I had this brilliant teaching on stewardship that they have a picture for and stuff like
that, but after hearing what Derek was talking about and after sensing what we now should
talk about, we are going to talk about Judah. So we will do stewardship next time. So you
will have to change the title so we are not doing stewardship.
Guys, so I have written it down so we can follow along. When you look at the tribe of
Judah, there were a certain kind of people that God needed to advance into the things
that Israel needed to do as they moved from being a slave people to a people that were
going to possess the land that was promised to Abraham. But for that, He needed a people
that were a certain kind. All the tribes had their traits—twelve tribes, twelve different
traits—but Judah was always the one that was supposed to stand on the forefront. Why
are we talking about Judah? Because based on some of the things that Derek was talking
about, based on some of the things that we are trying to accomplish in Richmond, we have
to take on this kind of a trait or an attitude. And as I talk about this, check and see if
this is the kind of person you want to be. Because some of us may decide, no, it's not
for me. Some of us may not have the time for it. It's like when I make some more money,
when I get a good job, when I retire, then I'll think of this. But some of us may just
need to hear this to say, okay, this is who I want to be. One of the first times I met
this Immanuel, one of the things God said about him was that you're this kind of a person,
this kind of a person that can walk in this. He's the kind of guy who can literally have
the tooth of a lion on his chain. That was what was said about him. And so there'll be
different things said about people. God says things based on what he sees. And then it
is up to me whether I step into it or not. I can hold back because there are a hundred
different things that I have to accomplish, so I might just postpone it. Or I can step
into it. But right now, this church should take on this attitude. And I think that's
these traits. And so as I talk about it, check. So first, you'll always find that when there
was any movement of the Israelite camp in the wilderness or into a situation where there
needed to be a battle with the Philistines or the Canaanites or the Midianites, God would
say, Judah will go up first. It was always Judah going up first. And so one of the first
things about Judah is Judah is on the forefront. It's always sent into battle first. This was
God's choice. It wasn't Judah screaming, saying, send me, send me, send me. They actually
go and ask God. They say to God, okay, oh God, who do you want to go up first? Because
there are 12 tribes. Who goes up first? And God's immediate reply was Judah goes up first.
And so that's one of the things that will be demanded of us. When I take you into a
situation, can you not wait for an invitation? Can you understand that I expect you to go
up first? Is that you? And if it's not you, are you willing to give your mind? Because
that's what needs to be changed. Their hearts can have the courage, their spirits know the
truth, but our minds struggle with this. Because our minds are the ones that say, not me, not
now. It's the same excuses in the parable that Jesus speaks. Jesus went out and said,
invite them to the banquet. And they said, I've got to take care of my work first. I've
got family to take care of. I've got this and that to take care of. And in the end,
nobody turns up. And so the question is, are you the type that wants to be on the forefront?
Forefront of what? Forefront of dealing with those five things. Disease, the demonic, the
damaged, the decaying, and the dying. Do you want to be on the forefront of that? Who are
we following? Strangely enough, even though Levi was a tribe that God always depended
on. Strangely enough, though Ruben was the first born of Jacob and Simeon. Strangely
enough, in Hebrews it talks about it. In Hebrews it says that when Jesus came, he changed the
order. No more was it Ruben or Simeon. It moved from Ruben, Simeon, Levi to Judah. Why? Because
out of Judah would come one who was like the cub of a lion. Out of Judah would come one
that if aroused would have his foot on the neck of his enemies. Out of Judah. So I know
that this is what we're being called to. This is not new. We've been talking about this
for a while now. Question is, is this your mindset? And if it's not your mindset, is
it worth examining? And if it's not worth examining, then it doesn't mean that you still
don't get a ringside seat, but you don't get to engage. That's the difference. So Judah
is on the forefront. God will always set us up wherever we go. Be it Richmond, be it another
city after this, be it another country in the world, be it Zurich, be it Kelowna. It
will be always on the forefront saying, can I put you up front so that standing here you
can handle the worst onslaught and after having taken care of it, can you not keep
moving forward? It needs muscling up. How do Christians muscle up? Very simple. Spirit
and word. That's it. How do Christians muscle up? Spirit and word. What does that look like?
Word inside you, word that comes out of you and the Spirit of God inside you directing
you. That's why it's called the word or the sword of the Spirit. That's how we muscle
up. So that's one. Second, Judah is a forerunner. Judah is a forerunner. A forerunner is, I
don't know if you've seen these little tugboats going up and down the Fraser River or you
see them at the port too. These little tugboats have the ability to hook on to this huge ocean
liner or cruise ship and draw it into the port. What's it doing? It's going ahead of
the much larger thing that is supposed to come behind. But a forerunner is one who goes
before you and draws in that which is supposed to come after. It's a tiny little tugboat,
but somehow that tugboat has enough power in its engine to draw the huge ocean liner
behind it. In Hebrews chapter 6 verse 20, Jesus is called a forerunner. As in, he went
ahead of us, he entered the heavenlies, he paid for our sins and now that he's entered,
he is waiting for the rest of us to come in. He's the first fruit we will come after. So
one of the things this church has to be, and you've got to ask this question of yourself,
am I a forerunner? Am I someone who's constantly working hard, clearing the way for others
to come? What does a forerunner look like if you take him out of the water and put him
in a forest? A forerunner is a guy who has a machete in his hand and starts cutting down
the bush, right hand and left. Why? So that he can clear a path for the rest of the people
who are coming behind to come in. What does a forerunner look like if you're climbing
a mountain? A forerunner in a mountain situation is a sherpa who carries on his back the oxygen
tank, the supplies and goes ahead sometimes without an oxygen mask, setting up steps so
that you can set up base camps because the rest of the climbers are coming. Take away
the sherpas and no one climbs Mount Everest. That's what forerunning looks like. It is
the willingness that people have to say, let me go first and cut a path for the rest to
follow. That's what forerunners. Question is, is that my mentality and is that your mentality?
