Guys, we've been talking about power surge, power surge and we finished two of those and
now we are on to the third in the series and the premise for power surge was Acts chapter
1 8 says that when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you shall have power and so if the power
is already present, why doesn't it manifest more often? Why is it an occasional thing?
Why is it that we don't see the power of God surging through us on a regular basis? So
we've done two in the series, this is the third part and so that's where we continue
from because in Acts 1 verse 8, Acts 1 8 it says, but you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you. So that's already happened. So if I have received power, why
isn't it showing on a regular basis? So try going back and looking at the first of the
series and it showed you why the Holy Spirit's power is present. He has intent, see, and
when we don't subscribe to his intent and still want the power, then it's an occasional
flash in the pan because he's very purposeful, very deliberate and so when his intent is
not the intent that I want power for or when his way of displaying it is not the way I
want to display it, then every so often you will see the power of God but you won't see
it to the extent that you want to and so that was the first one. Last time we talked about
I don't remember, it's terrible when I don't remember. I can't hear you. I heard world
peace. Well pleased, oh shucks, sorry, well pleased, I heard world peace and I thought
alrighty. Yeah. And so today we talk about the name and the Holy Spirit's power and
I just wanted to let you know that we had to change the baptism date because yesterday
was so wet that we might as well have gone sprinkling instead of immersing because it
was raining like crazy but we postponed it and so we'll likely have it on the 11th either
at the same place or inside because we've made arrangements for both. Next week we don't
have the inside place where there's a baptism tank so it will be on the 11th and between
now and then we can all work on Zia, make him an exemplary person. You've got two weeks
to work on him eh, iron out all his faults. Yeah. Sorry Zia, we're talking about you.
He looks scared. So there's power in the name of God and in the Holy Spirit and in the Holy
Spirit. And when we talk about the name we're talking about the name of Jesus eh. The thing
is God puts a lot of stock in names. In fact you see it in Genesis 1.5, God began creation
by naming things. God began creation by naming things. So he divides the darkness from the
light and the first thing he does, in Hebrew it's a word called k-q-a-r-a-kara and it says
that the first thing he did after he divided light and darkness is he called the light
day and he called the darkness night. Then verse 8 you see him doing it again. He called
the expanse sky. He named it. So God began creation by naming because right off the bat
there are things about the name or a name that carry so much weight in both the kingdom
and when it comes to things that God wants to do. Adam began to imitate him. So God began
by naming things as soon as creation happened. Adam began to imitate him. One of the first
things Adam does is begin to name things. He named his wife. So there's much in a name.
So when you, I mean just on the side, when you name your child try not to put your first
two letters and your wife's first two letters together if it sounds cute eh? Or don't do
what Elon Musk did. X, Y, R, T, Phi. It doesn't work. Give them names that mean something
because it's an old God trick. God loves doing that. Yeah? And so I knew someone who named
their daughter Immaculate Conception. Can you imagine living with that name for the
rest of your life? So be careful how you name your children. It matters. In Exodus
3.13, in Exodus 3.13 there's this conversation between God and Moses where Moses says to
God, I'm going to the Egyptians but who shall I say sent me? And if they ask me what is
your name what shall I say? And that's when God says tell them that I am has sent you.
And in the name I am God was trying to define himself. And so when he says tell them that
I am who I am say to this people of Israel I am has sent me to you. He's trying to describe
his essence eh? And what was his essence? I absolutely am. No beginning, no end, no
changing, no becoming. I am, I am true, I am true, I am true, I am true, I am true,
I am reliable. This is what he's saying when he says I am. That I have no beginning, I
have no end, I have no changing, I have no becoming. Everything that I am I will always
be and therefore I am reliable. Just think of that for a second eh? That's what he says
his name is. In Exodus 34 verse 6 and 7 he talks about he expands it a little more. He
says I am gracious, I am compassionate but the first revelation of him is when he declares
his name. And I love the fact that he says there is no changing in me, there is no becoming
in me. I am not going to become kind, I am not going to become merciful. I am all this.
I will always be this way and therefore I am reliable. In Isaiah 45 23 it said of Yahweh
that Yahweh is one before whose name every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess.
And then in Philippians 2 verse 9 and 10 Paul takes Isaiah 45 23 and he puts it on
Jesus. No longer is it Yahweh before whom the knee bows. Now the knee bows before Jesus
the Christ. And so we suddenly see that whatever Yahweh was Jesus now is. The same God who
says this is present here now. Think of that for a second. The I am is present here now.
We somehow have a tendency to separate I am as the most powerful one with Jesus who is
pretty powerful and then the Holy Spirit who is a little less powerful. Yet the same scripture
that Paul uses in Philippians 2 verse 10 is the scripture that is borrowed from Isaiah
45 23 where it says Yahweh is the one before whom every knee bows and every tongue confess.
That he alone is God. And then it comes to Philippians 2 verse 9 and now it says Jesus
is the one before whom every knee bows and every tongue confess that he alone is Lord.
Whatever Yahweh is Jesus is. And he is the I am. This is why at one point during a conversation
with the Pharisees he says I am before Abraham was. There was a time when they came to arrest
him when he used the words they asked him are you Jesus of Nazareth and he says I am.
