WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Kingdom Metrics 1 Publishing Date: 2026-09-27T03:04:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/kingdom-metrics-1/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.000 Music 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:24.000 Alrighty. Okay, so I think some teachings are teachings that affect the life of a church, and this might be one of them. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:46.000 So, this is the title, and we'll keep switching between oneness and this one. So, Kingdom Metrics. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:58.000 So, if you want to go to Daniel 2, verse 44, Daniel 2, 44. 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:20.000 It says in Daniel 2, 44, and in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:28.000 It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:38.000 Just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:46.000 a great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:54.000 So, this was a dream Daniel saw, and he said there is a kingdom that God is going to establish here on earth, a kingdom that already exists, 00:01:54.000 --> 00:02:04.000 but a kingdom that will be established on the earth, and no other kingdom will be able to stand in its path. It will advance, it will fill the earth. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:20.000 Now, go to Revelation 11, 15. Revelation 11, 15. Revelation 11, 15. Revelation 11, 15, and here's what it says. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:28.000 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:38.000 the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:47.000 The kingdom, all the kingdoms of the world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever. 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:56.000 So, you see these two scriptures. One is Daniel 2, 44, and one is Revelation 11, 15. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:12.000 And in these scriptures you find that there was and has been a kingdom as in, how do you define kingdom? 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:20.000 In the simplest English way of defining it, a king who has domain. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:26.000 So, you take the word king, and you take the word dome, and you make it kingdom. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:33.000 This is how most kids are named in India, but that's a different story. 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:38.000 There was and has been a kingdom, a king who has a domain. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:53.000 And this kingdom, according to Daniel and according to John, will be the only one left standing. 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:59.000 So, that's one of the things we wanted to establish. 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:12.000 Before the church existed, there was a kingdom. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:25.000 Go to Psalm 145, verse 13, Daniel chapter 4, verse 3, and you'll see that the church didn't come first, the kingdom came first. 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:37.000 Psalm 145, Psalm 145, verse 13. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:45.000 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:50.000 The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:55.000 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, just like God is everlasting without beginning or end. 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:59.000 The same way, the kingdom of God is everlasting. 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:05.000 It has always been around. Your dominion, as in your rule, endures forever. 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:15.000 So, let's look at Daniel 4.3. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:20.000 How great are his signs, as in God's signs? How mighty is his wonders? 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:27.000 His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:44.000 So, another way of looking at it is from 2016 to 2020, it was the presidency of Trump. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:52.000 And then from 2020 to 2024, it was the presidency of Biden. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:59.000 And then from 2024 till date, it is again the presidency of Trump. 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:06.000 What are we trying to say here? That there is a rule that these presidents exerted. 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:11.000 And in the same way, when we talk about kingdom, we're not talking about a presidency. 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:21.000 We are talking about the rule of a king which has been from forever to forever. 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:28.000 And that king is obviously Christ Jesus. That's how we look at this. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:34.000 So that we don't get confused by the word kingdom. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:41.000 We have to understand it because most of the time when Jesus preached, this is what he talked about. 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:46.000 So this existed before the church. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:56.000 The rule of God or the kingship of God existed before the church. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:59.000 It existed before the earth was created. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.000 We only know what lies between Genesis and Revelation. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:08.000 We don't know what lay before Genesis 1, nor am I hazarding a guess. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:16.000 Nor am I hazarding a guess after Revelation 22 in terms of what will be and how and what we'll be doing. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:21.000 But his rule or his presidency or his kingship has existed forever. 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:27.000 So it existed before the church and it will exist after the church too. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:31.000 Go to 1 Corinthians 15, 24. 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:34.000 The kingdom is what will happen after the church. 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:38.000 After the church, again we go back to the kingdom idea. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:41.000 1 Corinthians 15, 28. 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:43.000 Sorry, 15, 24. 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:46.000 1 Corinthians 15, 24. 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:49.000 Let's go look at that. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:54.000 1 Corinthians 15, 24. 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:59.000 It says, 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:00.000 It says, 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:27.000 And so there is going to come a time when Christ will have won over every kingdom, 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:33.000 the satanic kingdom, the counterfeit kingdom, the religious kingdom, the traditional kingdom, 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:38.000 the kingdom of death, the kingdom of the power of rebellion. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:42.000 All of it will end. All that will be left standing is the kingdom of God. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:53.000 And so we have to understand how the church fits into all this because sometimes it's so easy to get completely church focused and not kingdom focused. 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:56.000 And that's not how Jesus was. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.000 So before the church, the kingdom existed. After the church, the kingdom existed. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:11.000 And while the church is here on earth, the kingdom exists. 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:16.000 You see that in Matthew 12, 28. 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:20.000 You see that in Revelation 12, 10. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:21.000 So let's have a look at that. 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:23.000 Matthew 12, 28. Jesus says, 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:31.000 If I cast out demons by the Holy Spirit, then you should know that the kingdom of God is in your midst. 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:40.000 Meaning, now that I have begun to come and express my rule and reign in your midst, he's telling the disciples. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:46.000 And then he goes on to tell them, it's beneficial that I go away because the Spirit of God will come and you all can do what I'm doing. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:53.000 But what is he trying to say? That my rule and reign is actually active in your midst, as it is today. 00:09:53.000 --> 00:10:01.000 Now go to Revelation 12, 10. Revelation 12, 10. 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:10.000 And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of Christ have come. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:16.000 For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down who accuses them day and night before our God. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:22.000 And that's again in the context of the church being present on earth. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:33.000 So the rule and reign of Christ the King existed before the church, existed now during the church's life, and it will exist after the church. 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:41.000 So, it's done. 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:54.000 So how are we to position ourselves knowing all this? If you look at Matthew 16, 19, you'll see Jesus saying two things at once. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:11:02.000 Let's start at Matthew 16, 19. Let's start at Matthew 16, 18. 