Or you know, I read this somewhere just today. They said there are three kinds of people
when it comes to moving pianos. Ones who push it, ones who pull it and ones who move the
piano seat. Ones who push it and these are guys who put all their strength behind pushing
it. Ones who pull it and then there will always be this one guy who will carry the piano seat
and won't break into a sweat but he's playing a part in it. Very often we are piano seat
carriers and that's not what forerunners do. So what's your mentality? I know who you are
thinking of, Don. Stop thinking of him. I know who all of you are thinking of. Stop
thinking of him. Moving on. This is so unfair. I know you're thinking of Don. I know you're
thinking of Don. Okay, Judah. The next one is Judah enters behind the curtain. This is
such a cool thing, eh? Because there is no sense to anything Judah does. There is no
sense to anything he accomplishes. If it weren't for the fact that Judah has the ability to
enter behind the curtain, what is... Thank God little Judah is not here today. He'll
go behind one of these curtains. But Judah enters behind the curtain. So what does that
mean? Judah is not satisfied with meeting God at a distance. To go behind the curtain
is to go behind the veil. There's an old song that none of you will or very few of you will
know. It says, Within the veil I long to go. To see the beauty there that dwells behind
the veil. The idea is in the Old Testament there used to be a veil that used to separate
people from the holy of holies. Judah is not satisfied with anything else but intimacy
behind the curtain. I know the curtain doesn't exist now because it was torn in the New Testament.
But intimacy is still something that can only be had if you go beyond, Happy birthday to
you, Vibi. Okay, okay. I won't sing. I won't sing. You can come back.
I won't sing, Vibi. I promise. Come, come, come. Come back in. Kids are not allowed to
sit on the stairs. Come in, come in. We won't sing. I won't.
Yeah. Okay. So Judah enters behind the curtain. The idea of entering behind the curtain is
can I find times of deep intimacy? Because out of that comes courage, out of that comes
faith, out of that comes the laughter, out of that comes the goodness of God, out of
that comes power, out of that comes expectation. Why do you think Moses was unafraid? Why do
you think Joshua was unafraid? Just for one simple reason. They knew how to spend time
in the tent. How do you not be changed by beholding him? 2 Corinthians 3, 18. As we
behold him, we are changed from glory to glory, strength to strength, faith to faith. This
is critically, and this is the one thing that will always be robbed of Judah. In this church
too, one of the things I'm always scared of is Jacob. You get so involved in things, so
involved in trips, so involved in planning stuff, that the one thing you do not do is
enter behind the curtain. There was not a day when Moses didn't. He loved the presence
of God. He'd go to this tent of meeting in the middle of the desert and he'd go behold.
What's he beholding? He's beholding a form. He can't see God. Nobody sees God and lives,
but he beholds him. Oh my God, once we get a taste of it guys, you will not be able to
stay away. But the important thing is to persist till we get that taste. Sometimes what happens
in praise and worship in this church is that we just about are getting there and then for
some reason it fizzles out because Tooney stopped singing or Jane stopped singing and
it begins to fizzle out. And you're so close to tasting or getting a glimpse of something
so magnificent that that becomes your new high. God is addictive. God is addictive.
It's very hard once you begin to taste God to settle for anything less. Any questions
before we go on? Any questions? No? Okay. Judah carries the ark on his shoulder. What
does that mean? There was a protocol. There's a protocol to how we do things with God. What
did the ark represent? The ark represents the presence of God and the government of
God. Please hear this. It's important to understand that Judah, where did the king come from? Where
was Jesus from? The tribe of Judah. Who is he? The king. What does it talk about him
in Revelation chapter 4? He's the Lion of Judah. The very word Judah means government.
Of the increase of his government there shall be no end. This is something that God is willing
to give us church. It's a gift that he said he would give us 20 years ago, 2005, 2006.
This was the word given to Acts 29. You should check. I've got, we used to use slides then.
Like, you know that thing? No, like this box that had light. Overhead projector, yeah.