And if you look at the scriptures 600 people were there to arrest him and all 600 fall
down flat. I'm not kidding you. We don't know this. We don't see it in scriptures. But in
scriptures when you read it when you go to the garden of Gethsemane and see the ones
who came to arrest him you'll see mentioned there that there were about 600 of them and
they come and ask him are you Jesus of Nazareth and he says I am and the next verse says 600
of them fell down flat. We don't realize the power in this name. All that Yahweh was he
is. He is the I am. The I am-ness of him doesn't go away because he comes in flesh. This is
why Paul insisted on saying we no longer know him after the flesh. We don't know Jesus
of Nazareth. We only know Jesus the Christ. Christ was not his name. Christ was a title.
Jesus was his name and there were thousands of Jesuses those days. So the power in the
name is not because of the name itself. The power in the name is because of who he is
and he is Yahweh. It matters your triune God theology but please understand that Isaiah
45 23 is what's taken and spoken of in Philippians 2 9. Any questions on that before we move
on? I mean he was very deliberately given the name of Jesus of Nazareth. He was given
the name Jesus. In Matthew 1 21 they say name him. I mean the angel says name him Jesus.
Why? Because he will save people from sin. Name him Immanuel. Why? Because he is God
with us. These names were deliberately given and the name Jesus in itself does not have
any power but because of who he is therefore now power is released when we speak his name
because we don't realize that every time we invoke his name we are bringing into a place
the same power that existed from everlasting will be to everlasting. The name Yahweh himself
is present. Any questions? Any challenges to that? Whatever was true of the name Yahweh
is now true of the name Jesus. We don't expect him to open the Red Sea. We don't expect him
to turn up on a mountain with fire. We don't expect him to provide bread for 40 years.
We don't expect Shekinah to clouds. He seems to be a different God removed from us but
he is present here hungering for a people who can receive him as who he is. Hey I need
more volume James. Even if I shout don't turn it down. I never shout. So guys here's an
important principle. In the capacity that you receive someone to that extent you will
receive from the person. In the capacity, in the ability to receive someone, how you
receive someone is what you get out of them. How you receive someone is what you get out
of them. So it doesn't matter whether it's Elijah who turns up at a widow's house who
has a little bit of cake and a little bit of oil. It doesn't matter whether it's the
other woman who builds an upper room for him. How you receive someone is what you will be
able to get from them. I'm talking about all the good things. And if you receive someone
evil you can get all the bad things too. How you receive them is what you get. So very
often a person with everything you need can be present in a place but you're not able
to access it because the way you receive him or her is not the way that will help you access
what you need. Case in point was Israel. Jesus came to Jerusalem. Jesus came to his own people.
Why couldn't they receive everything in him? Why couldn't Capernaum receive everything
in him? Very simple. They saw a package that they did not like. They saw a carpenter. They
did not see a king. Sometimes style, personality, grades. We should try our best not to have
our personalities great but try to look beyond the personality to see if you can access what
you need in your present moment from a person who is present sent by God because he has
the key to your life and God will not give it to you any other way but till I humble
myself and receive it from someone that I don't particularly like or that I don't particularly
want to get along with or that doesn't drink coffee. It doesn't matter. Those are the kind
of people that God will send your way so that you can receive from them the key to open
the door that you have been knocking at for ages. And if you receive it from someone who
is a good person, you will receive it from God. So, that's the key to your life.
Any questions on that one? Okay. Very often when I'm looking for an answer, I look to
people that I admire or look up to or that have prophesied over my life or have answers
for me. Very often when I look to them, I don't get what I need. I get good words but
I don't get what I need. And then along will come someone who is a blooming novice who
I wouldn't put on stage or stuff like that but God will deliberately bring me to a place
where I'm able to now receive from them so that I get what I need. He does this again
and again. The reason he fed Israel manna in the desert for 40 years was very simple.
Can I humble you so that you depend on me? Can I humble you so that you can depend on
me? Sometimes God will send people who do not display the fruit of the Spirit to give
you a key that you can take. Yeah. Cyrus, Nebuchadnezzar, kings that had, who were completely pagan,
God send them to rescue people. Can you say that louder? Between? Yeah. The intent here
is not whether we recognize or not. The intent is the condition of the heart. Once I have
the condition of the heart, discernment is secondary. The condition of the heart is secondary.
Humility is what causes things to be drawn to me. Grace and power will always flow into
any depression like water but is the condition of the heart. So we end up, I'm not reacting
to your question but I'm saying in general, we end up wanting to discern who is of God
and God is saying, hey, can you humble your heart so that you will immediately recognize
grace when it flows to you, wherever it comes from. And that's a whole different ball game.
Sometimes you receive the love of Jesus, sometimes you receive the love of, the power of Jesus,
sometimes you receive the thinking of Jesus. It's very difficult to do that because Jesus
may come with both the thinking and the power and the love as a meek and lowly person. Until
you receive him as meek and lowly as he says in Matthew 11, you don't get to take part
in the power and the love and the thinking that he wants to bring your way. He depended
on women to supply his needs. He's a Jewish man. In Luke chapter 8, he's depending on
women to supply his needs. It's not done, man. You used to pray if you were a Jewish
man saying, I thank you Lord for making me a man and not making me a woman. It was a
recognized prayer and here is a man who then depends on women to take care of him, to supply
his needs. Go ahead, Anna.
