All righty, guys, we've been talking about prevailing church and today we talk about
inflicting loss.
What does a prevailing church do?
It inflicts loss.
And so let's try and go through this.
Prevailing churches inflict loss on the enemy.
The enemy being Satan, the enemy being Satan and his demons, the enemy being Satan and
his demons and the ones he uses to do harm, but mainly Satan and his demons.
So prevailing churches, as in churches that prevail, to prevail, thanks man, to prevail
is to stand, to engage, to battle, to overcome.
To prevail is to stand, to engage, to battle, to overcome.
And so prevailing churches inflict loss upon the enemy because Jesus said it this way in
Matthew 16, 18.
He says the gates of hell cannot stand up, cannot endure, cannot prevail against, cannot
overcome the church.
Instead the church will overcome the gates of hell.
Therefore, if Acts 29 or any church in the world wants to become a prevailing church,
will have to adopt the mentality of inflicting losses upon the enemy, which most churches
and Acts 29 does not have.
A prevailing church is meant to inflict loss upon the enemy, but most churches, including
Acts 29, does not have that mentality that we have to inflict loss.
That is not a commonly held mentality in churches.
I'm not talking about an individual here doing this or doing that.
I'm talking about an entire church rising up together, not in sporadic corners of the
city doing one thing here or one thing there.
That's not what a prevailing church is.
That is a person who suddenly has a strong faith to do something in their little corner.
But I'm talking about an entire body learning how to have a mentality of, I am here to inflict
loss upon the enemy.
That does not strike us.
Because to inflict loss is first to repossess.
Whenever we're talking about inflicting loss, when we talk about inflicting loss upon the
devil, we are talking first about repossessing what he has stolen, and then we are talking
about restoring that which has been repossessed.
It's both.
When you read Isaiah 42, verse 22, Jesus is saying there that, my people have become plunder
with none to rescue.
My people have become spoiled with none to say restore.
So first there is this need, if you want to inflict loss, the first thing is to rescue,
as in repossess what has been taken.
Repossess what has been stolen.
And this happened in the Garden of Eden and it still continues.
But after you rescue, there is the need to restore.
And that's why in Isaiah 42, verse 22, it says, they have become plunder with none to
rescue.
They have become spoiled with none to say restore.
What we at Acts 29 and most other churches do is we are like the Red Cross rescuing the
wounded, and the wounded lie sedated for a while and then they die shortly.
That's not inflicting loss.
That's rescuing someone with a whole lot of wounds, applying balm to their wounds, never
see them fully recover and eventually they die.
That's like these guys you see in these war movies running with a stretcher between them,
rescuing people off the battlefield, putting them on stretchers, running them back, putting
them into a helicopter that flies them to safety and then they lose their limbs and
their eyes and they come home damaged and are in wheelchairs.
We are into rescuing people.
We are rarely into inflicting loss upon the enemy.
When has it been?
When was the last time you woke up in the morning with the absolute intent of today,
I will inflict loss upon the devil and his kingdom.
This is what I am going to do today.
That is not how we generally think.
That is not how I think.
And yet story after story after story in the Old Testament is not about rescue, but it's
about rescue and then restoration to a point where the enemy is crushed because of what
has been done.
How do you inflict loss upon the enemy?
You inflict loss upon the enemy by going in and taking what he has taken because Satan's
fate is already sealed.
Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire.
He knows that.
He will be there for millions and millions and millions of years.
That's the end condition of Satan.
But inflicting loss is left to us.
If we are like our head, Jesus Christ, then it says in 1 John 4 that Jesus Christ came
down to the earth in flesh to destroy the works of the devil.
It was one of the primary reasons he came.
Therefore we have to change our posture because at present Acts 29 does not have a posture,
a mindset or a strategy of inflicting losses.
We are more along the lines of let's batten down the hatches and let's preserve Goshen.
Goshen was this place where Israel lived in Egypt.
When the plagues would fall in Egypt, there would be no plagues in Goshen.
When hail would fall in Egypt, there would be no hail in Goshen.
We must break that mentality which I am partly responsible for cultivating, not partly, largely
responsible for cultivating in Acts 29 where we need to make sure we do well as Christians
and nothing wrong with that but the only reason we do well as Christians is so that we who
do well can now benefit the rest of the world.