I was at the Canuck game on Thursday and they called this little kid and they said, can
you identify these items? And these were things from the past. If you identified it, you would
get a free Canuck jersey. The guy got the VHS thingy. He got a VHS, a VHS, a VHS, a
VHS, the Sony Walkman thing. But you know what he didn't get? This machine. That was
the old credit card thingy where it's a metal thing and you'd, and the kid is looking at
it and he has no idea what it is. So he didn't, I think he still won, but when we talk about,
why are we talking about that? Yeah, 2006. He just got it. He got it. He got it. He got
it. Six years ago, we had words that said when it comes to a tribe, this tribe that
this church belongs to is a tribe that will behave like Duda. Meaning this church must
behave like Duda. That was 20 years ago, man. And so to carry the arc on your shoulders
means to carry government on your shoulders. What does government mean? How do you rule,
God? How should we rule? What does it look like to rule over sickness? What does it look
like to rule over the demonic, the decaying, the disease, the death, the damage? How does
it look like to rule over imposters and false gods and false kings and false rulers? What
does it look like? And the thing about government is you can't just do what you want. One of
the things that happened to David was he decided that he would begin to rule and govern like
the Philistines did. So what did he do? He took the arc and he put it on a cart. All
his life, every Israelite knew that the arc had to be borne on the shoulders. But he puts
it on a cart. When we prosecute things that the kingdom of God wants here in the city,
we have to do it the prescribed way of the word or of the spirit. We can't just go willy
nilly and do stuff. How does God want us to do things? One of the primary things about
the government of God is it's a government of love. It's a government that frees. It's
a government that will never stop increasing. It is a government that is Christo-centric,
as in it's based entirely on the life of Christ. That's what we are talking about. So my question
to you again is, so Daniel, so Shireen, so Jessen, how does it look like in your life?
What would it look like for you to say, okay, I want to learn how to walk in this? I'm just
picking on names. Will I make sure that I follow order when I do things? Will I make
sure that I know how God's rule and reign looks like? Will it be tethered to the nature
of God? Will it be how we conduct ourselves here? Will it be how we conduct ourselves
there? You know something? One of the methods Satan uses to strike back at the church is
to see if the church is rebelling. If the church is in rebellion, he finds it very easy
to deal with the church in rebellion, because that's one of the first things he did in the
backyard of heaven. And so when a church learns how to walk in order and to understand that
God wants to rule, but he wants to rule a certain way and we'll function that way, it
literally shuts the door to the enemy. We think that the church is peripheral to Richmond.
Here's what Jesus said in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 20 to 23, that the church is central
to Richmond. Richmond is peripheral to the church. That all of Christ dwells as the head
of the church. Not just this church, other churches too. All of Christ dwells as the
head of the church. And everything that Christ is, is invested in the church. And that the
church is the primary vehicle, the central piece of God's plan of salvation for Richmond.
Do I begin to think like that? It's here guys, it's here. Any questions? Challenge me on
this if you think. It's not from scriptures. His rule is not from scriptures. His rule
is benevolent. His rule is loving. His rule liberates. His rule rescues. His rule restores
dignity. His rule provides security. His rule brings provision. His rule heals. His rule
gives you intimacy. His rule gives you companionship. His rule blesses. His rule goes from generation
to generation. This is what his rule is like. And it's personified in Christ. And that Christ
in his fullness dwells in the church. And he says, can you carry me on your shoulders?
This is why it says that in Isaiah 22, 22, and I will give you the keys of David. And
where will you wear it? You wear it on your shoulders. Why? Because this is where government
rests. Whenever he talks about his shoulders, he's talking about the people who have learned
how to rule and reign. Is there a desire to do that? Or are we just consumed with our
tiny little things that we are trying to organize? This is where Matthew 6.33 is loud. Seek first.
And all these other things that you're so focusing on, Jacob, I'll add to you. Next
one. Judah enters into territory and routs the enemy. Judah does not wait for an invitation.
Judah never waits for an invitation. Judah doesn't wait for, please come and help us.
Judah sees a need and goes into enemy territory to rescue and bring out. Do we know how to
do it? Do we know what Matthew 12.29 is? Matthew 12.29. When you enter a strong man's house,
you have to bind up the strong man. Once you bind him up, you can enter his house and plunder
his goods and take away things that Satan has held in bondage. But can you bind up the
strong man first? Christ bound him up. Can you exert that authority now? Can you enter
into territory appointed to you? Where you know that there are people caught up in the
worship of false God or there are people caught up in diseases. There are people caught up
in depravity. Can you enter there because I am saying go? And once you go there, can
you rescue them? Can you do this in different places in Richmond or are you going to spend
all your services talking about the five Ds without doing anything about the five Ds?
The six Ds do. I love preaching a message I didn't prepare for. This is more fun than
I thought. Judah enters enemy territory and routes the enemy. Routes the enemy. It's
not, would you mind moving? It's routing the enemy. I was talking at Pursuit some days
ago and I was saying at Pursuit that, listen guys, we as a church do not know how to fight.
We have a few people that may know how to pray and fight but as a church we do not
know how to. And who should be blamed for that? Partly me. I said partly. Partly me.
The point being it's time now for anybody who's enthusiastic to be helped to become
someone who learns how to fight when God calls us into situations where people need to be
set free. All fighting in the kingdom is towards liberation of someone else. And all fighting
in the kingdom does not look like fighting. You know what fighting looks like? Sometimes
it looks like praise. You know what the word Judah means? Judah means praise. And what
happens when people begin to praise? Just like I said at the end of the worship, every
religion uses words, songs, chants. Sometimes prayers five times a day. Sometimes 24 hour
chants. Why? Because there is power in words and there's power in incantations and there
is power in the release of words to do harm or to do good. And then we have a people whose
very savior came from the tribe of Judah which means praise. And Psalm 8 verse 2 says, out
of the mouth of babes I have ordained praise to silence the avenger. And so when a people
begin to actually put their minds together, there is something called the oneness of mind
even in worship and praise. And when that oneness hits, it's like what goes out of
here is very destructive to the enemy and very helpful to the ones that are caught up.