Yeah, so people associate with wicked people and if you embrace a wicked person, you can
get every wickedness that the person has. The same way when you're... pardon? Yeah,
who have got nothing. I mean, I'm just giving you the opposite side. So when it comes to
the name, guys, know this that I can access Christ to the extent that I receive him as
who he is. And if there is any area in your life that fights against anything that Yahweh
is, you will not receive it. He will not force his way. So is Yahweh joy? No, I'm not the
joyful kind. I'm the kind that is subdued and I want to... Then you will not receive
the joy that he wants to give. Occasionally, there'll be a sprinkle, but you will not receive
it. Healing? No, healing is not my thing. God uses sickness to teach us lessons. Well then,
happy sickness day to you. Or... It depends. Any aspect of Yahweh that you do not want
to receive will not be something you can access. Whatever you despise, you will not possess.
Whatever you despise, you will not possess. Despise people prospering? You hear me clearly
because we Christians have the tendency. We don't mind us prospering, but when Dilna
begins to prosper, it's like, hmm, wonder how he got that money. Tell us anyways, Dilna,
when you have time. But what you despise, you do not possess. You will not possess.
You will not possess. I used to despise big churches, eh? Look at us. Go ahead. Yeah,
what you despise, you do not possess. And to the extent that you want to access any
aspect of God, you have to be willing to open your heart to that part of His person.
I have to break through my mindset. It's not even culture, guys. It's just a mindset. It's
not culture. It's a mindset. You have to break through that mindset that this is how I think,
but because I know God is this way, I'm going to break through it so that I can draw.
Yeah. You have to break through it to draw. God likes it and He'll be... I mean, I've
shown you a video where Matt is sitting on the top of the steps and Shiloh was a kid
and he's climbing up. What's fascinating about that video is there are 20 steps that Shiloh
has to climb and he's already done 12 steps. I'm thinking to myself, at some point, Matt
will go down and lift him up. No, Matt is sitting at the top of the steps in lotus
position and he's clapping his hands saying, come up Shiloh, come up Shiloh. Until Shiloh
breaks through, he doesn't move. But once Shiloh breaks through, he picks him up and
holds him up like Lion King saying, here's my champion. That's how God wants us to do
it. Break out of your mindset, Jacob. Access who I am because let me tell you who I am.
The essence of me is I am not becoming, I'm not changing. I'm absolutely I am. I have
no beginning, I have no end. In me, you have all the sufficiency you have hungered for.
You have all the freedom you've hungered for. You've all the laughter and the joy you've
hungered for. You have all the breaking free that you hungered for. And you can become
like Adam in Eden, in this area, if you can break through your mentality and access me.
And if you fail, start again, because I'm a dad watching you from the top of the steps.
If you fail, I'll somehow bring you back to the step. You failed it. You don't have to
start from scratch. This is who he is. If Matt being evil can do that, how much more
God?
Look at Philippians 2.9, eh? We're looking at the name and then we'll talk about how
to use the power in that name. Philippians 2.9, God has highly exalted him. So God has
highly exalted him. What did he do when he highly exalted him? He gave him a name. What
name that is above every other? Every other where? In heaven, on earth, under the earth.
Why? So that every knee may bow. Crazy, eh? Notice that every time you increase, your
name will begin to carry greater authority spiritually. Every time you increase, every
time a believer increases, what do you mean increases? Every time a believer increases,
how do you increase? You increase through obedience. Every time a believer increases
through obedience, your name begins to carry more authority in the spirit realm than you
can imagine. Just think of that for a second, eh? Every time, every time you increase spiritually,
and how does spiritual increase happen? Through obedience. What happens? Your name carries
greater authority in the spirit realm. Now you can see why the demon said of Paul, Jesus
I know, Paul I know. So every time there's an increase in you spiritually, an increase,
spiritual increase comes through obedience. Obedience in whatever God is asking you to
do. Obedience to the word. Obedience in the simple things. Immediately, your name begins
to carry more weight. Spiritually, you suddenly have more authority, more influence, more
exerting of power. And when this is in present, then, I mean the centurion said it so well,
I'm under authority, so I know that when I exert authority, people will listen to me.
What's he saying? Because I obey. When I command, people will obey. And the word bow, when we
say every knee shall bow, what is God trying to say? What he means is to bow is to surrender
to authority. To bow is to surrender to authority. Or face penalty. In other words, noncompliance
will be met by force. To bow is to surrender to authority. Guys, imagine a day like this,
eh? Where you are able to exert on his behalf as a legal representative here on earth, this
kind of authority. Where there are powers that are boring people. Where there are powers
that are affecting a nation. Where there are powers that are affecting an institution.
Where there are powers that are affecting your child. Where there are powers that are
affecting you. Where there are powers that are affecting your family. Where there are
powers that are blocking progress. And you have the ability to cause it to bow. And when
you say to bow, it is to surrender to authority or face penalty. Because in the kingdom, noncompliance
Non-compliance is met by force.