This is why God could have continued plaguing Egypt and leaving Israel in Goshen and everything
would have been fine.
They could have multiplied in Goshen.
They had already reached millions, not millions, yeah almost a million but then he had the
move out of Goshen so that God may establish his name as the dread of Jacob because as
they went through the desert, nations looked at them and said their God is God, ours is
not and that only happens when a people are sent out and when a people refuse to be sent
out then God scatters them.
Hear me again, if Acts 29 and to whom much is given, much is expected.
Too much has been given to us so much is expected.
If we don't start at some point soon and I don't know what soon means but at some point
soon if we don't start going out and by going out I don't mean necessarily getting transferred
to another island.
I'm saying going out as in whether they be on the island or we be here, if you don't
start going out then God will use methods to scatter us so that we will go out.
I don't want that.
I would rather not have that.
I would rather that we go.
So we have to have a different posture, a mindset, a strategy of inflicting losses and
Guys, I realize that if I say that then I have to be the first one to do it and I'm
trying and we'll find a way and pray God that we can all walk together in this.
Because like David in 1 Samuel 17 29, when he saw Goliath coming up every day, when he
saw Goliath defying the armies of Israel, one of the things he says is there not a cause?
Is there not a cause?
Is there not reason enough to be angry about this?
Jesus used to get vexed.
He would get angry.
He healed a withered man and some Pharisees started saying, how come you dare to heal
him on a Sabbath?
And Jesus felt angry.
There was another time when Jesus felt angry just because people didn't want a guy healed
or because a blind man wanted to reach out to him.
He would feel angry.
Where is the rage at Acts 29?
I'm not saying rage needs to be expressed in bursts of flame, but I'm saying where is
the cause that causes you now to like we did earlier today, sometimes continue in worship,
sometimes leap out of the circumstances that are locking us down, sometimes defy the condition
of our bodies, sometimes go out of the routine that we have established for us ourselves
saying I need to rage further into the night and break these bonds because there is a
world waiting out there for me to pour myself out.
Is there not a cause?
The greatest enemy that Acts 29 presently faces in this new move that God will surely
bring upon us, I assure you of that.
As long as he allows me to continue as pastor of this church and as far as I know he wants
me to, there is no way of avoiding what God is bringing to us.
But there is one enemy that will stop us and that enemy is self.
The idolatry of self.
Like every other church in the world, we have an idol in our midst and that is the idol
of self.
As far as Jesus, there is another idol in this church and it is the idol of self.
We won't talk about that today but I just want you to be aware of that.
And when it comes to inflicting losses on the enemy, we'll have to start afresh guys.
We can't go with what we've been doing thus far because thus far all our activity was
towards setting people free.
Do you have this problem?
Let's set you free.
Is the devil doing this?
Let's set you free.
Why?
So that we live devil free lives.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
We must live devil free lives so that we can be helpful to the rest of the world.
But now God is saying, I've been setting you free for the last 12 years.
Isn't it about time you started setting others free?
And no one, no one sitting here as I look around, no one is exempt.
No one is exempt.
Because he is really after the entire church, not after individual endeavors.
Because when the net begins to fill with fish, if you and I or if I go on my own individual endeavor,
the net will tear.
The net will tear.
We learn it afresh, eh?
Because thus far experts and pastors are either too careful about inflicting loss on the enemy
or too careless, too academic or too formulaic, too worldly or too spooky or too legalistic
to be of any effect.
Either we say, oh don't do this, you have to grow stronger before you touch the devil.
Or, ah the devil is nothing, just go do anything to him.
Or we have to do this this way, follow these five steps.
After you follow these five steps, say this, this and this and the devil will go out.
We've got to stop this stuff.
It's too academic, too legalistic, too worldly, too careless, too careful.
Find out what God says in the word.
Listen to the Spirit of God.
New times require fresh new ways, guys.
The manuals that we've had, use them to stand on.
But don't look into them anymore, because God wants to teach us a fresh new way.
I've got books, man, on this.
But I'm finding that the Holy Spirit sometimes shows things in a person's life that no book can show you.
Stand on those books, use those books as a soapbox.
I pray God that just like during the time of worship when it seemed like nothing was happening
and then there was this sprinkle of worship that was happening around the room,
that in the same way we'll have a sprinkle of a certain anger inside us for what the devil is doing to people.