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:14.000 Or let's start at 17. And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:23.000 And then look at 18 and look at 19. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:28.000 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:41.000 Whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. So you've got Matthew 16, 18 where he says, I will build my church. 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:55.000 And so he's the one who builds. And then Matthew 16, 19 he says, you will open the kingdom to the world. 00:11:55.000 --> 00:12:01.000 This is critical, guys, for where we are going. 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:09.000 Matthew 16, 18 says, I will build my church. So he'll take care of that. I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:13.000 That's his responsibility and he's doing a brilliant job. 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:20.000 Matthew 16, 19 says, you will open the kingdom. I will build my church, you will open the kingdom. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:29.000 You will open the kingdom to who? To the world. Not to each other. 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:34.000 Any questions before we go on? 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:39.000 Any questions? 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:43.000 Go ahead, Nick. 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:57.000 When the church is removed from the earth, when the Holy Spirit leaves the earth with the removal of the church, 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:10.000 when the new heavens and new earth are just about to happen, 1 Corinthians 15, 24 says that everything will be returned to the Father because Christ has reconciled everything. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:15.000 He has exerted authority over everything. He's defeated death. He's taken away the sting of death. 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:21.000 Everything is complete. And he returns the kingdom back to the Father. 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:44.000 So here's the thing, guys. What happens is the reason we struggle with this and the reason we sometimes don't even walk down this road is because salvation has become personal decision. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:59.000 When it never was, Jesus, you are not inviting Jesus into your life. 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:14.000 Jesus is inviting you into his rule or kingdom. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:28.000 At some point about 100 years ago, or not 100, maybe 60 years ago, we shifted from Jesus inviting us into the kingdom to you and I inviting Jesus into our lives. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:36.000 That shift has been disastrous because now salvation is a personal thing. 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:41.000 Where I invited Jesus into my life. No, no, no. Jesus invites you into a kingdom. 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:53.000 And he says so in John chapter 3, where he says, unless you be born again, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. 00:14:53.000 --> 00:15:01.000 Unless you be born again of water and of the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:09.000 So he's inviting you into his presidency or his rule or his kingship or his reign. 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:19.000 And God is saying, hey, I want you to be part of the kingdom. When I created you, this was my intent. 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:34.000 So let's assume she doesn't know the Lord. And so forever since she is born, God's intent is, can I invite and do everything in my power to invite Evelyn into my rule, my reign? 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:46.000 Because it is so benevolent, so brilliant. Can I invite her into my reign? My presidency, my rule, my kingdom. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:52.000 And because he keeps running after her, wooing her, at some point she begins to ask questions. 00:15:52.000 --> 00:16:02.000 And when she begins to ask questions, the answer is simple. When you recognize my son, Jesus Christ, as the one who lived, died, resurrected and ascended. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:10.000 When you believe that, you now enter the kingdom of God. Because only the Word can do it and the Spirit can do it. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:18.000 That's why it says, unless you be born again, of the Word, water and of the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:26.000 You know, Trump talks about birthright citizenship. Jesus started that long a time ago. 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:41.000 Birthright citizenship is a kingdom principle. You cannot enter unless you were born again. 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:54.000 But about 60 years ago, it changed when we became Personal Salvation. The intent was, let's get saved. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:17:10.000 It's the difference between someone wanting to become a citizen in Canada, just to enjoy all the benefits, versus someone who wants to be a citizen of Canada, because Canada matters enough to pay any cost to enter. 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:18.000 One is for personal benefits, one is for the benefit of the one who's inviting you. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:31.000 In a sense, it's perverse, it's a distortion. One is for personal benefits. I want to go to heaven. One is different. I want to serve a king who is inviting me into his reign. 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:53.000 We look forward to rewards in heaven, but those rewards absolutely pale in significance to relationship with him. 00:17:53.000 --> 00:18:11.000 I want to be like children looking forward to toys. But my God, haven't we heard horror stories of children who have all the toys they want but don't have their dad? 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:27.000 Any questions on this? Is there anything here that's not as clear as mud? Sorry, not as clear. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:42.000 Okay, we'll repeat this a hundred times so we get to know it. So then look at Matthew 423. Matthew 423. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:56.000 Matthew 423. And he went, as in Jesus, and he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:07.000 Proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. Go to Matthew 935. 935. 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:17.000 And while Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:25.000 Go to Matthew 2414. Matthew 2414. 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:35.000 Jesus again. Matthew 2414. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:40.000 We keep hearing this word. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:55.000 We keep hearing this word, gospel of the kingdom, which shall be henceforth referred to as GOK. Okay, gospel of the kingdom. 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:58.000 So what is this gospel of the kingdom? 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:02.000 One, all creation. 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:08.000 You, me, us, them. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:17.000 All creation belongs to him. 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:28.000 He reigns as absolute sovereign 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:36.000 over everything, everywhere. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:39.000 All the time. 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:41.000 Crazy, eh? 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:51.000 Crazy that though this is the truth, he allows us free will. 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:58.000 That's the first statement of the gospel of the kingdom. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:08.000 That child in Lenny's womb is going to be born because he has decided that child will exist. 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:18.000 That the child will have a certain number of days that the child will come to the earth at a particular time, will have opportunities to find him. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:23.000 He is so sovereign. His will is so absolute. 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:36.000 He can do whatever he wants, but he also in his sovereignty decides to give us free will. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:43.000 And the same applies to everything, everything in creation. 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:46.000 Second statement. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:51.000 Since the fall, 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:56.000 his creation 00:21:56.000 --> 00:22:02.000 is in open rebellion 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:06.000 against him. 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:16.000 Not submitting to his reign. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:23.000 That's the second statement. Since the fall, his creation is in open rebellion against him. 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:28.000 Not submitting to his reign. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.000 Third statement. 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:41.000 In the process, they forfeit his blessings 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:47.000 and are enslaved 00:22:47.000 --> 00:23:00.000 by tyrant masters. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:13.000 Fourth statement. Jesus through his life, death, resurrection and ascension 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:22.000 broke the power of, broke the sin, broke the power of the sin 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:28.000 of rebellion. He broke it. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:37.000 The consequence of death, which was what would happen if you rebel 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:46.000 and ended man's blindness to his kingdom. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:49.000 This is what he does. 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:59.000 Any questions thus far? 00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:03.000 First step, he rules everything. There's nothing outside his rule. 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:11.000 Second step, even though he rules over everything, those that he created are in open rebellion against him, not submitting to him. 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:19.000 Third step, because they don't submit to him, they have ended up being enslaved by tyrant masters and they have forfeited all their blessings. 00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:29.000 Fourth step, Jesus turns up and he through his life, his death, his resurrection and ascension breaks the power of the sin of rebellion. 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:35.000 And then he pays the consequence of death, which is what happens if you rebel in any country. 00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:42.000 The reason is usually death or life imprisonment. And then he opens their eyes to the fact that there is a kingdom around. 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:48.000 That's what he does. 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:56.000 This is the gospel of the kingdom. We rarely preach it. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:25:05.000 Think of that for a second. We rarely preach this. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:13.000 Fifth step, he displays or leaves behind his presence. 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:24.000 He displays his presence and benefits of the kingdom, which is what we celebrate during communion, benefits of the kingdom. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:36.000 And then, how does he do it? Through his people and the spirit. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:44.000 He displays his presence and the benefits of the kingdom through his people and the spirit. 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:54.000 And then the last one, he commands us 00:25:54.000 --> 00:26:04.000 to announce and demonstrate his reign. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:16.000 Why? So people can repent and bow. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:34.000 So people can become citizens of this kingdom by faith alone. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:44.000 Is there any chance that this church can preach the gospel of the kingdom instead of the gospel that presents Christ as personal savior only? 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:52.000 Can we make this shift? To make this shift, we'll have to learn this. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:58.000 To learn this, we'll have to put in effort. 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:06.000 Any questions? 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:10.000 Got to keep getting more and more accurate, guys. 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.000 We move from incompletion to completion. Go ahead. 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:18.000 So what part do you say the church misses? 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:24.000 The only part that we get right here is the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:28.000 And we say, now you'll go to heaven. We do not talk about the kingdom. 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:34.000 We do not talk about open rebellion. We talk about sin. Sin is actually rebellion against God. 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:40.000 The best explanation of sin. Missing the mark and all is depends on your mark. 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:46.000 Rebellion against God is so clear and what he does in the bargain. 00:27:46.000 --> 00:28:02.000 And then this then brings us in also that he wants to display this and demonstrate it through us and the spirit. 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:06.000 This is the power of the gospel that saves. 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:11.000 It does include the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. But this is what he went around. 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:19.000 Read Acts chapter 1. It says, before he ascended, he spent 40 days teaching this. 00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:24.000 Usually when a man begins to leave the earth, he's got 40 days before he leaves the earth. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:34.000 He'll usually teach on the more important things. 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:47.000 Any questions? 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:51.000 I'm going to go to the next panel. 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:57.000 It is important. 00:28:57.000 --> 00:29:07.000 No other questions. 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:10.000 Go ahead. 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:15.000 Can I change my pen? I desperately want to. I hope I know how to. 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:27.000 This is what's her name's work. 00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:32.000 The guilty party has arrived. 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:42.000 Back to bad handwriting, but big bold handwriting. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:47.000 Hey, so when you get born again, you enter the kingdom. 00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:53.000 Those that are born again constitute the church. 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:59.000 So Evelyn got born again. When she got born again, she became a citizen of the kingdom. 00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:01.000 Tooney got born again, citizen of the kingdom. 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:03.000 Sheldon got born again, citizen of the kingdom. 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:18.000 Now those that get born again and enter the kingdom constitute the church. 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:28.000 We are like a specimen on display to show the world what the kingdom looks like. 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:31.000 Those that get born again constitute the church. 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:40.000 The church is supposed to show the world what the kingdom tastes like, looks like, feels like, what are the benefits. 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:42.000 It shows them that. 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:46.000 In Matthew 13 and 33, it talks about the leaven of the kingdom. 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:52.000 That a woman took a small pinch of leaven and put it in three large buckets of dough. 00:30:52.000 --> 00:31:01.000 And over a period of time, it began to cause the dough to rise. 00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:10.000 Later on in Matthew 13, it says that the seed of the kingdom is sown in the world, not in the church. 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:19.000 The seed of the kingdom. Let me give you the scripture so you see it. 00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:31.000 Matthew 13 and 33 talks about the leaven of the kingdom. 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:39.000 And then in Matthew 13, 37 and 38, it talks about the seed of the kingdom. 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:45.000 And look at it, look at the scriptures. 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:54.000 How do I make this a little thinner? 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:59.000 Matthew 13, 37 and 38. Go ahead, one of you. 00:31:59.000 --> 00:32:06.000 Matthew 13, 37. 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:10.000 He answered, the one who sows the good seed is the son of man. 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:12.000 The field is the world. 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:14.000 And the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:16.000 The weeds are the sons of the evil one. 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:19.000 We are what he puts on display. 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:31.000 And we are supposed to show, thanks, the world what the kingdom looks like. 00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:36.000 So let's look at this idea of the leaven of the kingdom and then we'll stop. 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:41.000 OK, so one of the things we need to know about the leaven, 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:45.000 the leaven of the kingdom of the yeast or the kingdom of the seed of the kingdom, 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:51.000 is it's visible and it's hidden. 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:59.000 It is personal and it's public and cultural. 00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:14.000 It is strongly influential and it is quietly transforming. 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:15.000 That's how this works. 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:18.000 Sometimes it's visible, often it's hidden. 00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:22.000 Sometimes it's personal, other times it's public and it affects culture. 00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:26.000 Sometimes it's strongly influential, sometimes it's quietly transforming. 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:28.000 That's the nature of the kingdom. 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:32.000 All those parables in Matthew 13 are trying to explain this. 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:36.000 It's like a little mustard seed, almost invisible, thrown into the ground. 