Daniel thrown into the lion's den begins to praise. Jonah in the belly of a whale begins
to praise. Jehoshaphat and his singers begin to praise. Paul and Silas stuck in the prison
begin to praise. The ones who are being persecuted on earth, Revelation 5 and 6 begin to praise.
Bowls of incense of praise and prayer. It's still a powerful weapon guys. Joshua when
he went to battle Jericho, who did he send out in the front? Singers. What does it say
to the barren woman? Single barren woman. What did the morning stars do as the earth
was being created? The morning stars sang. It was one of the first activities that we
hear of in terms of angelic participation in what God was doing. When a people come
together, not because Tunis leading worship but because they understand that this is a
weapon. It is a weapon. Zephaniah 317. God sings. It is a weapon. What do you think the
Psalms were? Songs. Why were they written? Because they were sometimes used by David
to either prepare himself before a battle or celebrate after a battle. Man I pray that
we never gather here, assemble here and switch off. That we come with one mind and when the
mind begins to wander do the same thing that you would do if a hundred dollar fell out
of your wallet. Go pick it up. And if it wanders again, go pick it up again.
Judah enters territory and rouse the enemy. The next one is Judah throws the enemy into
disarray with praise. Judah throws the enemy into disarray with praise. Judah throws the
enemy into disarray with praise. And so we need to form a people that can together participate
in prayer, praise and learning how to deal with the demonic, the damage, the disease,
the decay and the death of things. Why? Why is the Holy Spirit here? Why is the Holy Spirit
here? Now that he lives in us, what's his other major role? Anybody? What's the one thing
he's after through us? Make things new. That's why in Revelation 21, verse 5 we hear the
voice from the throne saying, behold I have made all things new. We have the Holy Spirit.
We have the Holy Spirit. We have the fullness of Christ. Now what's his main desire through
us? Hey, can I make things new through you? Just like Jesus went about making things new,
can I the Spirit of Christ make all things new through you in every life, in every situation
and these five D's that I've given you? Come church, make things new with me. What does
changing decay look like? Changing decay looks like sometimes putting a coat of paint on
someone's face, not face, on their life. Just a fresh coat of paint so that it stops decaying.
It's small things guys. Jesus is a, we throw the enemy into disarray with praise. One of
the things we have to be careful of and this is particularly to young believers. By young
I don't mean in age, just in age, but in terms of how long you've been a believer and in
terms of age. The worst thing that Christians do when we talk about stuff like this is to
Google and find out what we should do. Google and God have only two things in common. The
first two letters. After that all similarity ends. We don't Google to find things out.
I was here and we were talking about immediately I could see people Googling finding out where
we should go and, no he's the commander, let him direct us. He knows what we are capable
of. He was so smart that he would not allow Israel that came out of slavery to reach the
promised land in 14 days because he knew there were a slave people that would be beaten to
pulp. So he took them on a roundabout route so that he can train them to fight. Discernment
is not the same as Google. I'm sorry I'm insisting on this, but it's a rotten habit that we have
because of Google and social media. We try to find out God's desire by Googling stuff.
Stop it! Like Paul, like Bob Newhart would say. That reference never makes any sense
to anybody here. The next one. Judah learns authority and prepares the way with his voice
and his words. Judah learns authority. So we'll deal with that first. Judah learns authority.
Authority is learned guys. It doesn't matter that you might be the son of a royal prince
in the Middle East, you still learn authority. Anybody who does not learn authority is a
spoiled brat that does not know authority but exerts his own whims or fancies just because
his father is a king. But then there are people that learn authority. You know how you learn
authority? Just two or three ways to learn authority. The first one. You learn authority
by being submitted to authority. There is no way of learning authority unless one is
submitted to authority. Who said it? Jesus. When? When the centurion came to him. And
the centurion says, Jesus, I know that you have authority because I am one who serves
under. I tell someone to go, they go. I tell someone to come, they come. I know what it
is to be under authority. I know what it is to command. And he's looking at Jesus and
he's saying, you are like that too. I don't know how this centurion recognized that this
man called Jesus of Nazareth was under God and that therefore he had authority over everything
else too. It is impossible to learn authority for Judah if you're not submitted to authority.
So that's the first one. The second one is it is impossible to exert authority without
purity. All authority crumbles if it is not built on purity. I didn't say perfection.
I said purity. Because I cannot drive out darkness if there is darkness in me. I cannot
run a clean government if I'm corrupt and taking bribes. This is why Jesus in John says
these words. He says, the prince of darkness is coming but he has nothing in me. As in,
there's nothing he has on me. And therefore, because Christ was fully submitted to the
authority of God, everything on earth submitted to him. We learn authority. And then we prepare
the way with voice and words. You know, Satan's power was not decreased on the cross. Satan
did not lose his power on the cross. Satan still has the same power that he had before.
In fact, he rages even more according to scriptures because his time is short. Satan's
power has not decreased. Well, what has been stripped away is his authority. And that is
huge. You may be the... I knew a Filipino gentleman who was a police chief in Philippines.