And that force is usually angelic.
You can see why the demons screamed.
Why have you come to torment us before our time?
Don't send us into the abyss right now.
Because they knew what non-compliance meant.
In the presence of Christ, there was absolutely no question of non-compliance.
And so as authority increases, to the extent that I'm submitted to authority,
to that extent, everything bows to me.
To the extent that I'm submitted to authority, to that extent, everything bows to me.
It's a principle in a family, it's a principle in a school, it's a principle in a church,
it's a principle in government.
You'll be surprised at how much your children will, without force,
begin to comply when you and your husband have a relationship
that is mutually submissive and honouring.
You'll be surprised. Why?
Because they are eternal principles established by Yahweh himself.
And he is not a child of the devil.
He was established by Yahweh himself. And he is not a promise-breaker.
And the four areas where authority really is imposed is one, family, government, church,
to the word and to the direction of the Spirit.
These are the five areas where Paul keeps in every letter saying,
hey, make sure you obey the government.
Don't cheat on your taxes. Don't do this, don't do that.
Make sure at work you obey your masters.
Don't do things that take advantage of them.
At home, children, be obedient to your parents.
Husbands, love your wives. Wives, respect your husbands.
When it comes to church order, there's a way that you should conduct yourself in church.
With regard to each other, with regard to the leaders,
there is a way.
And when we begin to divert from any of these, it doesn't work, guys.
Any questions?
Yeah. Whenever the demand of any authority over you counters what God says,
obey the higher authority, in which case it is God,
obeying the higher authority, know that you might have to pay a cost.
We're not talking about whether one should wear a mask or not.
That's not what we're talking about.
To split churches over covering of the faith is crazy.
We're talking about things far more serious than that,
things that matter in terms of not the freedom of my mouth,
but freedom of the spirit and soul.
Any questions?
When we use the name of Jesus, in Jesus' name, and we say that,
it's not a request, it's a command.
For us, it's a Hail Mary, in Jesus' name.
We're hoping that after we pray, perhaps if we add in Jesus' name,
that's a magic bullet.
But it's not that, it's not a request, it's a command.
We'll talk about that.
The name of Jesus, here are the things the name of Jesus is.
So you've got the name.
What's that name? Jesus.
And so here are some things.
In Hebrews 1.3, it says that name is the nature of God.
That name is the nature of God.
In 2 Corinthians 1.20, that name is the will of God.
In Acts 3.16, I love that story where the lame man is healed.
The name is the power of God.
In Acts 4.12, that name is salvation or rescue.
Salvation or rescue of God.
The devils were powerless.
The devils were powerless before that name.
You see that in Luke 10.17, where they come back rejoicing, saying,
we, and these were novices, they cast out demons.
Demons were cast out when the name was used.
Mark 16.16 and 17.
In my name they will cast out demons.
You baptize in his name and we baptize in his name.
As in we immerse him.
We immerse someone in his name.
And we'll talk about the very simple meaning of the word name itself.
Everything we do or say must be done in his name.
Why does the Bible say that in Colossians 3.17?
Because the word name comes from a Greek word, onimach,
which means the nature, character, or influence.
Of the person.
The nature, character, or influence of the person.
So all these things matter.
This is what we carry in the name of Jesus.
Guys, it's the only thing we have that we can give away.
All we have to give away is the son.
The only thing that Christians possess that they can give away,
that will help the world, is the son.
He's the most precious thing you have,
but he's the only thing that we have that can be given away that will do someone good.
So we need to build a church for the sake of the world
and then give away the most precious thing we have, which is the son.
How do we get this from? Where do we get this from?
God gave his most precious possession away.
What was God's most precious possession? His son.
God gave his son. To whom? To the world.
What does he expect us to do? Give the son away.
How do we give the son away?
We invoke his name in different situations.
We possess the will of God for people.
We possess the power of God for people.
We possess salvation or rescue for people.
We possess the ability to make devils powerless.
We possess the ability to cast out demons,
all by using one simple thing called the name.
Crazy.
It's power of attorney.
In my name is on my behalf.
To carry the name of Christ is to carry his character, his intent, his influence, his will, his nature.
So I have to wear the name with pride, eh?
I remember a guy who used to work for Xerox, who then began to work for the White House.
He would always say that once he began working for the White House, he began to dress differently.
He began to behave differently. Why?
Because he knew the dishonor that would come to the President if he was caught behaving a certain way.
It wouldn't be a Xerox employee who behaved differently.
It would be he now works for the President at the pleasure of the President of the United States.
And everything he does now is a reflection on the President.
So the way he dressed, the way he walked, the way he talked, where he could go, where he could not go,
the mode of transport he would take, everything changed.
And he would say there's no way around this.
I have to carry myself this way because anything I do differently will be a reflection on the one that I represent.
Any questions, guys?
In Acts 430, who stretches out his hand to heal the Father?
In whose name? In the name of Jesus Christ.
In Acts chapter 316, the lame man lying by the beautiful gate, how does he get healed?
He gets healed by faith. By faith in whom? By faith in the name of Jesus Christ.