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:39.000 Nobody sees it, but quietly it's working. 00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:41.000 It becomes a big tree in which the birds sit. 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:46.000 But when you hold it in your hand, you can hardly see it. 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:55.000 A church that tries to focus on church growth and does not make a cultural impact is not kingdom. 00:33:55.000 --> 00:34:00.000 Which means Acts 29 has to up its ante a little. 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:09.000 A church that only focuses on church growth and does not focus on cultural impact is not kingdom. 00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:15.000 Because Jesus said that we are sown in the world and we are the seeds of the kingdom. 00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:25.000 So let's look at what are the internal kingdom metrics, internal kingdom metrics, 00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:39.000 henceforth called IKM, and external kingdom metrics, which shall be called EKM, 00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:45.000 which is also the name of a place in Kerala. 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:55.000 So here's the internal kingdom metrics, so IKM and EKM. 00:34:55.000 --> 00:35:04.000 Guys, the church must, we are supposed to develop internal kingdom metrics within the church. 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:07.000 Here's internal kingdom metrics. 00:35:07.000 --> 00:35:19.000 Righteousness, peace, joy, power, rest. 00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:26.000 That's it. 00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:31.000 This is what we are supposed to do when we meet and when we build each other up. 00:35:31.000 --> 00:35:34.000 What is righteousness? 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:38.000 Righteousness is right relationship with God, right relationship with myself, 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:42.000 right relationship with others, right relationship with creation, 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:46.000 and therefore the ability to live right. 00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:50.000 Right relationship that leads to right living. 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:51.000 What's peace? 00:35:51.000 --> 00:36:00.000 The ability to have the peace of God mount God over my heart and mind in any situation, any situation. 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:05.000 This is how we are distinct from the world. 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.000 This is developed among believers in the church. 00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:15.000 How do I, how can you make visible the kingdom? 00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:21.000 First, this is how we test it. 00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:28.000 In circumstances, in daily life, is this being exhibited in your life and my life? 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:35.000 That is the measure of the work of the kingdom in our personal lives. 00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.000 Joy, things that are completely missing in the world. 00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:48.000 Joy, not when I have lot or when I have little joy under really good circumstances, difficult circumstances. 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:57.000 Power, the demonstration of power, the display of power, not even for my sake but for the sake of others. 00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:10.000 And rest, where we know how to walk in the inheritance that we have in Christ, every need met. 00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:13.000 This is what we develop inside the church. 00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:18.000 And the stronger the church grows in this, the more visible the activity of the kingdom within us. 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:20.000 Where do we find all this? 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:25.000 First Corinthians 14, 20, which says, 00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:32.000 the kingdom of God is not about eating or drinking, but it is about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. 00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:34.000 And Romans 14, 17. 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:36.000 What does Romans 14, 17 say? 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:42.000 That the kingdom of God is not about talking, but it is about power. 00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:44.000 This is the metric. 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:54.000 So if I took the Dishalti, Zia, Mike, Dillna, Tuni, Sheldon, Shreen, and I say, 00:37:54.000 --> 00:38:02.000 okay, let's measure the activity of the king in their lives, that's how you know. 00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:05.000 And this is not during a church service. 00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.000 This is during daily life. 00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:11.000 It's brilliant. 00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:13.000 This is who Christ is. 00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:15.000 This is maturity. 00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:17.000 This is the maturity of Christ. 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:25.000 Any questions? 00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:27.000 Where is the fruits of the Spirit? 00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:29.000 In this. 00:38:29.000 --> 00:38:35.000 So when you talk about right relationship, oh my God, all the fruit, 00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:38.000 no fruit of the Spirit can be practiced by yourself. 00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:41.000 Patience? Who needs patience with yourself? 00:38:41.000 --> 00:38:44.000 You do whatever you want. Patience is with others. 00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:49.000 Love? You don't love yourself, you love others. 00:38:49.000 --> 00:38:53.000 Kindness? We have to show it to others. 00:38:53.000 --> 00:39:00.000 There's not a fruit or a gift other than the gift of tongues that is meant for anything else but others. 00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:09.000 This is how we measure IKM. 00:39:11.000 --> 00:39:19.000 You know those things that they used to check how much oil there is in cars? 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:21.000 Do they still do that? 00:39:21.000 --> 00:39:23.000 Yeah. 00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:25.000 Dipstick, yeah. 00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:28.000 Well, this is your dipstick. 00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:37.000 Then we have external kingdom metrics. 00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:40.000 What are external kingdom metrics? 00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:42.000 Righteousness? 00:39:42.000 --> 00:39:44.000 Justice? 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:46.000 Shalom? 00:39:46.000 --> 00:39:48.000 Equity? 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:50.000 And I'll explain each one. 00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:52.000 That's external kingdom metrics. 00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:54.000 You know what external kingdom metrics means? 00:39:54.000 --> 00:40:02.000 External kingdom metrics means these are the things that the people with the internal kingdom metrics are doing. 00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:09.000 And a church that does not practice this out there in the world, in our streets that we walk in, in our workplaces, in the segments of society that we occupy, in the strata of society that we live in, in the 00:40:09.000 --> 00:40:30.260 in the 00:40:30.260 --> 00:40:40.260 In our spheres of influence, a church that does not practice it is not actually living the kingdom out there. 00:40:40.260 --> 00:40:44.260 What is righteousness again? 00:40:44.260 --> 00:40:49.260 And this is outside, right relationship with God and with yourself and then with your neighbor. 00:40:49.260 --> 00:40:51.260 This is what the Samaritan is doing. 00:40:51.260 --> 00:41:08.260 If you read Matthew 1034 or Luke 1034, it says, and he saw him, he saw him beaten down, he picked him up, he bandaged his wounds, poured oil and wine, took him to a place, put him there in the inn, and then went back to check if the bills were paid and he kept paying until the man recovered. 00:41:08.260 --> 00:41:14.260 And he was a Samaritan. 00:41:14.260 --> 00:41:24.260 So righteousness as in right relationship and right living with others, with your neighbors. 00:41:24.260 --> 00:41:26.260 Second one, justice. 00:41:26.260 --> 00:41:33.260 You know the beautiful definition of justice is found in Hebrews 13, verse 8 to 10. 00:41:33.260 --> 00:41:35.260 Hebrews 13, 8 to 10. 00:41:35.260 --> 00:41:39.260 All justice is based on that simple scripture, Hebrews 13, 8 to 10. 00:41:39.260 --> 00:41:44.260 Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as you love yourself. 00:41:44.260 --> 00:41:48.260 In that, all justice is fulfilled. 00:41:48.260 --> 00:42:03.260 Because it is impossible to oppress, it is only possible to help when that golden law appears. 00:42:03.260 --> 00:42:13.260 We were justified as in made right with God so that we could make the world right with him. 00:42:13.260 --> 00:42:22.260 Do you know what this means, guys? 00:42:22.260 --> 00:42:26.260 It means there's only, this is supposed to happen in the world. 00:42:26.260 --> 00:42:43.260 The job of the church then becomes how can we equip Dilna to, how can we train Dilna and release him to practice these four things in the street, in the workplace? 00:42:43.260 --> 00:42:49.260 And what if we stop doing it just personally and do it corporately? 00:42:49.260 --> 00:42:51.260 That is developed in the church. 