I remember talking to him once and he said, Jacob, it doesn't matter that I was a police
chief in the Philippines. In Manila, if I stood up and I put my hand up like this, all
traffic would stop. He says, here if I put up my hand like this, all traffic will go
over me. He was making a good point. It is not enough to have power. It is critical that
you have authority. And what was stripped away on the cross was authority. And that
is huge. Judah learns authority. How do you exert authority? With your voice and with
words. With your voice and with words. With your voice and with words. Otherwise, people
do not know what you are trying to accomplish. Voice and words. That's why it isn't difficult
for me to interrupt worship when everybody is having a really good time singing. Because
if worship is not informed by the truth, then our worship is partial. Words are not important.
Voice and voice. We must use our voice. We must use our voice. Go ahead.
So Satan having power but his authority being stripped means that I can now exert authority
to shut down his power. That's the advantage we as believers have. All authority in heaven
and earth has been given to me. And I give you now the, I give you permission to trample
over serpents and scorpions. And no harm by any means shall come to you. I give you authority
over all the power of the enemy. Strange. Look at the wording. I give you authority
over all the power of the enemy. And go ahead now. Trample upon serpents and scorpions.
I know this that no harm or hurt shall come to you. This is where we need to muscle up.
Not one or two. Not five or six. Not eight or ten liters. But what if a church began
to do this? This is why the Bible says that listen, one can chase a thousand, two can
chase, I don't remember the multiplication, but let's say ten thousand. Why? Because remember
Satan is finite. He is finite. He is not infinite. He is not omnipresent. He is not omniscient.
He is not omnipotent. He is finite. Can you imagine when Meera starts using the sword
of the spirit, when Dane starts using sword of the spirit, when Ella starts using the
sword of the spirit, when I start using the sword of the spirit, what do you think is
happening in the spirit realm? How many places can you look at the same time? He is finite.
He is finite. That's what begins to happen. One of the things that's so critical for
us is one-mindedness. One-mindedness. I go back to Pawan's Reserves. If he is not in
one mind with his buddies and with the one who is commanding, he will be out of step.
And it takes one person to be out of step for a whole army to begin to walk in disarray.
It's fascinating. Have you seen those dances where there are twelve people dancing on
stage and one person always kicks the leg up about half a second later? Where's the
focus then? Everyone goes together and then one person kicks up the left leg. It's...
Tony got reminded of something. Judah learns authority and then prepares the way with voice.
This is why it says in... What's the last book of the Bible? Malachi. It says in Malachi
and it says in the first few chapters of Matthew, and then I hear a voice in the desert crying,
prepare either way. There's a voice that needs to prepare it. God does nothing. And there's
a scripture. It's in the book of Amos. God does nothing without first announcing it.
God does nothing without first announcing it. There's not a single event in the Bible
that came to pass without it first being announced. You know what's the saddest thing about Judah
or a lion? The saddest thing about a lion, you take away the role of a lion and you take
away its strength. I pray God that you remember this forever. You take away the role of a
lion and you take away its strength. You read Amos chapter 3. It talks about that. You take
away the role of a lion. You end its strength. You can see now why God shut the lion's mouth
when Daniel was thrown into the cave. Surely just because God shut the lion's mouth doesn't
mean the lions can't maul Daniel to death because all the others that were thrown in,
they mauled him to death. How come they didn't do anything to Daniel? Yes, it was God's intervention.
One of the things we need to realize is that the praise of Judah silences the avenger.
He is like a roaring lion but we are the actual thing. And so it's important that I give voice
and that I use words and my words, if they are from the word of God, are even more powerful
because it's a double-edged sword. It's one thing to cut with words that I use that have
to be phrased well. But what if I use the double-edged sword? Is there anything more
powerful? I can tell you all about praise but how about out of the mouth of babes, God
has ordained strength to silence the avenger. You don't know what that does because it was
first heard thousands of years ago and it's been used thousands of times against the enemy.
And he knows every time someone speaks it and understands it. Oh shucks, the sword is
coming. I mean, in the good old days when my dad used to watch wrestling, boy, in tag
team wrestling, the moment you saw Hulk Hogan coming, you knew it was over. Oh, I'm glad
someone knows Hulk Hogan here. Fuyo is pretending he doesn't know Hulk Hogan. He's keeping a
straight face. Well, I know you know Hulk Hogan. I've seen you tear your shirt off.
Next one, Judah opens doors for Timothes and Jehus. Judah opens doors. And this is
where I'm saying I have partly failed you in opening the doors for some and not opening
the doors for enough because in 20 years, a church should have more people who know
how to fight. And we don't. We have a few. It's not good enough. Judah opens doors for
Timothes and Jehus. Hey, can I train you? Spotting people and saying, come train. Let
me teach you how to. It's one thing to invite people. It's another thing whether they train
or not. But it should be, the bar should be lower for training people. So Judah opens
the doors for Timothes and Jehus. Can you imagine Elijah not raising Jehu? If Elijah
did not raise Jehu, Jezebel would have continued. If Elijah did not raise Jehu, Ahab would have
continued. The only reason Ahab and Jezebel came to an end was because there was a violence
in Jehu who went out. And every successive generation should be more skilled at dealing
with these five things. One-mindedness, guys. I mean, can you imagine the pleasure after
the service today where people come not with enthusiasm but with like flint-like forehead
commitment saying, Jacob, Tuni, Derek or whoever, could you train me? I really want this. Whatever
you want. Whatever you ask. And then two weeks later, they still are on. Four weeks later,
they still are on. Eight weeks later, they still are on. That would be tremendous. Next
one. The next one is Judah brings others into rest. Judah brings others into rest.