I think I've told you that story where in Borneo, in a little town called Meeri, that I happened to visit in 2013.
I just found out today that I visited it on March 18, 2013.
In that village where people were drinking themselves to death, one day on top of a hill,
there's a glowing light that keeps pulsating and they go up the hill.
These guys who get drunk on fermented coconut water start going up the hill
because they want to find out what this pulsating light is.
And they go up the hill. Through the night they walk up.
24 hours later they come back as dusk settles over the village.
And as they come back, this guy who told the story, who was there, his name's Tom Hamlin,
he tells the story and he says as they're coming back, they all are repeating one word.
They don't know a word of English, but they keep saying, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
Nobody knows what happened on top of the hill. And they come back repeating this name.
And village after village gets healed from that alcoholism.
And village after village begins to turn to Christ.
So much so that in the middle of Borneo, in that area, you will find so many Presbyterian and Methodist churches
that will blow your mind. You think to yourself, how in the world, in a strong Muslim environment
could so many Christian churches flourish? Why?
Because on top of a hill they found something and they came back repeating the name of Jesus.
And it begins to spread like wildfire.
And it just so happens that one day I'm in that church.
And I go and ask someone, Tom Hamlin, have you ever been to this church?
Because I know I've never been there, but I know I've been there. And they say yes.
And that's one of the churches where it started.
There's something to that name. There are some old, beautiful songs.
There's one song that was written 30 or 40 years ago. It says, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
There's something about that name.
Begin to use it, guys. We don't use this name enough.
Begin to use it. Don't use it as a silver bullet.
Use it for different reasons. And let's go straight to that so that we don't miss out on that.
Why use it? Or how do we use it?
The way to use it is, one, admit the bankruptcy of your own name.
Admit the bankruptcy of your own name.
And then come to a point where you are like a bride who comes out of absolute poverty.
And you end up marrying a very wealthy husband.
And as a woman, you take the husband's name and all that it entails.
And it moves you from absolute abject poverty to plenty.
The first thing we have to do is admit the bankruptcy of your name.
What that means is, when you pray for somebody, when you pray for healing,
when you pray for any of those things I showed, the will of God, the casting out demons, the healing of God,
know that there is nothing in you that will work.
That your entire dependence is on this one name that creates the universe, sustains it, changes everything.
That there's nothing in you. Your experience doesn't matter.
Your biblical knowledge doesn't matter. Your conduct that day doesn't matter.
Your fasting doesn't matter. Your good conduct doesn't matter.
Your having cast out a million demons before doesn't matter.
All you have is the bankruptcy of your name and the splendid plenty of this one name called Christ.
It's like a bride who comes out of poverty. And the husband brings her.
And he says from now on you carry my name.
And she thinks to herself, I got nothing but I got everything and I've got a name.
You'll be surprised at how often we use the name of Jesus Christ as a postscript after everything we have done.
When he actually says, I'm Alpha and Omega and everything in between.
Where in the world do I squeeze myself in, man?
First admit the bankruptcy of your name.
And then so helplessly depend on everything that that name can rot.
Any questions on that? It's critical that we understand this.
Because we try every angle in prayer.
Pray this way and then this way. Then use this verse.
Then stretch it a little more. Prophesy.
And end in the name of Jesus. Go ahead.
Yeah. Good question.
How does it matter to not depend on your conduct and yet at the same time say your obedience matters?
It's like the servant who Jesus talks about in the book of Luke.
Where the servant comes, serves him, takes care of everything, cleans the table, does everything.
And at the end of the day, having done everything, what does he say?
I'm but an unprofitable servant.
It is this idea of doing everything that is necessary and taking absolutely no strength out of it.
Except to say, this is, thank you for giving me the privilege of being an unprofitable servant.
It's the honor of serving the majestic king of the universe.
We can't even imagine what will happen when we first see him.
There's a reason John the Baptist saw him and said, I am not even worthy to undo a strap of his sandals.
What was he saying?
The least on earth were born slaves whose only job was to take sandals off the feet of people that would go through mud and poo and dirt and crap.
That's the best way to explain it.
And their job was to unstrap their sandals.
And John the Baptist, who Jesus said, was one of the greatest men who ever lived,
was saying, I'm not worthy to unstrap his sandals.
What is he saying?
In his flesh, he was majestic.
What will it be like when we see him?
What will it be like when some of us have the ability to catch a glimpse of who he is here on earth?
When he suddenly turns up and it burns you, man.
What will that be like?
It's happened to tons of people in the Bible where he came into the room and they hit the ground.
And they couldn't get up till he said, fear not, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
And so, yes, in matters that I be holy, why would I be holy?
And so, yes, in matters that I be holy, why?
Because my Father in heaven is holy.
And after being holy, I take no strength out of my holiness, but all strength out of the holy name.
There was a time when whenever I had to deal with anything demonic, I'd fast and I would go.
I remember once God saying to me, you can fast before you go on days that you have to cast out demons
because of late you've been thinking that you can cast out demons because you're fasting.
And so then, if I had to deal with powers that were evil, I would fast maybe two, three days before.
So on the day that I go to cast out demons, I would have absolutely no strength that I derive from fasting.