00:42:51.260 --> 00:42:56.260 This is practiced in the world. 00:42:56.260 --> 00:42:57.260 Shalom. 00:42:57.260 --> 00:43:01.260 Shalom, you read it in Jeremiah 29. 00:43:01.260 --> 00:43:05.260 Jeremiah 29, verse 7 to 11. 00:43:05.260 --> 00:43:08.260 Jeremiah 29, 7 to 11. 00:43:08.260 --> 00:43:11.260 You'll get an idea of what God means by Shalom. 00:43:11.260 --> 00:43:18.260 Jeremiah 29, verse 7 to 11. 00:43:18.260 --> 00:43:19.260 Crazy man. 00:43:48.260 --> 00:44:11.260 Shalom is wholeness, is welfare. 00:44:11.260 --> 00:44:12.260 Not for you. 00:44:12.260 --> 00:44:13.260 You already have it. 00:44:13.260 --> 00:44:14.260 The Prince of Peace lives in you. 00:44:14.260 --> 00:44:17.260 But for the world. 00:44:17.260 --> 00:44:24.260 What does it take to bring Shalom into the life or the wholeness or welfare into the life of a neighbor? 00:44:24.260 --> 00:44:26.260 Remember, the second is like it. 00:44:26.260 --> 00:44:32.260 As in, Jesus said, the first commandment is love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind and strength and soul. 00:44:32.260 --> 00:44:33.260 The second commandment is like it. 00:44:33.260 --> 00:44:34.260 And what was it? 00:44:34.260 --> 00:44:36.260 Love your neighbor as you love yourself. 00:44:36.260 --> 00:44:38.260 Not instead of loving yourself. 00:44:38.260 --> 00:44:40.260 Love your neighbor as you love yourself. 00:44:40.260 --> 00:44:43.260 Just like you seek security. 00:44:43.260 --> 00:44:45.260 Will you seek security for your neighbor? 00:44:45.260 --> 00:44:54.260 Just as you want a stranger who just as you as a stranger would like friends, would you make sure that strangers have friends? 00:44:54.260 --> 00:44:59.260 Just like when you go to a party and you're the odd man out and nobody's talking to you. 00:44:59.260 --> 00:45:03.260 Will you make sure that when you see an odd man out, you will go and talk to him? 00:45:03.260 --> 00:45:09.260 Just as you want education for your kids, will you find ways to help someone else have education for their kids? 00:45:09.260 --> 00:45:11.260 Just as you have warmth in winter. 00:45:11.260 --> 00:45:15.260 Will you look for ways to help someone find warmth for them? 00:45:15.260 --> 00:45:23.260 Just like you want a stomach that is full, would you look for ways to provide someone else a stomach that is full? 00:45:23.260 --> 00:45:27.260 Love your neighbor as you would love yourself. 00:45:27.260 --> 00:45:30.260 We get afraid because the word comes in as instead. 00:45:42.260 --> 00:45:43.260 I can't hear you. 00:45:49.260 --> 00:45:50.260 Yeah. 00:45:52.260 --> 00:45:53.260 This is not easy. 00:45:55.260 --> 00:45:59.260 This is the hardest thing in the world, which is why IKM is so much better. 00:45:59.260 --> 00:46:03.260 Come, worship, learn those things, live happily ever after, go to heaven. 00:46:04.260 --> 00:46:11.260 It's the second part that is so difficult because your kindness may be rejected many times over. 00:46:12.260 --> 00:46:14.260 You know what kindness is, guys? 00:46:14.260 --> 00:46:18.260 Kindness is the expression of God's goodness. 00:46:19.260 --> 00:46:23.260 Kindness is how God's goodness is expressed. 00:46:24.260 --> 00:46:26.260 The goodness of God is expressed in kindness. 00:46:27.260 --> 00:46:30.260 Titus 2, 4, Ephesians 2, 7. 00:46:33.260 --> 00:46:34.260 Want some water, man? 00:46:36.260 --> 00:46:37.260 Anthony, want some water? 00:46:38.260 --> 00:46:39.260 You got? Okay. 00:46:42.260 --> 00:46:43.260 And the last one, equity. 00:46:43.260 --> 00:46:44.260 You know what equity means? 00:46:44.260 --> 00:46:46.260 Equity means fairness. 00:46:47.260 --> 00:46:48.260 Fairness. 00:46:53.260 --> 00:46:54.260 Fairness. 00:46:55.260 --> 00:47:00.260 As in fair distribution of resources. 00:47:04.260 --> 00:47:06.260 Of how people are dealt with. 00:47:10.260 --> 00:47:11.260 It matters to God. 00:47:13.260 --> 00:47:15.260 Let's look at some scriptures. 00:47:15.260 --> 00:47:17.260 I'm reading from the ESV. 00:47:17.260 --> 00:47:21.260 Psalm 45, 6 will give you righteousness. 00:47:21.260 --> 00:47:22.260 Psalm 45, 6. 00:47:23.260 --> 00:47:24.260 Psalm 45, 6. 00:47:34.260 --> 00:47:36.260 Your throne of God is forever. 00:47:36.260 --> 00:47:41.260 The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of righteousness or uprightness. 00:47:41.260 --> 00:47:48.260 And remember the word for righteousness and justice is the same. 00:47:50.260 --> 00:47:52.260 Sid Kenu. 00:47:54.260 --> 00:47:56.260 Let's see another scripture. 00:47:56.260 --> 00:47:57.260 Matthew 5. 00:47:58.260 --> 00:47:59.260 Matthew 5. 00:47:59.260 --> 00:48:00.260 Matthew 5. 00:48:00.260 --> 00:48:04.260 You want to know what external kingdom metrics look like? 00:48:04.260 --> 00:48:07.260 Matthew 5, 1 to 10. 00:48:07.260 --> 00:48:08.260 Beatitudes. 00:48:10.260 --> 00:48:11.260 Who's the targeting, man? 00:48:12.260 --> 00:48:17.260 The mourning, the weak, the bankrupt, the poor, the persecuted. 00:48:19.260 --> 00:48:21.260 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after. 00:48:21.260 --> 00:48:23.260 What if you replace righteousness? 00:48:24.260 --> 00:48:25.260 And this is an accurate replacement. 00:48:25.260 --> 00:48:27.260 It's not something I'm pulling out of the air. 00:48:27.260 --> 00:48:29.260 Some Bibles translate it like this. 00:48:29.260 --> 00:48:34.260 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice for they shall be satisfied. 00:48:38.260 --> 00:48:43.260 And whenever we think of justice, remember we have to think of justice in these ways. 00:48:43.260 --> 00:48:44.260 We have to be just. 00:48:44.260 --> 00:48:46.260 We have to be wise. 00:48:46.260 --> 00:48:48.260 We have to show mercy. 00:48:48.260 --> 00:48:50.260 And we have to say maranatha. 00:48:51.260 --> 00:48:52.260 As in come Lord Jesus. 00:48:52.260 --> 00:48:54.260 Because only then will perfect justice come. 00:48:54.260 --> 00:48:56.260 Meanwhile we show mercy. 00:48:56.260 --> 00:48:58.260 We are just and we use the wisdom of God. 00:49:01.260 --> 00:49:07.260 You take any of these parts out and you either have justice distorts. 00:49:11.260 --> 00:49:12.260 Let's look at another scripture. 00:49:12.260 --> 00:49:16.260 Isaiah 58, 6 to 12. 00:49:17.260 --> 00:49:20.260 It's basically about EKM. 00:49:20.260 --> 00:49:22.260 Practicing Kingdom Metrics Outside. 00:49:22.260 --> 00:49:26.260 If you will now help those that are oppressed. 00:49:26.260 --> 00:49:29.260 If you help set break chains. 00:49:29.260 --> 00:49:31.260 If you help the naked. 00:49:31.260 --> 00:49:33.260 If you help feed the poor. 00:49:33.260 --> 00:49:37.260 If you help those that are being trodden down. 00:49:37.260 --> 00:49:39.260 If you do all this. 00:49:39.260 --> 00:49:43.260 And if you become restorers of streets to dwell in and repairers of the breach. 00:49:43.260 --> 00:49:45.260 Then this and this and this and this will happen. 00:49:45.260 --> 00:49:47.260 Isaiah 58, 6 to 12. 00:49:49.260 --> 00:49:51.260 What about Isaiah 61, 1 to 5? 00:49:52.260 --> 00:49:54.260 Open the eyes of the blind. 00:49:54.260 --> 00:49:55.260 Set prisoners free. 00:49:55.260 --> 00:49:57.260 Set captives free. 00:49:57.260 --> 00:50:00.260 Preach the good news to the poor. 00:50:00.260 --> 00:50:04.260 Bring the oil of joy to those that are sad. 00:50:06.260 --> 00:50:09.260 The spirit of gladness to those that are heavy hearted. 00:50:09.260 --> 00:50:13.260 To make oaks of righteousness out of those that are broken. 00:50:13.260 --> 00:50:15.260 What do you think Jubilee was? 00:50:15.260 --> 00:50:17.260 Your bell. 00:50:17.260 --> 00:50:19.260 It was the great reset. 00:50:19.260 --> 00:50:24.260 Where God disrupted status quo and said I'm bringing back things to normal. 00:50:24.260 --> 00:50:26.260 I'm restoring people's heritage. 00:50:26.260 --> 00:50:28.260 I'm restoring people's dignity. 00:50:28.260 --> 00:50:30.260 I'm giving them back everything they've lost. 00:50:41.260 --> 00:50:43.260 Any questions? I'm going to conclude. 00:50:43.260 --> 00:50:45.260 I got... 00:50:45.260 --> 00:50:48.260 Where does humility fit in? Micah. 00:50:48.260 --> 00:50:49.260 Micah. 00:50:49.260 --> 00:50:50.260 Brilliant. 00:50:50.260 --> 00:50:52.260 He asks a question and answers it himself. 00:50:52.260 --> 00:50:54.260 Where does humility fit in? 00:50:54.260 --> 00:51:00.260 Brilliant words that talks about how to live both internal kingdom metrics and external kingdom metrics. 00:51:00.260 --> 00:51:02.260 Listen to this. 00:51:02.260 --> 00:51:04.260 Walk humbly. 00:51:04.260 --> 00:51:06.260 Love mercy. 00:51:06.260 --> 00:51:08.260 Act justly. 00:51:08.260 --> 00:51:10.260 James 1.27. 00:51:10.260 --> 00:51:12.260 This is pure religion. 00:51:12.260 --> 00:51:16.260 Taking care of orphans and widows. 00:51:22.260 --> 00:51:28.260 The way the scripture is so overwhelming that this church will not be able to escape it. 00:51:28.260 --> 00:51:30.260 God set us up, man. 00:51:30.260 --> 00:51:34.260 He asked us to come to Richmond and Victoria and places like this. 00:51:34.260 --> 00:51:38.260 His intent was not just worship. 00:51:43.260 --> 00:51:47.260 He asked us to come to the church of Jesus Christ. 00:51:47.260 --> 00:51:51.260 He asked us to come to the church of Jesus Christ. 00:51:51.260 --> 00:51:55.260 He asked us to come to the church of Jesus Christ. 00:51:55.260 --> 00:51:57.260 Psalm 99.4. 00:51:57.260 --> 00:51:59.260 Beautiful words. 00:51:59.260 --> 00:52:01.260 Psalm 99.4. 00:52:01.260 --> 00:52:04.260 Nobody reads Psalm 99. 00:52:12.260 --> 00:52:14.260 I'm reading from the ESV. 00:52:14.260 --> 00:52:18.260 The king in his might loves justice. 00:52:18.260 --> 00:52:21.260 You have the power to do what you want. 00:52:21.260 --> 00:52:25.260 The king in his might loves justice. 00:52:25.260 --> 00:52:28.260 You have established equity. 00:52:28.260 --> 00:52:33.260 You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. 00:52:33.260 --> 00:52:35.260 He loves equity. 00:52:35.260 --> 00:52:37.260 He loves fair dealing. 00:52:37.260 --> 00:52:39.260 He loves fairness. 00:52:39.260 --> 00:52:41.260 He loves it. 00:52:42.260 --> 00:52:54.260 And all of this, all of these things we are talking are in the Holy Ghost, if I may use an old term. 00:52:54.260 --> 00:52:56.260 Go to Isaiah 11. 00:52:56.260 --> 00:52:58.260 Isaiah 11. 00:53:00.260 --> 00:53:02.260 Verse 1 to 6. 