Judah brings others into rest. Judah brings others into rest. Judah brings others into
rest. What it means is I am not doing this for myself. I do not want a secure life. We
do this so that others can enter into rest. One of the beautiful scriptures in Hebrews
goes like this. Make level paths for others so that the ones that are lame can walk. Make
level paths. Flatten the earth so that there aren't too many mountains that people have
to climb. There aren't too many valleys they have to go because they are lame. Strengthen
the lame legs but flatten the earth so that they can walk. That's so important that we
are not doing this for ourselves. You know, one of the scary things about revivals, one
of the scary things about revivals is with any genuine revival will come an increase
in resources. And when I say resources, I mean time, talent, treasure, strength. There
will be lots of time. There will be more people. There will be talents that will increase in
the church. There will be treasure as in money that will increase in the church. The church
will have a lot of strength. Very often revivals weaken because when the rewards of staying
with the revival come in, people start getting drawn away by the rewards than the revival.
So many revivals have fallen because of the rewards that came with it. The church grew
larger. The church grew more famous. The worship team produced a few songs. The pastor preached
an amazing message. People got healed. Oh my God, there's a buzz now. Go there, go there,
go there. And then as it begins to happen, the church begins to weaken. When we pursue
righteousness, we have to make sure that the rewards of our pursuit do not then weaken
us. When you pursue righteousness, it's very natural for us to be blessed. But we have
to make sure that when you pursue righteousness, the rewards of the pursuit do not sideline
us. Judah brings others into rest. The next one, Judah is resource to reform. Judah is
resource to reform as in if you have the attitude of Judah, you never settle for what you're
doing now. It's not good enough. Why is it not good enough? Because where God is going
is a place that we continuously have to reach out for. Settlers are not Judah. Judah in
its very DNA is forerunner, pioneer, moving forward, going where God is, not where he
was, advanced God. Those are the words you use for Judah. There is nothing about Judah
that settles. There is nothing about Judah that pitches tent. Judah always builds, alters,
calls on the name of God and keeps moving. It does not pitch tent. I don't think we'll
own a building ever. If someone gives us a building, they'll also have to promise that
they'll maintain it. There's a freedom in being able to move wherever you want to unless
the Lord says, hey, go buy that building. Kamal is going to give you the money. Then
it's easy. But till that day comes, we shall just pray that Kamal does that. Judah is resource
to reform. One of the things Judah has to do is continuously look at what we are doing
now and say, it's been great the way Tuni leads worship. What is it that was missing
today and what can we fix? How do we press through? It's great that we are approaching
Richmond this way. We did that for four months. What's a new way of doing things? The house
churches are functioning this way. What needs to happen if Pursuit, Quest, Revive, Wellspring
and all the other names? What needs to happen? What needs to change to make ourselves more
effective? The idea of reforming is to always check and see, is this still what God desires?
I mean, it's been ages since I said this, but if you went and asked Noah, how shall
I be saved? What would he say? Step into the boat. If you went and asked Moses, how shall
I be saved? What would he say? Follow the Ten Commandments. If you went and asked David,
what shall I do to be saved? What would he say? Dance before the ark, worship the Lord.
If you went and asked John the Baptist, what shall I do to be saved? What would he say?
Be baptized. You go and ask Jesus, what shall I do to be saved? Unless you be born again.
You think it would end there. You go to Paul and you ask him, what shall I do to be saved?
What's his answer? Not by faith, but by? Not by works, but by? Faith. Same question, six
people, 4,000 years, different answers. There's this continuous unfolding of the truth of
God. It's not that truth changes, but it is, truth is absolute, but it keeps unfolding,
keeps unfolding. So tomorrow we have to ask, Father, how is it that we need to function
in Richmond so that you get everything you want from a people called Judah?
Next one, Judah has an excellent spirit and sees with eyes of faith. Judah has an excellent
spirit. Guys who had excellent spirits in the Bible, Daniel, Caleb, Joshua, these guys
were spoken off as having excellent spirits. Maybe next week, if God permits, we'll talk
about what does an excellent spirit look like? We spoke about it some five or six years
ago. What does an excellent spirit look like? But when you look at Daniel's life, when you
look at Joshua's life, when you look at Caleb's life, you realize that these men had spirits
that were different and they saw with eyes of faith. I just want to pick on Caleb. Here
is a guy who's 85. This is what an excellent spirit looks like, who is 85 and he goes up
to Joshua and he says to Joshua, Joshua, I was given a promise 40 years ago and it's
time to pay up. I have held on to this promise of 40 years. I'm 85, but this promise has
kept me alive. I believed God then. I have believed him through 40 years. There's just
two of us alive from that generation. Everybody else has died. Sometimes, listen to this carefully,
sometimes a promise that God has given you that you believe in gives you life. Sometimes
the way to undo decay and death in any country, in any city, in a group of people, in an
individual life, sometimes the way to undo decay and death is to remind people of promises
of God that were given to them and as they begin to hear it again, something stirs up
within them and they are given life that destroys decay, destroys death. This man was full of
life at 85 and at 85, he's so full of life that he's asking for hills where the anach
dwell. Why? Because those are the hills he wants because that was a territory promised
to him. There's something about an excellent spirit that refuses to settle for something
less and refuses to look at present condition. And with eyes of faith, eh? With eyes of faith
where the circumstances are wrong, but the promise and the conditions are still right
because God said so. Sometimes all we need to do is go and remind people of certain promises
that they've given upon and say, but Jane, don't you remember? Amari, don't you remember?