It's fascinating how many Christian things we do to derive strength when the strength is all in the simple name of Yahweh.
Now present here in this room through the Spirit of Jesus.
Now.
So the first thing is admit your bankruptcy.
Admit your bankruptcy.
The next thing is identify with Christ.
Identify with Christ.
So what does that mean?
It's believing and confessing that you are His and He is yours.
It's a hard thing to do with an invisible person.
It's like going to the bank knowing that you've deposited nothing in the bank
and will get absolutely nothing if you go in your name.
But it so happens that your cosigny, Jesus Christ, has unlimited funds in the bank
and He's granting you the privilege of going to the bank with His name on your check.
So completely identify.
There's a reason the Bible uses words like co-as.
We don't understand co-as, but we understand cosine.
Cosine is something most people understand.
And this is what we're talking about.
We're talking about cosigning.
We identify so much with Him that on one hand, there are two levels of identity.
On one hand I'm saying, Jesus, I am yours and you are mine,
which is very hard to just put in those words and make happen.
It has to be this constant thing of going over, He is in me and I am in Him.
He and I have become one.
What does that even mean?
Christians have to think.
It's in thinking that truths are formed.
Christians have to think.
It's in thinking that truths are formed.
And busyness prevents us from forming a heart.
Anyone who is busy will not form a heart.
Sorry, I'll look away, she's going to cry.
Anyone who is busy will not form a heart.
I didn't say that.
Sorin Kierkegaard said that.
And so, anyone who is busy will not form a heart.
If you choose not to be busy, you will form a heart.
How do you form a heart?
You form a heart by thinking.
Thinking what?
Thinking the truths of God.
So what does it even mean to be, you and I are one?
That you, Yahweh, creator of the universe, present in this room, are in me and I am wound in you.
And you and I are actually able to operate as one.
I have made it difficult by thinking, I cannot access you, I cannot hear you, I cannot think like you.
But the fact is, you and I are one.
The fact is, you and I are one.
You are closer than the thoughts of my heart and the words that are presently coming from my mouth.
You are closer than that.
Romans 10, you and I are one.
But we need to think on this for it to become a reality.
Identity.
So that's on one level.
The other level of identity is to actually think that he is a cosigny for everything that I need to do here on earth.
A cosigny for everything that I need to do here on earth.
That what I am doing right now is a result of identifying with him so that his words can flow through me.
So that his words can flow through me in a way that affects lives.
So that his words can flow through me in a way that all the words I speak are spirit and life and that it won't be flesh.
So that his words can flow through me so that he can get to do amongst us whatever he wants to.
So that his words can flow through me so that I can hear it and I can be changed.
Not you.
And you.
This is identity on another level.
Any questions?
Guys, this is real.
I wish we couldn't, we didn't have another method next Sunday.
Because it's, how do you handle this?
Before you've handled this, you've gone on to another method which is another whole way of thinking.
If you could just park here.
This itself is so difficult.
Pray in his name.
Pray in his authority.
You know, during the US Civil War, they used to have these guys called flag bearers.
Their job was to hold the flag that signified their regiment and walk just behind or in front of the drummers.
Their job was to make sure that everyone rallied around the flag.
To lose the flag was to lose their identity.
And so, only the bravest would pick up the flag because the first thing any marksman would do was shoot down the flag bearer.
And anytime the flag bearer fell, someone else would go grab the flag because to hold that was everything.
That was authority.
That was the rallying cry.
That was what was planted.
To pray with authority is to have on one hand the courage required to carry that flag.
And so young guys would sometimes want to prove themselves to the older guys.
And they would volunteer.
They'd be shivering in their pants, eh?
Because it was the most likely person to be shot.
And those who survived would live to tell a tale for years on end until they died.
To pray in his authority requires courage.
Why? Because you've got nothing else now but the name.
Because in the first point we said, we are absolutely bankrupt.
In bankruptcy, you're now carrying a flag that can set the whole world free, rally things.
But you're carrying it knowing that you need courage to do it because you're going into situations where you're going to deal with things that you have no business dealing with and you don't have the power to deal with.
But if you don't try it, you will never know the power in it.
That's why he sent them out two by two when he called the 72.
And he said, go, go now.
He didn't go with them, man.
He didn't go with them.
That's why go tell Brandon he's going to Nepal alone.
I'm kidding.
He didn't go with them.
He sent them out two by two.
Why? Try my name out.
I give you authority, but go into places, have the courage and they come back rejoicing.
In the good old days, they used to send you out into really poisonous situations with this name.
And you would fail a few times.
And then you would succeed.
Any questions?
Hold things in tension when it comes to Christianity.
In the sense on one hand, yes, go in his name.
On the other hand, you also have to prepare.
It's not you can't say, oh, so why don't you send me because I'm not prepared.
But why do I need to be prepared?
Just send me.
No, it's both.
You hold things in tension.
It's not one or the other.
Go ahead.
Yeah.
So levels of authority.
There's two ways to settle into a level of authority.
One, walk in order under ones above you.
Two, walk under God.
And the way God trains doesn't matter whether it's Abraham, but doesn't matter whether it's David, doesn't matter whether it's Joshua.