It is being done through other people and sometimes through direct possession,
sometimes through blindness where thousands die.
And yet I'm concerned about Acts 29 and my own life and livelihood.
I was saying this at Rochester to the group there.
I sometimes so badly, so badly wish that I was not a pastor
so I could show the world that you don't have to be a pastor to do the things pastors do.
But it's been so long since I left going to work regularly.
The last time I went to work regularly was so long ago, some of it, Dawn wasn't born.
I wish sometimes that that were the case.
So it can be proven that everything that a pastor does, everybody can do.
But that pastoring is a calling and certain things they do is a gifting by the grace and the Spirit of God
and nothing else which is given not based on academic degrees but sheerly out of God's grace.
So guys here's the thing, before we inflict losses, make sure that there is no collateral damage.
We have to take a few simple steps to make sure that when we inflict losses on the devil,
What are we saying? We are saying that we can cause the devil to pay a price or to,
no, let's put it this way, inflict losses as to one, repossess what the devil has stolen
and restore those that have been rescued.
Besides that, it is executing what God wants on the devil, saying devil you did this,
now this is what God says and this is what's going to happen.
I'll give you examples, both from the Bible and from real life.
But before we do that, if you want to inflict loss upon the devil,
you have to make sure that there is no collateral damage as in when you damage him,
that he not have room to damage you.
And there are some very, very simple steps to prevent the devil from damaging you.
Very simple steps. Anybody and everybody can do this.
One, resist pride. Resist pride. Resist pride.
Very simple. Resist pride.
And pride has all kinds of shades. All kinds of shades pride has.
Just when you think you don't have pride is when you probably have a shade
that is so like your skin that you won't even know it.
Resist pride because God resists pride.
Resist pride because God resists the proud.
What hope do I have dealing with the devil when God opposes me?
James chapter 4 verse 6 says, Jacob you resist pride because if you don't resist the pride,
you won't have no attraction with the enemy because God resists you.
It's one of the few verses where it actually says God resists his children.
But God resists his children when they are proud.
Second, don't break order.
Whatever happens, don't break order.
Don't break the order of things.
Doesn't matter that you are right and the thing is the person you are working with is wrong.
Do not break the order of things because in Ecclesiastes chapter 10 verse 8 it says,
If you break the wall or if you break the hedge, the serpent will bite.
The serpent will bite.
When you've been told something again and again and again and you keep doing it,
you cannot continue breaking the hedge and the wall Jacob and expect not to be bitten by the serpent.
It is a matter of time my grace has kept you but it won't,
it won't keep you.
It is just that my grace is in vain now because you are not willing to walk in it.
Third thing, stay connected to the body.
Stay connected to the body.
Simple steps that everybody can work.
Stay connected to the body meaning the believers that you are amongst.
Why? Because as you've seen in multiple National Geographic documentaries,
it's always the straggler.
It's always the isolated individual.
It is always that sheep or wildebeest or deer that does not want to be part of the pack
or keeps a healthy distance that is first picked off by the devourer.
Guaranteed guys.
Fourth, don't continue in evil.
These are like durr statements.
Don't continue in evil.
All of us will indulge in sin at some point or the other but don't continue in evil.
Don't continue in evil.
John 14 verse 30, Jesus said,
The prince of darkness is coming but he has nothing in me.
When I continue in evil, the devil has something in me and there is no way that I can inflict loss upon him
without suffering serious collateral damage.
I can't plunder darkness while I'm nurturing darkness.
And the last one, which is a strange one to add here but which I think is critical,
is believe and listen.
Believe after obeying it and listen once you've obeyed it to your leaders.
Believe and listen to your leaders.
Guys, the number of times I have asked or counseled people at Acts 29
and in other churches and in different parts of the world
and the number of times they have refused to walk in the council is stunning.
Because Second Chronicles, see one of the things you must recognize about my life
is that I have in my life an active proven record of the prophetic.
There's no question about that.
Over the last 12 years you've seen God use me in the prophetic again and again and again and again.
And you've seen the results of it.
And it's not the kind of prophetic that tells you to go do this or go to the US.
Not that kind of prophetic.
The prophetic that tells you who you are and what God has for you.
I want to say to you, I'm not thinking of anybody in particular and I'm telling the truth right now.
I want to say to you that when you receive counsel from me,
know that it comes with the will of God unfolding.