00:53:04.260 --> 00:53:06.260 Or 2 to 6. 00:53:06.260 --> 00:53:07.260 Beautifully. 00:53:07.260 --> 00:53:09.260 Isaiah 11, 2 to 6. 00:53:10.260 --> 00:53:13.260 He is the one who makes all this possible. 00:53:13.260 --> 00:53:17.260 Internal kingdom metrics, external kingdom metrics, all brought together by him. 00:53:17.260 --> 00:53:19.260 And here's an explanation of it. 00:53:19.260 --> 00:53:22.260 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. 00:53:22.260 --> 00:53:24.260 The spirit of wisdom and understanding. 00:53:24.260 --> 00:53:26.260 The spirit of counsel and might. 00:53:26.260 --> 00:53:28.260 The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 00:53:28.260 --> 00:53:30.260 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. 00:53:30.260 --> 00:53:35.260 He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide disputes by what his ears hear. 00:53:35.260 --> 00:53:37.260 But with righteousness he shall judge the poor. 00:53:37.260 --> 00:53:40.260 He shall decide equity for the meek of the earth. 00:53:40.260 --> 00:53:42.260 He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth. 00:53:42.260 --> 00:53:45.260 And with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 00:53:45.260 --> 00:53:47.260 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist. 00:53:47.260 --> 00:53:50.260 Faithfulness the belt of his loins. 00:53:50.260 --> 00:53:52.260 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb. 00:53:52.260 --> 00:53:54.260 The leopard shall lie down with the young goat. 00:53:54.260 --> 00:53:57.260 The calf and the lion, the fattened calf together. 00:53:57.260 --> 00:53:59.260 And a little child shall lead them. 00:53:59.260 --> 00:54:00.260 Beautiful. 00:54:00.260 --> 00:54:02.260 We are heading there. 00:54:02.260 --> 00:54:04.260 Where the wolf and the lamb will lie together. 00:54:04.260 --> 00:54:07.260 A child will play at the hole of a serpent. 00:54:10.260 --> 00:54:13.260 But we will begin that here. 00:54:20.260 --> 00:54:22.260 Read Titus 3, 4. 00:54:22.260 --> 00:54:24.260 Titus 3, 4. 00:54:24.260 --> 00:54:26.260 Titus 3, verse 4. 00:54:34.260 --> 00:54:36.260 Starting at verse 3. 00:55:04.260 --> 00:55:08.260 Let's look at Romans 2, 4. 00:55:08.260 --> 00:55:10.260 Romans 2, 4. 00:55:14.260 --> 00:55:17.260 You, most of you know this verse. 00:55:18.260 --> 00:55:20.260 Romans 2, 4. 00:55:20.260 --> 00:55:24.260 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience 00:55:24.260 --> 00:55:29.260 not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 00:55:29.260 --> 00:55:32.260 Kindness is an expression of God's goodness. 00:55:35.260 --> 00:55:43.260 You know, there's a guy in Ontario who went knocking on all the doors in his neighborhood. 00:55:43.260 --> 00:55:45.260 And they would insist that someone come out. 00:55:45.260 --> 00:55:47.260 They wouldn't leave. They would keep knocking. 00:55:47.260 --> 00:55:49.260 And they had flyers and all this stuff. 00:55:49.260 --> 00:55:54.260 And on the flyer was just the simple question. 00:55:54.260 --> 00:55:59.260 Can you be kind to your neighbors for the next one week? 00:55:59.260 --> 00:56:02.260 And guys would open the door and they would see these guys and think, 00:56:02.260 --> 00:56:07.260 OK, they're trying to sell me something or they're trying to get me saved or they're Jehovah's Witnesses. 00:56:07.260 --> 00:56:10.260 And then they would give them flyers and posters and banners to stick in their garden. 00:56:10.260 --> 00:56:14.260 And all it said is, I will be kind to my neighbor this week. 00:56:16.260 --> 00:56:18.260 It changed the little town. 00:56:26.260 --> 00:56:28.260 I can't hear you. 00:56:33.260 --> 00:56:43.260 But for equity, God can deal with fair game and show equity because he hears what we do not hear. 00:56:43.260 --> 00:56:45.260 He sees what we do not see. 00:56:45.260 --> 00:56:47.260 But how do we display that? 00:56:47.260 --> 00:56:49.260 How do we display fairness? 00:56:49.260 --> 00:56:57.260 Let's assume there's a storm coming tomorrow and we all go to Walmart and there are four toilet rolls left. 00:56:57.260 --> 00:57:07.260 And you can grab all four or you can grab one and pray that the storm passes before that roll runs out. 00:57:07.260 --> 00:57:16.260 Equity is when I do not take what I can take because I think of someone who may not get it if I take it all. 00:57:16.260 --> 00:57:22.260 Equity is what happens in Exodus and in 2 Corinthians 8 where God says, 00:57:22.260 --> 00:57:30.260 Today my plenty will supply your lack because tomorrow your plenty will supply my lack. 00:57:30.260 --> 00:57:37.260 So that nobody who collected a lot of manna had too much and nobody who collected little had too little. 00:57:42.260 --> 00:57:46.260 Fairness, equity breaks covetousness. 00:57:46.260 --> 00:57:49.260 It is not possible to be fair and covetous. 00:57:49.260 --> 00:57:51.260 You have to choose one. 00:57:52.260 --> 00:57:58.260 Can the kingdom impose its will on people who do not want to follow? 00:57:58.260 --> 00:57:59.260 Good question. 00:57:59.260 --> 00:58:03.260 Can the kingdom impose its will on people who do not want to follow? 00:58:03.260 --> 00:58:06.260 That is done by other kingdoms of the world. 00:58:06.260 --> 00:58:09.260 But this kingdom influences. 00:58:09.260 --> 00:58:11.260 It never imposes. 00:58:13.260 --> 00:58:15.260 I'll take it just to push it back a bit. 00:58:15.260 --> 00:58:32.260 What about America founded by Christian values became the most powerful because it held to a standard of a kingdom, maybe not a whole kingdom. 00:58:32.260 --> 00:58:46.260 But every other kingdom bowed down to it because it held a state of justice and mercy above most of the kingdom. 00:58:46.260 --> 00:58:49.260 Mark, to push back a few. 00:58:50.260 --> 00:59:03.260 There were groups amongst the pilgrims like the Moravians, like certain Anabaptists and others who held on to Christian values. 00:59:03.260 --> 00:59:07.260 Otherwise, those values are not these values. 00:59:07.260 --> 00:59:17.260 We are so starved for values that we applaud anything that is Christian nowadays. 00:59:17.260 --> 00:59:27.260 But when you look at it, this involves such sacrifice that I wouldn't call it Christian values. 00:59:27.260 --> 00:59:31.260 I don't think there's a nation in the world that practices these values. 00:59:31.260 --> 00:59:36.260 I agree, but what about the point you said that the kingdom is not Christian? 00:59:36.260 --> 00:59:48.260 You said if you see a guy taking three toilet papers, do you not have a responsibility to stop that guy taking all the toilet papers? 00:59:48.260 --> 00:59:57.260 Yeah, so a time may come when you may have the ability, because you're the manager of Walmart, to tell someone, hey, could you leave two for others? 00:59:57.260 --> 01:00:00.260 Or you may be a friend or you may carry the weight to save. 01:00:00.260 --> 01:00:03.260 But feeble is not imposed on. 01:00:03.260 --> 01:00:04.260 You cannot force anybody. 01:00:04.260 --> 01:00:08.260 There are religions that practice imposed kingdom values. 01:00:08.260 --> 01:00:14.260 They're called certain laws that you impose on people. 01:00:14.260 --> 01:00:17.260 This kingdom only does influence. 01:00:17.260 --> 01:00:18.260 Remember, it's leaven. 01:00:18.260 --> 01:00:20.260 Leaven never imposes. 01:00:20.260 --> 01:00:22.260 Leaven ferments. 01:00:22.260 --> 01:00:24.260 One last question. 01:00:24.260 --> 01:00:29.260 What about that verse that says, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven? 01:00:29.260 --> 01:00:37.260 Yeah, whenever you bind on earth bound in heaven immediately means that you have to know what is bound in heaven before you can bind it on earth. 01:00:37.260 --> 01:00:41.260 You can't willy-nilly bind things and think that heaven will follow suit. 01:00:41.260 --> 01:00:44.260 It is what, oh, God is bound in heaven. 01:00:44.260 --> 01:00:46.260 What, oh, God is loosed in heaven. 01:00:46.260 --> 01:00:48.260 That which is bound in heaven, I can bind here on earth. 01:00:48.260 --> 01:00:52.260 That which is loosed in heaven, I can lose here on earth. 01:00:52.260 --> 01:00:55.260 So it's top down, not from here. 01:00:55.260 --> 01:01:00.260 So I can't bind certain things if Christ does not think it's legit. 01:01:00.260 --> 01:01:04.260 So I can only bind or forbid things that Christ forbids. 01:01:04.260 --> 01:01:09.260 And one of the things Christ will not play with is free will. 01:01:09.260 --> 01:01:24.260 And so going back to the toilet roll, yeah, you can put on a really kind face and say, maybe we can give, not even you, we can give one of the toilet rolls to Mike. 01:01:24.260 --> 01:01:39.260 And then when the guy says, what's it to you, I'm going to walk away with my toilet roll, you take the one toilet roll that you had taken and now you give it to Mike and you go home and hope that you... 01:01:39.260 --> 01:01:41.260 Life becomes very difficult. 01:01:41.260 --> 01:01:49.260 This kingdom, this kind of kingdom living is very difficult. 01:01:49.260 --> 01:01:55.260 We're born in sin because of what Adam did. 01:01:55.260 --> 01:02:07.260 And when I accept Jesus, accept his sacrifice, accept that he's risen again, the power of sin is broken. 01:02:07.260 --> 01:02:09.260 Right. 01:02:09.260 --> 01:02:19.260 So then why am I still struggling with choosing one toilet roll over four? 01:02:19.260 --> 01:02:26.260 Yeah, because let's put the toilet rolls aside for a little while. 01:02:26.260 --> 01:02:27.260 Yeah. 01:02:27.260 --> 01:02:28.260 Yeah. 01:02:28.260 --> 01:02:33.260 Why do I still choose to do things that are not Christ like? 01:02:33.260 --> 01:02:38.260 Very simple guys, as you begin to like him more, you become more like him. 01:02:38.260 --> 01:02:43.260 As you begin to like him more, you begin to become more like him. 01:02:43.260 --> 01:02:47.260 So this is why it says delight in the Lord and he'll give you the desires of your heart. 01:02:47.260 --> 01:02:48.260 Why? 01:02:48.260 --> 01:02:55.260 Because as you delight in him, your thoughts, your likes, your dislikes, your enjoyments, your disinterest, your interests all begin to matter. 01:02:55.260 --> 01:02:57.260 It's what happens in love. 01:02:57.260 --> 01:02:59.260 When someone falls in love, you change. 