 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:17.000 But the heart. 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:24.000 After Eddie put this quote over me, I didn't want to go down and connect with him. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:26.000 You know why? I'll tell you why. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:30.000 It is such a worldly, self-absorbed reason. 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:37.000 My reason was, what if I connect to him and then find out that there's some other guy who's better than him? 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:42.000 And then what will I do? I'm connected to this guy now, and there's a guy who preaches better than him, 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:45.000 does more miracles than him, has a bigger church than him, can teach better than him. 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:47.000 Now I'm connected to this guy, I'll have to betray him. 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:54.000 So let's not betray him. Let's just keep him at a distance and play the market to find who's the best daddy around. 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:56.000 That's basically what we do. 00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:00.000 I remember God saying, you're in the market looking for a dad. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.000 I had a really good dad, so I had no problem with dads. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:07.000 His words were very cruel. 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:13.000 He said, Jacob, you are surveying the market for the best deal for a spiritual father. 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:16.000 I was a slap on my face. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:19.000 That's when I decided, okay, I better write to him. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:25.000 Even forget the term spiritual father. 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:27.000 Call him whatever you want. 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:32.000 Because all these terms have become so negative because of the abuse that is associated with it, 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:37.000 that to use it, even though they are completely biblical, conjures images that are not helpful. 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:39.000 I don't know what to use now. 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:42.000 Can't even call house church house church. 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:47.000 Because they think it's a mom and pop shop operation run in someone's house who's disillusioned with church. 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:50.000 Can't call it household. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:53.000 Because then they really think it's a mom and pop shop. 00:26:53.000 --> 00:26:56.000 Can't call it microchurch. 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:58.000 Because someone's written a book on it. 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:02.000 Can't call it cell group or connect group because that's not what a house church is. 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:04.000 He got it wrong there. 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:06.000 What do you call it? 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:12.000 But then they think it's in a big building where a lot of people meet on a Sunday morning. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:15.000 You've got to come up with some strange word. 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:18.000 And then insist that it's Greek. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:21.000 Because nobody knows Greek anyways. 00:27:21.000 --> 00:27:24.000 Sorry. 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:27.000 I won't go there right now. 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:34.000 For years, Elijah was an apprentice servant to Elijah. 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:42.000 For years, Elijah was an apprentice servant to Elijah. 00:27:42.000 --> 00:28:02.000 For years, Elijah was an apprentice servant to Elijah. 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:04.000 Crazy, eh? 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:08.000 He was an apprentice servant to Elijah. 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:19.000 He learned spiritual things, yes. 00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:37.000 But he served in menial capacities, too. 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:40.000 Can't think of stuff like this nowadays. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:52.000 Second Kings 3.11 says that, yeah, there is a guy called Elisha of Shaphat who used to serve Elijah the Tishbite and used to wash his hands. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:56.000 Meaning after meal, he'd make sure that Elijah's hands are washed. 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:59.000 No honey, then it was just plain water from a dirty river. 00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:02.000 And so they'd wash their hands in it. 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:06.000 But he would take a menial job for Elijah and he would also learn spiritually. 