And when you refuse that after weighing it and finding it kosher,
when you refuse that, you're not refusing Jacob.
Don't resist it. I have no desire to control you.
And if I use the prophetic to control you, God will judge me severely.
But please, listen to counsel.
Do what it takes to walk in it.
Second Chronicles 20-20 says, you will be established by the counsel of the prophets.
I rarely say stuff like this guys because it's so self-exalting.
But we are in critical times now.
And I'll have to say stuff like this so that we as a people move together.
I listen to counsel guys. I listen to counsel.
I'm as prone to pride as anybody, as the best of you in pride.
But I listen to counsel. I take counsel and I listen.
It is the one thing that has kept me going.
I'm not going to be a priest.
I take counsel and I listen.
It is the one thing that has kept me safe by the grace of God.
Not anything to do with Jacob, but the grace of God.
It's the one thing that has kept me safe from making mistakes.
That are major and that would humiliate me.
Any questions on these before we go on?
Because inflicting loss upon the enemy.
Let me give you examples from the Bible.
When it came to Moses at one point,
God says to Moses,
listen, the Amalekites have been guys who have troubled you for long.
So here's what I want you to do.
They aren't in a fighting mood.
So I want you to go provoke hostilities.
God says, go start provoking them.
Do things that will get them antsy so that they'll try and fight you.
Why?
Because I want to completely eradicate the Amalekites for what they did to you.
And I want you to have their plunder.
In 1 Kings 20, Jehoshaphat, he says,
Jehoshaphat, go stand here.
I'm going to cause an ambush.
And when the ambush happens, you will collect spoils for three days.
And you will call that valley the Valley of Baraka or blessing.
And what was Jehoshaphat doing?
He was sitting thinking,
this army is going to wipe us out because it's much bigger than us.
I talked about this last week where Paul turns up in Ephesus
and he deals with the spirit of divination.
And the spirit of divination was a spirit that was called the spirit of python.
Why was it called the spirit of python?
Because at Ephesus there were some caves.
And those caves were called the caves of Delphi.
And from the caves of Delphi,
there would come these windbags who would come out
and make strange hissing noises.
And someone would interpret them.
And it was called the oracles of Delphi, false prophets.
And so into that town comes Paul.
And he begins to change the condition of that city
by causing Artemis to fall.
And what happens?
Thousands and thousands of dollars worth of magic papyri
and charms are thrown into a bonfire.
And Ephesus becomes one of the strongest churches in that area.
What do you think Jesus did when he went to Decapolis?
He found one man.
But that man was critical because the loss had to be inflicted.
And what was the loss that had to be inflicted?
There was a legion of demons in that one man.
Let's not even try to figure out how much a legion is.
But it was more than one.
And so Jesus chases out this spirit,
this prominent principality in that man.
The spirit flees, two or thousands pigs run over and fall into the water.
But that man then, four chapters later, is transforming Decapolis.
What did David Wilkerson do?
Went into an area in New York that was pathetic.
But here's the thing, guys.
Inflicting loss, you have to carry your life in your hand.
And stand there and say, I'm here to set people free.
This is what I was sent for.
Who are we setting people free from?
We're setting people free from the devil who likes destroying lives,
likes blinding lives, likes stealing, likes doing harm.
He loves it.
You cannot imagine the relish, the delight,
the absolute pleasure that he has.
He loves it.
He Wests it.
1948, he's in the relish, the delight,
the absolute pleasure that it brings the devil
when wicked, evil depravities happen to people.
Where he can take a man and hold him in a situation day after day after day,
even though he knows tomorrow danger may come his way and he may get caught,
but he will stand there and keep doing it.
Who does this? The devil.
No man can convince you.
And make us do this.
And what are we here for?
We have the mind of Christ and we want to stand and say,
I have come to inflict losses and repossess and restore people.
Guys, this is not the job of the pastor.
The job of the pastor is just to tell you this, actually.
We are going to buy the power of the Holy Spirit
and by the command of Christ, build a church that will say,
I've been touched by a fire.
So let the world come and watch me burn.
If this is not what we're building, then what are we doing here, right?
The problem with any revelation that God gives us,
if you don't immediately embrace it and chase the vultures away
that try to come and pray on it, then it just becomes information.