The way God trains is he'll have you fight the bear and the lion before he has you fight Goliath.
And so he doesn't throw you into the deep end.
He ain't that kind of a dad.
Joshua, learn how to learn from Moses so that I can one day set you up as the one who leads Israel into the promised land.
Abraham, I'm not asking you to give up Isaac.
But I'm asking you to leave your family.
Then I'm asking you to leave Lot.
Then I'm asking you to leave Ishmael, Hagar.
Then I'm asking you to leave Ishmael.
Then I'm asking you to leave Isaac.
So the way we work through levels of authority is not by deciding who we go up against.
If you are not living under order, you will not learn levels of authority.
And all of us will always be provided in the context of the kingdom, order.
We can either recognize it or not recognize it.
If you don't recognize it, find a place where you recognize it and walk under it.
Children have it.
Schools have it.
Government has it.
Traffic has it.
Hockey has it.
Pizza Hut has it.
Superstore has it.
Not everybody collects your money.
You will always find in churchianity and in the kingdom, you will find a framework of order.
And you have to either decide that I'm going to attach myself to it and stay with it even when it gets difficult because order grates.
Because we are highly individualized, sinful people.
Or if you don't like the framework of order, find a place where you can be a part of it.
If you don't like the framework of order, find a place where you can attach yourself.
And you will find the hand of God upon you, helping you to fight the lion and the bear until you get to Goliath.
Unfortunately, all order is manmade.
Because ever since the fall, the battle is not between God and the devil.
It's between man and the devil.
And so all order, I'm talking only about the kingdom right now, all order is manmade.
As in God uses man to establish order.
If you read Paul's letters, he's writing to real flesh and blood people.
This is how it should function.
These are the laws of the house, or the laws of the household.
So let's assume I work under you at your workplace.
I will have to trust that two things.
One, that you have the authority to dispatch or send me.
And two, that you will look after my well-being.
I will not put me into a situation that gets me fired.
These are two things that I'll expect of you.
In the pagan world, or in the non-Christian world, we still expect that of the ones placed above us.
And if that is the case in the world outside, how much more in the kingdom?
So let me quickly relate the story and then I'll answer your question.
A young prophet sent to do something listens to an older prophet who deceives him and gets him into trouble.
And the young prophet gets eaten by a lion and it seems like an entirely unfair story.
What was the problem there? Was it the old prophet? Was it the young prophet?
What was the problem there? Very simple.
When you read the story, the young prophet was told to go prophesy on a king,
finish prophesying, leave and not stop till he exits that territory.
The young prophet makes only one mistake.
He does exactly what God tells him to do.
He goes prophesies. He hears the old prophet telling him stuff.
The king tells him to stay and he says,
no, God told me to do this and leave.
And he begins to leave.
And then after he's traveled a long distance, he does one thing.
He sits under a terrible tree.
Now when you read the story, you realize he had a huge lead on the old prophet.
The old prophet would have never caught up with him,
were it not for the fact that the young man obeyed a direct command from God not to wait, but to exit the territory.
He sits there because he wants to relax.
And in that, the old prophet catches up with him and deceives him.
Had he not done that, the man would have gone through.
The story there is not about whether the old man deceived him or whether the young man hurt.
It was that the young man refused to listen to a direct command from God saying,
you will not tarry in this land.
That's the moral of the story.
Had he not done that, he'd probably still be alive.
And there'd be a couple of hungry lions.
They eat the guy, they kill the guy and they don't eat the donkey.
Pray in his authority, use his name, pray in his authority.
Pray in his authority.
Know that, and let's stop with this, know that you have power of attorney.
Know that you have power of attorney.
Be like a young person who suddenly realizes that if I wear a cop's uniform
and go and stand and hold my hand this way because I'm now a cop,
like thousands of tons of stainless steel just comes to a screeching halt when I lift my hand up.
This is the same kid who used to get beaten every day in school.
And now he wears new authority.
Pray in authority.
Dawn authority, D-O-N, dawn authority.
Try it out.
As you do, and God takes you through different levels,
you will find that it begins to work and you'll be fascinated.
Jesus likes you being fascinated.
He didn't say to the disciples who came back after casting out demons,
listen, don't be too happy about this.
He said, I'm glad you're happy about this,
but I also want you to be happy about the fact that your names are written in the book of life.
He is thrilled when you cast out demons.
He is thrilled when you lay hands on the sicker heel.
He is thrilled when you are inadvertently deceived into drinking poison and you survive.
He is thrilled when a snake curls around your hand and bites you and you shake it off
and you're absolutely confident that nothing will happen to you.
He is thrilled at it because he is seeing you use the power in his name.
He loves the name of his son.
He's the one who exalted that name above every other name.
Every time one of us uses that name correctly, God is thrilled.
It's the same way you are thrilled when your son or daughter goes to a soccer field or a hockey rink
and does a move that you taught him.
My God, I taught him that. I taught him that.
You got it from Messi, but I taught him that.
That's how God feels.
Pray in his authority. It's the power of attorney.
It's on his behalf. It's on his behalf. Let's end with that.
It's on his behalf.
Think of it as you representing him in his absence.