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:08.000 He was an apprentice servant. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:13.000 The idea of an apprentice servant in today's Christendom is unthinkable. 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:17.000 Like, how dare you? 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:21.000 It should not be demanded of you, but it should be given by you. 00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:26.000 It cannot be demanded of me, but it should be given by me. 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:33.000 Always remember, guys, there's a very fine line that separates a church like this from a cult. 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:41.000 You coerce it, you legislate it, you insist on it, you force it, and you've stepped into the wrong dark side. 00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:45.000 So it's a very fine line. 00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:48.000 So for years, Elijah was a... 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:50.000 And this is when... 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:53.000 Maybe I've said this to you before. 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:55.000 I was sitting at Chris and Gisela's house. 00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:56.000 Heidi was there when this happened. 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:58.000 Eddie was there. 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:01.000 And Eddie's wife, or Paul's mom, was there. 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:07.000 Sitting around the table, Chris' mom Gisela would always give me the head of the table. 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:10.000 So I'd always sit at the head of the table, regardless of who came. 00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:13.000 And so I was sitting there and I used to go there almost... 00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:15.000 I became fat because of Gisela's cooking. 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.000 I used to be a lean, mean fighting machine before that. 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:23.000 It was too loud, Pawan. 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:30.000 So I used to go there every Sunday for like eight years. 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.000 And it's scalloped potatoes and really good beef. 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:37.000 And so I take Eddie and Yvonne there and we're sitting there. 00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:40.000 And after a meal, I didn't want to sit in the chair. 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:43.000 I just wanted to go loll on the sofa. 00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:45.000 So everybody else is eating around the table. 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:48.000 I get up from the chair and I go and I sit down on the sofa. 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:51.000 And Eddie turns to me. 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:53.000 I think Diana might have been there too. 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:55.000 Eddie turns to me and says, 00:30:55.000 --> 00:31:02.000 We are not finished. You will get up and come back and sit here, boy. 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:06.000 And something inside me rose saying, I brought you here. 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:08.000 This is a place I come to every week. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:11.000 You're my guest. 00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:16.000 How dare you speak to me like that? 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:18.000 That we are not done. 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:22.000 You will get up and come back and sit here till we are finished, boy. 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:24.000 Everything in me rose up. 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:26.000 In those days, goat was something else. 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:28.000 It's not greatest of all time. 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:29.000 It was goat was goat. 00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:31.000 Like the goat inside me rose. 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:34.000 And I wanted to... 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:37.000 It's strange how goat becomes greatest of all time. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:39.000 Really? 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:41.000 You could have chosen another animal. 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:44.000 But everything inside me rose and then I had this question. 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:47.000 So Jacob, what are you going to do now? 00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:48.000 What are you going to do now? 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:52.000 And I remember getting up, quietly getting up, sheepishly getting up, 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:54.000 going back and sitting down at that chair. 