Your first responsibility is to the cause of Christ being expressed through this church.
Let me say that again. Please hear me.
And I'm right on this, even though it sounds wrong.
Your first responsibility is to the cause of Christ
at present because you're in this church being expressed through this church.
You should live it, eat it, breathe it.
It will bless the rest of everything you do,
starting from your spouse to your children,
to your work, to your resources, to your money.
It is the way God had made things.
Please understand this.
It's your first responsibility.
So if Christ is saying something through the church over multiple Sundays,
then it means that this is something God wants for May's life,
God wants for George's life, God wants for Mark's life,
God wants for Marcus's life.
And as you begin to live this, your family, your children, your resources, your work,
everything gets blessed.
Because you are seeking first the rule of God.
It just so happens that it's being expressed in a forum like this. That's all.
You could have been in another church,
and God would have something else that he wants you to join in.
But these things we're talking about here are fundamental. It applies to every church.
This is not fancy footwork. This is age old, age old.
Who are we inflicting these losses on, guys?
If you read 1 Samuel 17, and if you hold up Goliath as a type of the devil,
then we are inflicting losses on someone who, the Bible says in 1 Samuel 17, 8,
that he is someone who, not verse 8,
in verse 33, I think.
It says that the devil is a man of war.
The devil is a man of war.
That right from when he was a youth, and it's not like I'm trying to say the devil was small and then grew big.
I'm just saying the devil is a man of war.
So please understand that as we inflict losses, we aren't going up against some pussy cat.
We are talking, I mean, why did I bring up cats again?
We are talking about a man of war.
We are talking about someone who is relentless in his onslaught,
because relentlessness causes us to be veered.
Hey, and the third thing is, every time the devil rises,
remember he has an enemy camp of thousands and thousands of demons,
and in the camp there is a shout.
You think the shout of God that is in the church is loud?
You have no idea how loud the shout of the enemy is.
Every time someone falls, every time someone decides, I'm not going to go on with this,
every time someone succumbs to the conditions of life,
every time someone decides that I'm going to go deep into sin,
every time someone is sick and dying, who do you think is celebrating?
Remember the lion and the...
Yeah, and remember the scene where Aslan is being slain on the stone?
Satan thrills at these things, but we are coming to take away the roar of the lion.
Not of Aslan, of the lion, the devourers.
I'm not exaggerating, I'm not trying to paint a picture.
Though it looks like I'm trying to paint a picture, I'm not.
The prevailing church has the ability to say, let no man's heart fail because of the devil,
your servant will go and fight.
The prevailing church has to be able to say to our neighbors, to people in trouble,
to people who email you from different nations, to situations you find around the world,
to the poor man, the lost man, the depraved man, the crazy man, the addicted man,
the man who cannot escape, you have to be able to go and say,
do not be afraid, let your heart not fail, for your servant, meaning you, will go out and fight.
Here's the thing, guys, words ain't enough.
I love these songs, I love these songs, but these songs just don't cut it.
All these songs do for us is they create a placebo effect in our lives that,
ah, we are singing the song and as the beat gets louder, we get charged.
Sorry, I'm spitting all over the place.
We get charged.
But then after the charging is over, the service comes to an end and reality hits us.
That's not what we're looking for, man.
Because here's the thing, eh, you cannot, you can only go and fight if you have been going out and fighting.
Let me write that down, it's not very complicated, it's not cliched either.
You can only go and fight.
You can only go and fight if you have been going out and fighting.
I need an eraser, guys.
You can only go and fight if you have been going out and fighting.
What do you mean by that, Jacob?
Guys, if you have not yet actively begun to say, hey, next time there's a need to inflict loss or to set someone free,
can you call me?
Hey, next time there's a situation where you can show me how to cast out demons, can you call me?
Hey, next time there are people who come from outside who need help, can you call me?
Hey, next time this lady calls you and says that she can pop popcorn without putting it in the microwave by just looking at it,
and she needs deliverance, can you call me?
Hey, next time you meet with this Filipino person who has charms and amulets around me and needs to be delivered, can you call me?
Once you begin doing this, then you get to fight and go, because you can't fight.
You can't go and fight till you have been doing this for a while.
This is something that David learned very quickly.
David says to Saul, listen to what David says to Saul,
I have fought the lion and the bear, and when I would fight the lion and the bear, I would pull the lamb out of its mouth.