Crystal, don't you remember? And it begins to come up again. This is why Israel had monuments.
They would build up stone pillars, stone monuments. Why? Tell your children what I promised you
and every time they see these stones or pillars, let them be reminded that I am faithful. And
20 years is nothing, guys. 2006 was just a few years ago. Heidi and I still look the
same. Heidi does. I know you folded up your laptop thinking we were done, but unfortunately
more came up. I don't know how this thing keeps writing, but I think that's the end
and I will finish before 6.30. He won't. He won't. Judah laps up water like dogs. Judah
laps up water like dogs. You will think to yourself, how is that a compliment? It is.
It is what Gideon's 300 do. They have an alertness. There's something called passionate alertness.
Passionate alertness. There's alertness and then there's passionate alertness. Alertness
is what happens when you are given a responsibility or a duty. Passionate alertness is when you
are given a responsibility or duty by someone you just value highly or love greatly. You
tell me to go pick up your wife, I'll be alert at the airport looking for her. But if you
go to pick up your wife, there's passionate alertness. Oh my God, where is she? I don't
need to see her. I just need to smell the perfume or hear the click of her heels and
I'll know she's here. That's passionate alertness. There's something about Judah lapping up water
like dogs. Always alert. Always alert. I love it when people come up to me and say, Jacob,
can I do this? And every so often it happens. Can I take it on? And the moment you say,
can I take it on, it doesn't mean, yeah, you can, because what if you can't? But then begins
the process of training you so you can. Any questions? I know I've said this to you before,
but for those who haven't heard it, in the first few years of my life as a young believer,
I plead with the pastor saying, when you go to pick up preachers who are coming to preach
can I come along and sit in the back of the car and carry their bags? Because I did it
once by mistake. And I found out that the conversations between the preachers and the
pastors would be so rich that I would scratch my head thinking, my God, when will I get
to this level? And so I became the permanent bag carrier for any preacher that came to
town for about two years. Didn't have a job, what better thing to do? And they would sit in front
and they would talk. They'd talk about pioneering, they would talk about the apostolic, they'd talk
about people rising from the dead, they'd talk about healing and I'd scratch my head saying,
when oh God, when oh God, when oh God, when oh God. Lap of water like dogs alert saying, please me,
come on guys who are young. You know, you know, with the young guys here, it's not that you don't
want to, but do you have the ability to stay with it? Can you stay with it? Can you be consistent
with it? Because you're a bunch of amazingly gifted guys. Yeah, you are. Judah stewards
mission and momentum, Judah stewards mission and momentum. When Judah gets a mission, they
ain't no backing off. They know we'll wait for it. Nah, Judah stewards mission and momentum.
It takes it on, knows that God is giving it to me. I don't need an invitation. When God gives me a
promise, he's giving me permission. When God gives us a promise, he's giving us permission. If God is
saying, hey, I sent you to Richmond, then he's giving us permission. And he's also saying, listen,
I'm staking a claim in Richmond through you so you can stake a claim for what you need through me.
Hear me again. When God gives a promise, he's giving you permission. Doesn't matter whether
it's church or an individual promise. When God gives you a promise, he's giving you permission.
And he's saying that I am going to claim a stake in Richmond through you so you can claim what you
need from me for you to accomplish your mission. Precious truths that if we can somehow digest and
make part of your being, you won't forget it. That Jesus, if you are asking me to go on this
mission, surely there'll be a donkey tied to a pole that I'm supposed to untie. And when I untie it,
the guy will come and ask me, why are you taking this donkey? And I will say the words you told me
to. The master has need of it. And for some strange reason, the guy will say, all right.
Yeah. If God is saying that he's going to stake a claim in Richmond through us,
then he's also saying that you can claim what you need for this mission from me. It's how
businesses work. So Remy and Hamari send Tooney off because Tooney works for their business.
They send Tooney off to Kelowna saying, Tooney, go to Kelowna and get this business done. And
Tooney says, great, I'll go. But I will also claim the gas money, the food money, the hotel
money from you because it's your business that's sending me. He has the right to.
You know, no soldier in the US Army that's fighting outside or stationed outside ever worries about,
do I have boots? Do I have bullets? Do I have guns? Will my family be taken care of? Is there a house?