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:58.000 And that day I knew that I had overcome something in my heart 00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:04.000 that would always come up against any authority that was exerted against me. 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:07.000 That day it broke. 00:32:07.000 --> 00:32:12.000 It was a frightening moment because I didn't know what I was going to do. 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:14.000 I pray, God, that you have moments like that. 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:21.000 And if you fail, that you get another chance. 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:24.000 Because... 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:25.000 Yeah. 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:27.000 Joseph served his father. 00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:30.000 Joseph served Potiphar. 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:41.000 Joseph served the prison warden before he wore the mantle of rulership. 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:48.000 Because God is a servant king, because God is a servant in essence. 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:50.000 I know it's a terrible thing to say that. 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:53.000 God is a servant in his nature. 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:55.000 He did not take on servanthood. 00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:58.000 He is a servant. 00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:02.000 When he takes off his robe and wears just a towel around him 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:05.000 and goes and starts washing the feet of his disciples, 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:09.000 he wasn't putting on a show. 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:11.000 He is a servant at heart. 00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:13.000 In essence, God is a servant. 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:19.000 Therefore, all leadership or rulership has to be tied to the or tethered to the nature of God 00:33:19.000 --> 00:33:20.000 and God at his heart is a servant. 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.000 So there is no question of Joseph getting to a place of rulership 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:26.000 without having gone through a process of serving. 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:28.000 And nor does it happen to you and I. 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:32.000 If the Son of God had to go through it, how can we not go through it? 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:42.000 In this apprentice servanthood, you learn how to walk in order. 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:48.000 This is why this mantle thing is so freely given but rarely received. 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:55.000 Because there is a process, right? 00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.000 Guys, there is a timeline that God puts in place. 00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:03.000 There is a timeline that God puts in every one of our lives. 00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:10.000 There is a timeline that God puts in every one of our lives. 00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:20.000 And the reason he puts that timeline is because he is really keen about relational growth. 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:26.000 He is really keen about relational growth. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:28.000 He is really keen about relational growth. 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:33.000 There is a timeline of relational growth that will take you through experiences 00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:36.000 and during that timeline, you will go through experiences 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:50.000 that will either embitter you, make you proud, and make you self-reliant, 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:59.000 or it will humble you and make you teachable. 00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:03.000 Or it will humble you and make you teachable. 00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:05.000 Everyone here will go through it. 00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:11.000 The way we work our way through it is how we end up positioning ourselves for the Kingdom. 00:35:11.000 --> 00:35:13.000 Everyone here will go through it. 00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:18.000 And these experiences that we go through will either embitter us, 00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:21.000 it will make us proud, or it will make us self-reliant. 00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:23.000 I am talking about in the Church and in the Kingdom of God. 00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:27.000 It will embitter us as in, I have been through it, I will never go through it again. 00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:31.000 Or it will make us proud as in, I am never going to let that happen. 00:35:31.000 --> 00:35:34.000 Or it will make us self-reliant. 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:37.000 But the other side of it is it will humble us and make us teachable. 