Beautifully. Think of it as you representing him in his absence though he is present.
You representing him in his absence though he is present.
Because in actuality, every believer has unlimited power of attorney in all matters pertaining to the kingdom.
Also pray with excited, fierce expectation.
Pray with excited, fierce expectation.
We don't.
What does this look like?
It's joyful dependence.
And it ascribes high value to Jesus' faithfulness.
Please remember that, guys.
There must be a fierce, excited expectation.
We've been disappointed so many times.
Heal yourself quickly.
Get back.
Some of us may have not seen things work.
Heal yourself quickly.
Get back on the horse.
But you have no idea, Jacob, how I trusted God and it didn't work.
Great. He is faithful.
Something went wrong.
Don't try to theologize it.
Don't try to find out what happened unless the Lord tells you to.
Get back on the horse.
Oh, but last time I did this, I really got burnt.
Great. Put some ointment.
Get back on the horse.
Excited, fierce expectation.
Go ahead, Jill.
I don't know if I can say that I'm not really lying.
I guess the challenge is not too much in all these books.
I don't know what happened to me.
I don't know how to do it.
Yeah.
So I was your employee first in the last question.
Now imagine that I'm your child.
That's even more difficult.
Yeah. So imagine I'm your child.
And something goes wrong.
And I don't know why.
I come running to you and I say, Mom, why did this happen?
And I trust you enough now that I've asked the question to know that my mom,
at the right time, will tell me what's wrong.
That is the level of relationship that most of us don't have with God.
We want the answer.
We are so hungry of the knowledge that we are making the same mistake that Adam and Eve made in Eden.
We want the answer.
I'm like that so often, till about two or two and a half years ago,
when I came to the settled understanding that if I ask, he will begin to tell.
But he will tell sometimes piece by piece, or he'll tell me after six months,
he'll tell me in one shot.
But my father can be trusted to satisfy my knowledge
without me having to go from tree to tree to tree to find the answer.
Sometimes a tree is called the Holy Spirit.
But don't harass him. Don't try to pluck things off him.
He knows when to release that fruit to you.
It will come. This is your dad.
Never forget that.
Never replace dad with God.
Always replace God with dad.
The moment you think, Dad, you will know that he will bring to you all that you need
to satisfy your curiosity, your frustration, your difficulty, your struggling.
Like I said last time, don't use the word struggle in Christianity.
It's wrestle.
Change your struggle into a wrestle.
Struggle is always, I'm not making it restless.
I'm going to wrestle my way through it and I will get what the father has for me.
Superimpose father on God always and you will not be disappointed.
Superimpose God on father.
Like I said some time ago, and this might sound sacrilegious,
but most of us serve four gods.
God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
And God is usually the scapegoat.
Have you noticed most of our complaints are against God?
It's very hard to go hostile against the father.
Very hard to go ballistic on Jesus.
Very hard to quarrel with the Holy Spirit.
They have personality and you know they are nice.
But God, he, I can throw stuff at and it sticks.
Every time I'm hostile with God, I quickly turn to the father.
And when you turn to the father, something strange happens because my God, he is a good father.
When you're hurting and things are not changing, he's a good father.
When your money is running out, he's a good father.
You go to him as a father, you win.
The struggle becomes a wrestle.
Someone's put up that I'm four minutes over.
All righty, let's pray.
Who's in charge of that clock?
Who?
This is like the Garden of Eden. It wasn't me, it was her.
Okay, let's pray.
Josh, can you come up?
He's leaving, eh?
Oh, maybe people like you.
He also supports the Vegas Knight Riders.
His parents did the best they could, but sometimes.
Father, we bring Josh to you.
When we were worshipping Father, there was a strange thing that felt needed to be said to him.
That by September, if he still doesn't know what he's doing,
you're saying, offer him a place to stay in Vancouver for about three or four months
so that everything else that needs to finish in Josh's life can be finished
in terms of what we can give him for the journey ahead.
So I'm glad his parents are here, Father,
because he's under them and so it's good that they're hearing this too.
So here's what you're saying, Father, I'll state it again in simple terms.
You're saying that, use this as a litmus,
that if what you want does not open up by September 1st
and you still don't have a specific direction you want to travel in,
then take a gap year and come to Vancouver.
And somehow we'll provide you a place to stay so that you won't have to pay rent for stay.
So that anything else that we are supposed to add to you will be added to you
and then you can go on to whatever you're supposed to do.
So Father, I place that before him and before his parents.
And I bless him, Father, I bless him.
I say it publicly so that I'll have to honor it and find ways of honoring it.
So we bless him, Father.
Thank you for his gentleness.
And I pray that if he comes back we could add a fierceness and an aggression to him
that comes from the Spirit of God, a boldness, Father.
This man has fire in his belly.
So I pray, Father, that we'd be able to add to him.
And if it so happens that he doesn't come back, I pray that he comes and visits us.
And I pray that you convict him about following the Vegas Knights in Jesus' name.
Amen.
See you.
All right, you guys.
Bless you.
If you need prayer, there'll be people here to pray with you.
And they'll pray in the name of Jesus.
And they'll try to pray it like we have taught it, yeah?
Bless you guys.
Thank you.