Do they have warm clothes? They never worry about that because that is the responsibility of the
sender. The sender is responsible for the one he sends. Somehow I have to internalize it to a point
where it is such a solid truth proven by scripture again and again that I will not be afraid. We are
afraid to go out because we don't know what will happen if we go out. How will this be taken care
of? Judah does not deviate from a mandator position. As in once a position is taken,
you don't leave it. One of the best movies that I recommend in terms of this is violent,
but it's such a cool movie, Hacksaw Ridge. It's a story of a guy who's a pacifist. He refuses to
fight but he will go to war as one who will be a medic. And the way he rescues, true story,
from a Mormon background and he begins to rescue people, 10, 12, bombs all around. Any fool would
save his life. He's already saved 12, 15, 18. People tell him to leave, does not, 20, 24,
gets shrapnels, 28, 30, 43 people saved on Hacksaw Ridge by one man. He would tie them to a rope,
pull them, let them over the cliff, go back for another one, go back for another one with no regard
for his life. One more. His words were always, he would look to God and say, one more, O God,
one more. My God, can you imagine people like that in this church who say, one more O God in
Richmond, one more, one more O God. From delay, decay, from death, from damage, from disease,
from demonic, one more. Start in prayer, start with prayer, give me one more O God, give me one
more in prayer. After prayer comes the action. In prayer my courage is stirred and my feet begin
to move and my mind begins to think a certain way. And once that begins to happen, it gets easier.
It is always like that Acts chapter 4, they've just been threatened by the Sanhedrin. And what
did they do? They come back and they begin to pray, O God, give us the boldness, give us the
ability so that as we go out, you will stretch forth your hand and you will begin to heal in
the name of your mighty servant Jesus. And the place began to shake and they went out boldly.
We do not deviate from mandate. You know, there's this term called Shaliyah. Shaliyah is like an
exact copy of the original. And Shaliyah means you represent the one who sent you and you will not
say anything else except the words he's put in your mouth. Which means that you do not have the
right to amend or deviate anything that is said or you're sent out for. That's what the ambassadors
do. When the Gulf War was happening, I remember this foreign minister of Iraq called Aziz, he was
on TV on CNN and they're asking him, so how is the condition of Baghdad? Is everything okay? And he's
saying exactly what Saddam Hussein asked him to say. Everything is peaceful, the city is calm,
people are going about normally. What he doesn't know is behind him, they're showing scenes of
allied tanks going through the streets of Baghdad. But he will not deviate from what he's been told
to say because he represents someone else. That's what it means when we say Judah does not deviate
from mandate or position. Last one. Judah is a new order that stewards things in the scene so they
can access true riches in the unseen. Guys, how I deal with money, resources, talent, strength,
treasure, seen things, material blessings, how I deal with that is only how I will get to deal
with true riches. Luke 16 verse 12, if you do not know how to take care of someone else's goods,
how will I give you your own? Crazy. Or the parables of the stewards, at the end of the day,
if you want insight, revelation, gifts, graces from God, heavenly permission, visions, walking
in greater intimacy, all these things await us. The unseen realm is greater than the seen realm,
but strangely enough, how I deal with material things here on earth seriously affects what true
riches are released to me. Let me read you some scriptures so you don't think I'm pulling this
out of nowhere. Judah knows how to deal with things in the seen realm and they don't get
caught up in it. Let me read you, and really this is, I'm not doing another point, it's stopping
with this. If I'm not trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give me my own? It
could be a rented car, it could be the news of the promotion of a friend, it could be tools,
that your neighbor loaned you, it could be possessions that belong to another.
Returning the borrowed tools cleaner and better than they were when they were borrowed often
becomes the measure in which I'm given tools of my own to manage. God sets us up through
godly stewardship to have something to call our own only if we deal with what we have been given
well. Luke 16 12, if I'm not trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give me my own?
This is why it is sometimes important when we come into someone else's property that we do well with
it. He who is faithful in
things that are unimportant like mammon will be given things that are more important.
True riches are always a result of how we deal with present things. Again, it's scripture.
I think we should end there.
Jura knows how to make sure that life is measured not in possessions. The more life is measured by
possessions, the more we will sell our soul for increase. It is a slow burn.
It is a slow burn. It is a slow burn. It is a slow burn. It is a slow burn. It is a slow burn.
It is a slow burn as the desire for more robs. The desire for more robs me of my desire for God.
If you crave after things, take measures to restrict yourself. If you crave after things,
take measures to restrict yourself. Proverbs 23 words 2. If you are a glutton and you have an
appetite, put a knife to your neck when you go to someone's house for dinner.
We'll talk about that next week. Let's pray.
Hey Jesus, you're the one who said talk about Judah, not about stewardship.
So I'll have to trust that Spirit of God, you were able to take the words we talked about, heard,
and you were able to take the words we talked about, heard, and you were able to take the words we
talked about, heard, and bring this church to a place where there's a one-minded
grasp and a desire to reach out and take hold of this Judah-like nature that you want us to possess
to deal with the five D's. My prayer is Father that starting with me down to the youngest here
that you would begin to give us a desire to become like that. Only you can do that Holy Spirit.
Paul put it this way, I did not come to you with oratorial skills but I came to you
with a demonstration of power. I came to you in weakness. Father my words won't cut it
but your Spirit can. There is a purpose here in Richmond that you want accomplished. I pray,
O God, that you would take the words of seed and Spirit of God that you would cause every heart
in this room to figure out if they want it or not but not to escape Lord the demand of this word.
It's strange how if I go to what Derek was saying about the water that came out from beneath the
throne it came out as a trickle. It doesn't tell us how it increased. It came out as a trickle.
Let the trickle begin here today. Let the trickle begin here today I pray
and then increase it as only you can because it was a miracle that it came up to
the ankle then the waist then was too deep to swim in.
Thank you Holy Spirit in Jesus name. Amen.
Cool.