00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:38.000 One or the other will happen. 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:40.000 And God does this with every one of us. 00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.000 He did it with His Son. 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:48.000 So here is a statement then that needs to be made. 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:58.000 It is that Kingdom power and position, Kingdom power and position is directly proportional, 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:10.000 is directly proportional to relational maturity. 00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:16.000 To relational maturity. 00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:22.000 Kingdom power and position is directly proportional to relational maturity. 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:25.000 Everything in this Kingdom has to be about people. 00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:30.000 Therefore, any Kingdom power and any Kingdom position that you are to receive 00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:36.000 is directly proportional, as in completely dependent on relational maturity. 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:38.000 And what does relational maturity look like? 00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:45.000 Relational maturity, we won't go into details of it, is one, humility. 00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:51.000 Jacob, if you do not have the ability to be humble, I am not able to use you with people. 00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:56.000 Two, Father's heart. 00:36:56.000 --> 00:37:01.000 Jacob, if you don't know my heart, you cannot be relationally mature because you can't help people. 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:05.000 Three, joy-filled. 00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.000 As in Jacob, if your life is not marked by being joyful, 00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:14.000 then I cannot use you in people's life because that is who I am. 00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:17.000 I am ridiculously joyful. 00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:19.000 Four, open lives. 00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:25.000 Jacob, if your life is not lived transparently, if your life is hidden, then I am not able to. 00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:31.000 And then the last one is Jacob, you've got to learn how to not be offended. 00:37:31.000 --> 00:37:33.000 Lack of offense. 00:37:33.000 --> 00:37:37.000 These are just five early stages of relational maturity. 00:37:37.000 --> 00:37:48.000 If I don't increase in this, it doesn't matter how gifted I am, I won't be able to move much. 00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:52.000 Open lives. 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:56.000 When I was singing that for a second, I realized we're talking about God, not about humans. 00:37:56.000 --> 00:38:03.000 It says, you know my weakness, my failures and my flaws. 00:38:03.000 --> 00:38:05.000 And I was thinking, do people really know? 00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:08.000 And then I realized, God is saying, you're singing it to God. 00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:10.000 I was hoping we could sing it to each other. 00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:15.000 Hey, Paul, you know my weakness, my failures and flaws. 00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:17.000 And you go start singing to each other. 00:38:17.000 --> 00:38:20.000 And Paul responds saying, I won't hide them from you. 00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:23.000 And so this begins. 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:25.000 It's like a Hindi movie. 00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:27.000 All that's missing is a few trees and a change of costume. 00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:32.000 But the point is this, guys. 00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:41.000 That open lives is when people see you through your struggle and whether you succeed or fail. 00:38:41.000 --> 00:38:43.000 People see you through your weaknesses. 00:38:43.000 --> 00:38:56.000 So in them taking the step of announcing a pregnancy at eight weeks, they're inviting you into their life and it's suddenly open. 00:38:56.000 --> 00:39:02.000 Most of us live our lives together alone, hasn't? 00:39:02.000 --> 00:39:07.000 Because open lives do not allow you to say M-Y-O-B. 00:39:07.000 --> 00:39:12.000 Once you live open lives, your business is no longer your business. 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:21.000 And the moment you became a Christian, I've said this before, your self-determination ended. 00:39:21.000 --> 00:39:29.000 We could have completely skipped that difficult part of Betty hadn't asked that question. 00:39:29.000 --> 00:39:35.000 By the way, this mantle or these responsibilities that God gives you, it's full of promise, see? 00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.000 It's full of life. It's full of the goodness of God. 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:42.000 And the Father wants you to enjoy the experience. 