01:02:59.260 --> 01:03:00.260 You begin to eat what they eat. 01:03:00.260 --> 01:03:02.260 You go to the places that they go to. 01:03:02.260 --> 01:03:04.260 You watch the movies that they watch. 01:03:04.260 --> 01:03:05.260 Why? 01:03:05.260 --> 01:03:07.260 Because your heart begins to change. 01:03:07.260 --> 01:03:09.260 You become like them. 01:03:09.260 --> 01:03:11.260 People fall in love with their dogs. 01:03:11.260 --> 01:03:13.260 My God, some of them begin to look like their dogs. 01:03:13.260 --> 01:03:16.260 I've seen pictures. 01:03:16.260 --> 01:03:20.260 No, really. 01:03:20.260 --> 01:03:29.260 So the point being, the only way I change is when I begin to like something so much that I begin to change. 01:03:29.260 --> 01:03:30.260 Go ahead. 01:03:30.260 --> 01:03:36.260 But when I'm born again, I'm done with the whole and I get a new nature. 01:03:36.260 --> 01:03:37.260 Yeah. 01:03:37.260 --> 01:03:42.260 So is there a difference in... 01:03:42.260 --> 01:03:43.260 Yeah. 01:03:43.260 --> 01:03:46.260 The new nature does not abrogate your free will. 01:03:46.260 --> 01:03:53.260 The reason we will go and be with the Lord instantly if I die in the next two seconds, one, two, still alive. 01:03:53.260 --> 01:04:03.260 And so if I were to die, the reason I will go to heaven is go and see him face to face is simply because I've got a brand new spirit, filled with the Holy Spirit. 01:04:03.260 --> 01:04:05.260 But I still have free will. 01:04:05.260 --> 01:04:13.260 I still can choose every moment of the day to behave like God with my new nature or default to how I used to be. 01:04:13.260 --> 01:04:15.260 That's completely up to me. 01:04:15.260 --> 01:04:18.260 Free will will never be taken away. 01:04:18.260 --> 01:04:29.260 If new nature makes you a robot, then he might as well have created you a robot so he didn't have to come down and die and give you a new nature. 01:04:29.260 --> 01:04:34.260 This is like alpha intelligence. 01:04:34.260 --> 01:04:42.260 It's getting so annoying to the point that really free will, it kind of sucks. 01:04:42.260 --> 01:04:49.260 Free will sucks, but if I took away your free will, let's take away your free will for the next 24 hours. 01:04:49.260 --> 01:04:51.260 Okay? 01:04:51.260 --> 01:04:58.260 You will have to now do everything that we tell you. 01:04:58.260 --> 01:05:06.260 Trust me, man, you won't enjoy it. 01:05:06.260 --> 01:05:10.260 If I imposed my free will on you, you wouldn't have breakfast tomorrow, you wouldn't have lunch. 01:05:10.260 --> 01:05:13.260 You would have to drink black coffee. 01:05:13.260 --> 01:05:17.260 You would have to get up at 6.30 tomorrow to do a meeting at 7. 01:05:17.260 --> 01:05:19.260 You would have to, I take away your free will. 01:05:19.260 --> 01:05:24.260 You now have the very personality of Meera disappears. 01:05:24.260 --> 01:05:35.260 But then I'm questioning why are you tumbling the tree of knowledge and evil and the plant of the tree every time for me to make a choice? 01:05:35.260 --> 01:05:41.260 Because if there is no choice, there is no love, and if there is no love, then there is no free will. 01:05:41.260 --> 01:05:47.260 So it's like, God wants me to build character through these choices? 01:05:47.260 --> 01:05:53.260 No, God wants you to just freely love Him. 01:05:53.260 --> 01:05:56.260 It's beautiful, actually. 01:05:56.260 --> 01:06:00.260 God gives you a choice so that you can choose to love or not love. 01:06:00.260 --> 01:06:10.260 And He is the most brilliant being, the most fatherly, the kindest, the best you can ever find in the entire universe. 01:06:10.260 --> 01:06:12.260 And He presents Himself. 01:06:12.260 --> 01:06:15.260 And He says, I'll come and live in you, Jacob. 01:06:15.260 --> 01:06:19.260 And if I begin to explore Him, I'll begin to like Him more and more. 01:06:19.260 --> 01:06:26.260 As I begin to like Him more and more, it will be so easy for me to choose that which He likes. 01:06:26.260 --> 01:06:32.260 Why? Because I've fallen in love with someone, and what He likes becomes mine. 01:06:32.260 --> 01:06:34.260 The Song of Songs is completely about that. 01:06:34.260 --> 01:06:42.260 A woman who falls in love with a man that she adores. 01:06:42.260 --> 01:06:48.260 Once that happens, that's what love stories are. 01:06:48.260 --> 01:06:52.260 And that's the one thing religion will always avoid. 01:06:52.260 --> 01:06:58.260 Religion will banish two things, loving Him, enjoying Him. 01:06:58.260 --> 01:07:03.260 And if you can banish those two things from our lives, then you have religion. 01:07:03.260 --> 01:07:06.260 It doesn't matter whether you're a Pentecostal or Baptist or whatever. 01:07:06.260 --> 01:07:09.260 Banish love and joy, and you have it done. 01:07:10.260 --> 01:07:12.260 Let me end with these questions. 01:07:20.260 --> 01:07:25.260 Is it possible for you, and for different of us, it will be different answers. 01:07:25.260 --> 01:07:31.260 Is it possible for you to enjoy people without wanting to get them saved? 01:07:31.260 --> 01:07:40.260 Is it possible for you to enjoy people without wanting to get them saved? 01:07:44.260 --> 01:07:51.260 Please don't conclude a quick yes answer, because some of us who've been believers for long 01:07:51.260 --> 01:07:53.260 will have a real struggle with it. 01:07:53.260 --> 01:07:58.260 Because some of us who've been believers for long will have a real struggle with it. 01:08:01.260 --> 01:08:07.260 When you read Luke 19 and then you read the story of Jesus with Levi, 01:08:07.260 --> 01:08:11.260 or Matthew the tax collector, and Jesus with Zacchaeus, it's crazy. 01:08:11.260 --> 01:08:15.260 He went there because he really wanted to spend time with them. 01:08:15.260 --> 01:08:20.260 He wasn't preaching, he wasn't asking them to give their lives nothing. 01:08:20.260 --> 01:08:27.260 Can you spend time and enjoy time with people without wanting to get them saved? 01:08:27.260 --> 01:08:28.260 That's the first question. 01:08:28.260 --> 01:08:41.260 Second question, could you begin to show kindness for six months without talking about Jesus? 01:08:44.260 --> 01:08:48.260 Could you go to a certain neighborhood in Richmond and for six months 01:08:48.260 --> 01:08:53.260 spend time with people showing them kindness, whatever it be, taking care of orphans, feeding the hungry, 01:08:53.260 --> 01:08:59.260 anything out of Isaiah 58, keep doing it for six months, but you do not talk about Jesus till they ask you. 01:08:59.260 --> 01:09:02.260 Till they ask you, why are you doing this? 01:09:02.260 --> 01:09:05.260 And even when they ask you why you're doing this, could you answer and say, 01:09:05.260 --> 01:09:09.260 I want to show you what the practice of God's love looks like. 01:09:09.260 --> 01:09:11.260 This is practical love. 01:09:11.260 --> 01:09:15.260 Could you not talk about Jesus? 01:09:15.260 --> 01:09:18.260 Please don't assume that, yeah, I could do that easily. 01:09:18.260 --> 01:09:21.260 There's something in us. 01:09:21.260 --> 01:09:27.260 You know, many years ago, I sat at McDonald's here. 01:09:27.260 --> 01:09:30.260 I prayed for my burger. 01:09:30.260 --> 01:09:35.260 A guy comes over from another table, sits with me and says, looks like you're a Christian. 01:09:35.260 --> 01:09:37.260 He says, how did you become a Christian? 01:09:37.260 --> 01:09:39.260 And I tell him my story. 01:09:39.260 --> 01:09:44.260 He sits and listens for 35 to 40 minutes because I don't know how to make short testimonies. 01:09:44.260 --> 01:09:49.260 And after I finish, he tells me how wonderful it is that I'm a pastor. 01:09:49.260 --> 01:09:56.260 And he says that for your ministry to succeed, he wants to sell me Amway. 01:09:56.260 --> 01:10:03.260 I'm thinking to myself, you sat through 40 minutes of me sharing my testimony, 01:10:03.260 --> 01:10:11.260 and all this time you did it patiently because you wanted to sell me Amway to promote my ministry. 01:10:11.260 --> 01:10:14.260 You don't know how let down I feel. 01:10:14.260 --> 01:10:17.260 I didn't tell him that. 01:10:17.260 --> 01:10:20.260 Then he said, what could you do with a million dollars? 01:10:20.260 --> 01:10:25.260 I said, buy season tickets to the Canucks. 01:10:25.260 --> 01:10:27.260 That's when he realized this guy's no good. 01:10:27.260 --> 01:10:29.260 And he walked away. 01:10:29.260 --> 01:10:31.260 But the point is this. 01:10:31.260 --> 01:10:36.260 You don't know how let down I felt that this guy sat so carefully paying attention for 35 minutes, 01:10:36.260 --> 01:10:39.260 and all he wanted to do was sell me Amway. 01:10:39.260 --> 01:10:44.260 You know, is it possible for you to actually enjoy show kindness, 01:10:44.260 --> 01:10:51.260 enjoy people without your end game being, I'm going to get him saved? 01:10:51.260 --> 01:10:53.260 Is that even remotely possible? 01:10:58.260 --> 01:11:00.260 I know your question is, but shouldn't we get them saved? 01:11:00.260 --> 01:11:04.260 I know all those questions, but I just want you to think of it. 01:11:04.260 --> 01:11:06.260 Is it even possible for you to do that? 01:11:09.260 --> 01:11:15.260 No, see. 01:11:15.260 --> 01:11:19.260 Hey, till your kindness is rejected again and again and again, 01:11:19.260 --> 01:11:24.260 we do not know what external kingdom metrics is. 01:11:24.260 --> 01:11:26.260 God is doing this continuously. 01:11:26.260 --> 01:11:29.260 Do you realize that God shows kindness to everybody, 01:11:29.260 --> 01:11:32.260 knowing that many of them will not turn to him? 01:11:32.260 --> 01:11:38.260 I told you about that story in Colchester where a man came in with a leg that's swollen because he fell into a gutter. 01:11:38.260 --> 01:11:41.260 He comes in for a full gospel businessman breakfast. 01:11:41.260 --> 01:11:44.260 My friend Roland Tan is praying for people. 01:11:44.260 --> 01:11:47.260 I'm standing there watching Roland prays for his leg. 01:11:47.260 --> 01:11:48.260 It heals instantly. 01:11:48.260 --> 01:11:54.260 And he asks the guy, now that Jesus has healed you, would you like to receive the healer? 01:11:54.260 --> 01:11:55.260 And he says, no, breakfast was good. 01:11:55.260 --> 01:11:56.260 The healing is done. 01:11:56.260 --> 01:11:57.260 I'm good. 01:11:57.260 --> 01:12:00.260 And he walks out of there. 01:12:00.260 --> 01:12:02.260 I was highly irritated. 01:12:02.260 --> 01:12:06.260 How dare he get healing and breakfast and walk out without getting saved? 