00:39:42.000 --> 00:39:49.000 Because every time I step into a responsibility that he's giving me, it's a way of exploring and partaking in his nature. 00:39:49.000 --> 00:39:54.000 Think of it along that line. Don't think of the mantle as some heavy thing that I have to now walk in like a prophet. 00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:57.000 No, it's like, oh shucks, the Father wants to do something. 00:39:57.000 --> 00:40:00.000 He's going to do it whether I join him or not. 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:06.000 But in the process, I can explore his nature. I can enter into his nature. I can partake in his nature. 00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:12.000 Now that I know that this is the main thing that he and I are going to do for the next little while, let's enter in, Father. 00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:17.000 The intent from the Father's heart is not that you walk around like you carry a heavy mantle on your shoulders. 00:40:17.000 --> 00:40:23.000 Walk straight because I'm carrying most of it. And occasionally I carry you and give you the credit. 00:40:23.000 --> 00:40:25.000 Enjoy it. Look forward to it. 00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:32.000 I thrill that every so often, hardly six months are over and God's giving another responsibility. I thrill at it. 00:40:32.000 --> 00:40:39.000 Either I finished what he wanted to or he's saying, you're no good at that. Let me give you something else. 00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:46.000 One or the other. But regardless, every six to 12 months when it changes, it is like challenges you want to grasp 00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:50.000 because you realize how enormous it is and that it is impossible. 00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:57.000 That is a beautiful part of this. It is always impossible. It is always large. It is never what you can do. 00:40:57.000 --> 00:41:01.000 That is one of the ways you measure mantles. 00:41:01.000 --> 00:41:07.000 Is the responsibility being given to you? Do you have the authority for it? No. You would prefer turning and running. 00:41:07.000 --> 00:41:13.000 But now you got to step into it because it is so large, it is impossible. Now your heart begins to thrill. 00:41:13.000 --> 00:41:21.000 You're like the guy who's not a swimmer anymore. You're a surfer. Every wave is like, oh my God, invite me, invite me, invite me. 00:41:21.000 --> 00:41:28.000 Swimmers? No. Big wave? Run to the shore. Play with the sand and the seashells. 00:41:31.000 --> 00:41:46.000 Mantles change. Mantles change. Joseph had a many-colored robe. 00:41:46.000 --> 00:41:51.000 Then he had a stewards cloak when he was at Potiphar's. 00:41:51.000 --> 00:42:00.000 And then he had the royal robes that Pharaoh gave him in Genesis 41 verse 40 something. 00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:07.000 Mantles change. Don't measure mantles by ministry opportunities. 00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:14.000 Don't measure mantles by mission trips. 00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:21.000 Don't measure mantles by church roles. Don't measure mantles by jobs you may have. 00:42:21.000 --> 00:42:30.000 Those come and go, those can be given or held back. 00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.000 Mantles are responsibilities given by God. 00:42:34.000 --> 00:42:36.000 You train under people. 00:42:36.000 --> 00:42:46.000 Then you walk in it. Man can't stop you. 00:42:46.000 --> 00:42:52.000 You may be in favor with the pastor, you may be out of favor with the pastor. He may like you a lot, he may not like you at all. 00:42:52.000 --> 00:42:57.000 He may have good reason not to like you, he may have absolutely no good reason not to like you. 00:42:57.000 --> 00:43:10.000 He cannot stop you. 00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:19.000 So the question is, do you know what you presently wear? 00:43:19.000 --> 00:43:23.000 What is it that you're wearing? Is it well worn? 00:43:23.000 --> 00:43:27.000 And then the answer to those questions is, yeah, I kind of know what I presently wear. Is it well worn? 00:43:27.000 --> 00:43:31.000 No, still trying to figure it out. I have no idea what to do with it. 00:43:31.000 --> 00:43:33.000 Still trying to figure it out. Is it well worn? 00:43:33.000 --> 00:43:43.000 And then the other question you need to ask is, is the responsibility that you used to have 10 years ago or 5 years ago or 4 years ago, have you thrown away that garment? 00:43:43.000 --> 00:43:48.000 The first thing that Elisha does as soon as he receives a mantle, yes, he does it out of grief. 00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:53.000 He tears his garment. That part of it was out of grief. 00:43:53.000 --> 00:43:56.000 The other part was he's going to step into something new. He's got nothing to do with the old. 00:43:56.000 --> 00:44:02.000 Elisha has been through it before. When he was plowing with the 12th yoke of oxen, what did he do? 00:44:02.000 --> 00:44:14.000 He cut the plow up and he burnt the plow and then roasted the oxen. He's done this before. He's said goodbye to things before. 00:44:14.000 --> 00:44:20.000 You cannot step into something new without letting go of that which is old. You cannot. 00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:32.000 The old wine skin must be let go of if the new wine must be poured in. There's no way around it. You cannot. 00:44:32.000 --> 00:44:39.000 Any questions before we end? Any questions? 00:44:39.000 --> 00:44:46.000 The mantle you wear will be tested by God and targeted by the devil. 00:44:46.000 --> 00:44:51.000 The mantle you wear will be tested by God and will be targeted by the devil. 00:44:51.000 --> 00:44:55.000 It will be tested by God. It will be targeted by the devil. 00:44:55.000 --> 00:45:02.000 Psalm 105, verse 19. Joseph knew from when he was a kid that he would one day rule. 00:45:03.000 --> 00:45:05.000 In Psalm 105, 19 it says, 00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:10.000 And the word of the Lord tested him. As in Joseph, do you really believe all the dreams I gave you? 00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:13.000 Do you really believe all the words I gave you? 00:45:13.000 --> 00:45:21.000 He sent a man before the famine. They put his hands and feet in fetters and they chained him. 00:45:21.000 --> 00:45:24.000 And the word of the Lord tested him till it came to pass. 00:45:24.000 --> 00:45:30.000 God will test what you're wearing to see. Hey, Jacob, are you really believing this? 00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:33.000 But the enemy will target it too. 00:45:33.000 --> 00:45:42.000 It was a very cloak that was given to Joseph to show that he was favored to rule, 00:45:42.000 --> 00:45:50.000 that his brothers hated and tore to shreds and dipped in the blood of a goat to present to the father as your son is dead. 00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:58.000 It was a very cloak that Joseph wore as a steward that Potiphar's wife took hold of and framed him for a crime. 00:45:59.000 --> 00:46:04.000 Please understand that once you step into this, it's time to man up whether you're a man or a woman. 00:46:04.000 --> 00:46:08.000 Because this thing will be tested by God to see if you have the caliber to walk in it. 00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:10.000 And it will be targeted by the enemy. 00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:17.000 Because if you walk in it fully, he knows that a certain responsibility will be fulfilled with great authority. 00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:35.000 Many Elisha's delay or step away from their tailored mantles because of the experiences they've been through. 00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:43.000 Many Elisha's delay or step away from their tailored mantles, God-tailored mantles, 00:46:43.000 --> 00:46:50.000 because of bitter experiences or ungodly experiences they have had. 00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:53.000 They step away or they delay it. 00:46:53.000 --> 00:47:00.000 And there will be constant attempts to rob you of it or to prolong you to wear something instead of moving on or to stain it. 00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:06.000 But the great thing about a different spirit or an excellent spirit like the one that Caleb possessed, 00:47:06.000 --> 00:47:12.000 and we talked about this long ago, is that if you have a different spirit, then you cut through lack. 00:47:12.000 --> 00:47:17.000 You cut through limitations. You cut through lies. You cut through the blame game. 00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:20.000 You cut through negativity and you do not give up easily. 00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:25.000 I'll say it again. When you possess an excellent spirit or a different spirit, 00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:30.000 then like Caleb, you have the ability to cut through lack. 00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:33.000 Lack doesn't stop you from stepping into your mantle. 00:47:33.000 --> 00:47:40.000 You cut through limitations. Being as short as Zeven doesn't prevent him from walking. 00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:46.000 You cut through negativity. You cut through the blame game. 00:47:46.000 --> 00:47:51.000 This person did that. That person did that. And they did it to you. 00:47:51.000 --> 00:47:57.000 It is true, but you cut through it. Sometimes it takes time, but you cut through it. 00:47:57.000 --> 00:48:02.000 You cut through lies. Every stronghold in my life is built on a lie. 00:48:02.000 --> 00:48:10.000 You cut through lies. You cut through fear. And you cut through giving up easily. 00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:15.000 It takes time, agreed, but you do cut through it. 00:48:18.000 --> 00:48:21.000 Any questions? 00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:28.000 Any questions? 00:48:34.000 --> 00:48:37.000 Go ahead, Jill. 00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:45.000 The questions that many elections state are layered in a way from God to you about this. 00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:50.000 How do you reconcile that with, it all comes down to the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable? 00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:54.000 Yeah. We run out of time. That's the only thing that happens. 00:48:54.000 --> 00:48:56.000 The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 00:48:56.000 --> 00:49:01.000 And so God always wants it to be completed, but I run out of time. 00:49:01.000 --> 00:49:07.000 So it isn't that it's withdrawn, but I don't have enough years left to fulfill it. 00:49:07.000 --> 00:49:10.000 Yeah. Yeah. 00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:20.000 But then I can also borrow time, like Caleb and Joshua did. 00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:25.000 Yeah. Like Hezekiah did. You get an extra lease. 