01:12:06.260 --> 01:12:07.260 He didn't even want to hear it. 01:12:07.260 --> 01:12:09.260 He said, no, this is enough. 01:12:09.260 --> 01:12:12.260 But after that, when I thought of it, I thought of this. 01:12:12.260 --> 01:12:18.260 How come God, knowing that, still healed him? 01:12:18.260 --> 01:12:29.260 The number of people that God is kind to is eight billion. 01:12:29.260 --> 01:12:39.260 Last question. 01:12:39.260 --> 01:12:40.260 Absolutely. 01:12:40.260 --> 01:12:45.260 But I'm asking a question to trouble you without you asking a question back. 01:12:45.260 --> 01:12:47.260 There's a flip side to this, Dhillna. 01:12:47.260 --> 01:12:50.260 The flip side is we need, I mean, everyone belongs to Christ. 01:12:50.260 --> 01:12:53.260 We need to announce the kingdom of God to them. 01:12:53.260 --> 01:12:58.260 But can you do it if you want? 01:12:58.260 --> 01:13:01.260 Can the end goal be kindness? 01:13:01.260 --> 01:13:05.260 Can the end goal be enjoying people? 01:13:05.260 --> 01:13:10.260 Can our minds even compute that? 01:13:10.260 --> 01:13:17.260 And then when we do this, what if they respond the same way that Matthew and Zekias respond? 01:13:17.260 --> 01:13:24.260 Oh, God, anything that I've stolen, I'll give back four times. 01:13:24.260 --> 01:13:26.260 And what does Jesus say? 01:13:26.260 --> 01:13:35.260 Today, salvation has come to this house because the kindness of God leads to repentance. 01:13:35.260 --> 01:13:41.260 What we don't realize is that the kindness of God is one of the things, Ephesians 2.7. 01:13:41.260 --> 01:13:45.260 I have raised you up and seated with me in heavenly places to do what? 01:13:45.260 --> 01:13:49.260 To show you kindness. 01:13:49.260 --> 01:13:50.260 So I'm not saying you're wrong. 01:13:50.260 --> 01:13:54.260 I'm just saying, can we think differently? 01:13:54.260 --> 01:13:59.260 Because otherwise, the external kingdom metrics will become a means towards an end. 01:13:59.260 --> 01:14:05.260 When people find out that you're trying to sell Amway, it can be disgusting. 01:14:05.260 --> 01:14:07.260 We think Christian, right? 01:14:07.260 --> 01:14:11.260 Think of going up to a Muslim, to a Hindu, to an atheist, to a Buddhist, 01:14:11.260 --> 01:14:18.260 helping them for three months, hoping that you'll get an opening where you can present Jesus. 01:14:18.260 --> 01:14:20.260 Is it possible not to think like that? 01:14:20.260 --> 01:14:22.260 You were going to say something? 01:14:22.260 --> 01:14:25.260 She's taking up all the time. I'm almost done. Go ahead. 01:14:25.260 --> 01:14:27.260 It's not my job to save people. 01:14:27.260 --> 01:14:31.260 It's not your job to save people. It is your job to open the kingdom to people. 01:14:31.260 --> 01:14:36.260 Yes, it's my job to lead us all in the light, to show kindness, to show God's love. 01:14:36.260 --> 01:14:39.260 And to proclaim and announce the gospel of the kingdom. 01:14:39.260 --> 01:14:40.260 Yes. 01:14:40.260 --> 01:14:41.260 Yeah. 01:14:41.260 --> 01:14:43.260 You can't save people. The spirit of God saves them. 01:14:43.260 --> 01:14:48.260 But that's not how most of us think we want to get people saved. 01:14:48.260 --> 01:14:49.260 Go ahead, Anthony. 01:14:49.260 --> 01:14:57.260 One thing I noticed that I think it's very profound that God could keep on helping others. 01:14:57.260 --> 01:15:02.260 Because if I fund myself... I can't help someone for six months if they can't save them. 01:15:02.260 --> 01:15:11.260 Because if I, for example, help someone for a long time, but they're ungrateful about it, 01:15:11.260 --> 01:15:14.260 or they're mean to me, I'll be like, you know what? I'm wasting my time. 01:15:14.260 --> 01:15:17.260 I'll use this time to help someone who deserves it. 01:15:17.260 --> 01:15:20.260 Yeah, I'm totally with you on that, though we are both wrong. 01:15:20.260 --> 01:15:25.260 God helps people that don't deserve it too. 01:15:25.260 --> 01:15:28.260 It's just crazy. Yeah, I totally agree, Anthony. 01:15:28.260 --> 01:15:35.260 Six months of helping someone and if they reject me, I can get quite upset. 01:15:35.260 --> 01:15:38.260 Last question. 01:15:38.260 --> 01:15:45.260 May I challenge us that most of us have a biblical worldview, some of us have a cultural worldview, 01:15:45.260 --> 01:15:50.260 almost none of us have a kingdom worldview. 01:15:50.260 --> 01:15:58.260 May I challenge you that most of us have a biblical worldview, most of us at Acts 29 have a biblical worldview, 01:15:58.260 --> 01:16:03.260 some of us have a cultural worldview, whatever the culture is around us, we have that view. 01:16:03.260 --> 01:16:10.260 But almost none of us have a kingdom worldview. 01:16:10.260 --> 01:16:18.260 Jacob, that's because we teach people to be not to be disciples, but just to be followers. 01:16:18.260 --> 01:16:23.260 Could be, but not in this church. This church disciples people, but I'm only talking about Acts 29. 01:16:23.260 --> 01:16:29.260 This church disciples people, but in this church we have a biblical worldview. 01:16:29.260 --> 01:16:36.260 Some of us may have the same view that the culture around us has, but very few of us, 01:16:36.260 --> 01:16:42.260 I'm not counting myself amongst them, very few of us have a kingdom worldview. 01:16:42.260 --> 01:16:50.260 We love churchy things and the church is divided into two halves and both are absolutely irrelevant. 01:16:50.260 --> 01:17:02.260 Very churchy, where the very sound of secular music troubles the Holy Spirit within you. 01:17:02.260 --> 01:17:08.260 So you've got that extreme where the church behaves like the world or the church looks so churchy 01:17:08.260 --> 01:17:15.260 that it doesn't represent the king and doesn't practice kingdom metrics in the world. 01:17:15.260 --> 01:17:22.260 So shall we take an axe and chop that tree down? 01:17:22.260 --> 01:17:27.260 Okay, what? 6.30, go ahead. 01:17:27.260 --> 01:17:36.260 What are the key distinctions that separate the kingdom worldview from the biblical worldview? 01:17:36.260 --> 01:17:39.260 Oh, okay. 01:17:39.260 --> 01:17:44.260 This we learn in the church. This is the discipling of the church. 01:17:44.260 --> 01:17:48.260 And then we release them to practice this. 01:18:02.260 --> 01:18:06.260 A biblical worldview is incomplete. 01:18:14.260 --> 01:18:17.260 Sorry. 01:18:34.260 --> 01:18:39.260 Is what the church practices outside because they've gotten this in them. 01:18:39.260 --> 01:18:49.260 Within families, within a Christian family, these internal kingdom metrics is a measure of whether a family is living kingdom life. 01:18:57.260 --> 01:19:00.260 Biblical worldview versus kingdom worldview. 01:19:00.260 --> 01:19:08.260 Biblical worldview would be everything that Jesus says from the Bible for our growth. 01:19:08.260 --> 01:19:15.260 But we then become the ones who keep growing, keep loving the Lord, keep increasing in the Lord. 01:19:15.260 --> 01:19:23.260 But us being seed, being sown into the world is not part of it. 01:19:23.260 --> 01:19:29.260 So we grow, we get to love the Lord, we worship God, we become more like Christ. 01:19:29.260 --> 01:19:36.260 And yet it is possible to be more like Christ and yet not die outside the city. 01:19:36.260 --> 01:19:39.260 Hebrews talks about it. 01:19:47.260 --> 01:19:50.260 Can you wrap your head around this? 01:19:50.260 --> 01:20:01.260 That in your street, in your sphere, in your segment of society, at your workplace, that continuously you're looking for the four EKMs and internally you're increasing in your IKMs. 01:20:01.260 --> 01:20:06.260 Do you know when we will know that we've hit a certain mark? 01:20:06.260 --> 01:20:14.260 It will be when someone in the city of Richmond calls us and says, hey, can you guys do neighbor fest again? 01:20:14.260 --> 01:20:17.260 Hey, can you do this feeding program? 01:20:17.260 --> 01:20:27.260 Because when the city authorities begin to see that they can use you, trust you, then you know. 01:20:28.260 --> 01:20:30.260 Then you know. 01:20:30.260 --> 01:20:33.260 You know, I better stop because it keeps adding an extra sentence. 01:20:33.260 --> 01:20:34.260 No more questions. 01:20:34.260 --> 01:20:37.260 May is looking at me like, when are you going to stop? 01:20:37.260 --> 01:20:38.260 Go ahead. 01:20:42.260 --> 01:20:45.260 The second half of the people that live like the world. 01:20:45.260 --> 01:20:48.260 So the irrelevancy of the church is this. 01:20:48.260 --> 01:20:51.260 You have some churches that act and behave like the world. 01:20:51.260 --> 01:20:53.260 So it's not relevant. 01:20:53.260 --> 01:21:00.260 And then you have some churches that are so dirty that the king and kingdom are not represented, but they're very dirty. 01:21:03.260 --> 01:21:05.260 Both are absolutely irrelevant. 01:21:08.260 --> 01:21:11.260 We are somewhere towards the churchy side. 01:21:13.260 --> 01:21:17.260 So Tony, if you can come up, just imagine if Tony was a tree. 01:21:18.260 --> 01:21:20.260 And this was an ax. 01:21:24.260 --> 01:21:30.260 And so we're going to chop the tree of biblical worldview down. 01:21:30.260 --> 01:21:31.260 Yeah. 01:21:31.260 --> 01:21:36.260 And so no, really, I just want you to remember that I won't hit him. 01:21:36.260 --> 01:21:37.260 I really meant to do this. 01:21:37.260 --> 01:21:40.260 I don't have an axe, but here's what we're doing. 01:21:40.260 --> 01:21:42.260 Here's what we're doing. 01:21:42.260 --> 01:21:43.260 Here's what we're doing. 01:21:43.260 --> 01:21:58.260 We are deciding that in this church, we are going to chop the tree of being churchy, not being seed sown into the world. 01:21:59.260 --> 01:22:07.260 Then out of that tree, you stay down. 01:22:07.260 --> 01:22:15.260 Out of that tree will rise someone who is both internal kingdom metrics and external kingdom metrics. 01:22:15.260 --> 01:22:17.260 That's how we need to think. 01:22:17.260 --> 01:22:18.260 Yeah. 01:22:18.260 --> 01:22:19.260 So let's go. 01:22:19.260 --> 01:22:21.260 We'll keep talking about this in the weeks ahead. 01:22:21.260 --> 01:22:22.260 Tony, stay. 01:22:22.260 --> 01:22:23.260 You can go on. 01:22:26.260 --> 01:22:27.260 Okay. 01:22:27.260 --> 01:22:28.260 We are done. 01:22:28.260 --> 01:22:29.260 May. 01:22:29.260 --> 01:22:31.260 I tried stopping, but people kept asking questions. 01:22:37.260 --> 01:22:42.260 If you don't go, I can keep going.