00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:32.000 Because he sees that, man, Jacob, you squandered the last 60 years of your life, but you're really getting passionate at 61. 00:49:33.000 --> 00:49:38.000 So you know what? I was planning to take you home at three score and 10. Let's make it four score and 10. 00:49:38.000 --> 00:49:43.000 Max 29 will have to hang around till you die. 00:49:49.000 --> 00:49:51.000 Any other questions? 00:49:51.000 --> 00:49:54.000 Okay. Last point. Really. 00:49:56.000 --> 00:50:01.000 The mantle surprisingly prolongs the life of Elijah's. 00:50:01.000 --> 00:50:04.000 A mantle prolongs the life of Elijah. 00:50:04.000 --> 00:50:11.000 You know, for years after he put his cloak on Elijah, Elijah now lives because he has to train this boy up. 00:50:11.000 --> 00:50:14.000 Mantles prolong the life of Elijah's. 00:50:14.000 --> 00:50:17.000 One of the ways to live long is to raise people. 00:50:17.000 --> 00:50:32.000 The mantle prolongs the life of Elijah. 00:50:32.000 --> 00:50:37.000 For years Elijah mentored or discipled Elijah after throwing his cloak on him. 00:50:37.000 --> 00:50:40.000 If you don't raise up, you phase out. 00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.000 If you don't raise up, if you don't raise up. 00:50:47.000 --> 00:50:50.000 You phase out. 00:50:52.000 --> 00:50:58.000 Why? Because if you don't raise up, you're not fulfilling the Genesis mandate. 00:50:58.000 --> 00:51:01.000 What's the point of being here on earth? 00:51:01.000 --> 00:51:04.000 If you don't raise up, you phase out. 00:51:04.000 --> 00:51:12.000 If you're not here to fulfill the Genesis mandate as a believer, what are you here for? To go to heaven? Well, let's go. 00:51:18.000 --> 00:51:21.000 How do you raise up? By desiring to raise up. 00:51:21.000 --> 00:51:24.000 Because your father does this for a living. 00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:29.000 That is not part of what you are doing. 00:51:29.000 --> 00:51:34.000 And if you think you can do it on your own in some little corner, it doesn't work that way. 00:51:34.000 --> 00:51:38.000 It happens with a people. God is interested in a nation, in a people. 00:51:38.000 --> 00:51:43.000 Not in individual efforts on a solitary island. 00:51:43.000 --> 00:51:49.000 Please guys, these are precious truths that you will be held accountable for. 00:51:56.000 --> 00:51:59.000 And it's not about the size of your mansion. 00:51:59.000 --> 00:52:03.000 When I say held accountable, I don't mean you'll get a smaller mansion and Betty will get a bigger one. 00:52:03.000 --> 00:52:05.000 It's more than mansions that are involved here. 00:52:05.000 --> 00:52:10.000 The mantle prolongs the life of Elijah. For years Elijah mentored or discipled Elijah after throwing the cloak on him. 00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:15.000 I would suspect that even the schools of the prophets happened after Elijah was put in place. 00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:22.000 Elijah accomplished quite a lot after he threw the mantle on Elijah. 00:52:27.000 --> 00:52:29.000 Prolongs your life. 00:52:29.000 --> 00:52:31.000 If you don't raise, you phase out. 00:52:31.000 --> 00:52:35.000 Raising up is not siring. Siring is just giving birth. 00:52:36.000 --> 00:52:42.000 Raising up, as Aaron is soon going to find out, is much harder work than siring. 00:52:42.000 --> 00:52:44.000 Raising up is not soothing. 00:52:44.000 --> 00:52:49.000 As in, oh, you feel like crying, come Baba, and make you stop crying. No. 00:52:49.000 --> 00:52:52.000 Raising up is much more than service. 00:52:52.000 --> 00:52:53.000 It's much more than this thing. 00:52:53.000 --> 00:52:58.000 Raising up is a lot of unnecessary, really difficult work that you prefer not to do. 00:52:58.000 --> 00:53:01.000 That's what raising up looks like. 00:53:01.000 --> 00:53:04.000 And these are not even your children. 00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:08.000 They don't even look like you. 00:53:08.000 --> 00:53:10.000 So, if you don't raise up, you phase out. 00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:13.000 Last point of the section. 00:53:13.000 --> 00:53:16.000 This is the last point. 00:53:16.000 --> 00:53:18.000 Shoot. 00:53:18.000 --> 00:53:21.000 Okay. So, here's the thing. 00:53:21.000 --> 00:53:29.000 In the process, Elijah became a source of comfort, of encouragement, and strength to Elijah. 00:53:29.000 --> 00:53:37.000 Elisha has become a source of comfort, a source of strength, and a source of encouragement to Elijah. 00:53:37.000 --> 00:53:39.000 This is so cool, eh? 00:53:39.000 --> 00:53:42.000 My mom always asks me, do you have a retirement plan? 00:53:42.000 --> 00:53:45.000 And I name a few of you saying, I'm sure they'll take care of me. 00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:48.000 It doesn't comfort my mom at all, but... 00:53:48.000 --> 00:53:56.000 So, there's encouragement, strength, and comfort that Elisha's bring Elijah. 00:53:56.000 --> 00:54:06.000 And Elijah's can now leave absolutely confident that the work they started will be safe, will be sustainable, will go beyond them. 00:54:06.000 --> 00:54:09.000 They're able to leave happily. 00:54:09.000 --> 00:54:10.000 That's a great thing.