Therefore, now, having fought the lion and the bear, I know how to take care of Goliath.
There is no fighting something bigger till you have already fought something smaller on a regular basis.
But Jacob, you haven't called me. Why do you need an invitation?
This is not an invitation, it's a command.
I'm not putting you on the hot seat. I had to learn this way.
Please remember that every time I say you, I really mean you, I don't mean us or me.
I mean you. But every time I say you, please understand that I've gone over this three, four times thing, Jacob, what about you?
So, yes, it may be offensive, but I'm asking you, what are you waiting for? Why do you need an invitation?
It is a command given to every Christian.
But we don't have time. Well, then, only do it in the time that you have, because there will be time during two weeks you'll have time.
Guys, you won't believe this. Every week, you can ask Hades this.
Every week there is someone either, usually outside Acts 29 or inside Acts 29, who needs to be freed from what the enemy is doing.
Every week, at least sometimes two incidents a week.
How do you learn how to do this? By imitating, not mimicking.
Mimicking is doing something someone else is doing without understanding.
Imitating is doing something someone else is doing with understanding.
That's the difference between mimicking and imitating.
You can mimic somebody, but you can mimic somebody else.
That's the difference between mimicking and imitating.
You can mimic somebody. I mean, I used to mimic a guy who used to play the guitar, and that's why I only still play three chords.
But there was a guy who started with me who imitated better guitarists, and they imitated by learning chords, by learning notes.
Now they play the guitar so well.
Well, I'm stuck with mimicking because I know G, C, D, and everything that I sing starts on that.
Which is why half the time you guys can't sing, because it's very high, but you're stuck with it.
The point is this. The only way you can learn to fight the enemy is by going with people who have been fighting with the enemy,
so that you can learn what it looks like when the word is applied.
It is not mimicking, it is imitating.
Let me stop and give you a chance to challenge or ask questions, because I'm making statements that are pretty strong, so feel free.
You can only go and fight if you've been going out and fighting.
To fight is to take back what has been taken.
To fight is to then reinforce and restore what has been harmed.
And then the third part of fighting is to sentence a thief.
There are three parts to fighting when it comes to the enemy.
When you want to inflict losses, let's assume that the first part is to get her out of the enemy's clutches.
The first part is to get her out of the enemy's clutches.
She was taken, so I bring her back out of the enemy's clutches.
Now that I brought her, the next thing is there are marks left by the enemy on her.
There is a wound here, there is a bruise here.
Now my intent is I've got to restore these wounds and bruises so that she doesn't even remember them.
And having done this, the third part is sentencing the thief for having stolen.
Psalm 149 talks about this.
It says in Psalm 149 verses 5 to 8 that it is a privilege of the saints to have high praises in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hands.
To do what? To inflict upon the nobles and the kings the vengeance and the sentence of God.
Psalm 149 talks about it. It's a warring psalm. It's a fascinating psalm.
The thing is that even as we are talking about this, we have no idea of it because this is not where we normally dwell, think, live, meditate, strategize.
But what if an entire church began to think like this?
This is just part one of inflicting losses.
I don't know how many parts there are to it, but there's more than one.
Any questions?
The third part is when you sentence a thief, when a thief is caught he pays double.
When a thief is caught he pays seven times.
So these are scriptures, one's from Leviticus and one's from, I don't remember where, Proverbs I think.
So guys, let me move forward and then I'll be able to explain it.
The greatest weapon we have against the enemy
Words.
Our greatest weapon against the devil is words.
Greatest weapon against the devil is our words.
And therefore everything in terms of rescuing, restoring, and sentencing the one who did harm happens through words.
These words, however, have to have two things in them, three things in them.
One, the word meaning the Bible and what it says.
Two, faith.
Three, the word of God.
Three, authority.
Leave any of these out and it doesn't work.
Yeah, Isaiah 55, thank you.
I'm going to say something again that is going to sound presumptuous but this might happen for the next few months guys.
Imitate me in this guys, imitate me as I imitate Christ in this.
I use words and I use them powerfully.
I'm not talking about preaching, I'm talking about dealing with the enemy, dealing with faith, dealing with healing, dealing with the things of God, standing in nations, dealing with it.
One of the things God has taught me is to use words, imitate me in this as I imitate Christ.
It's our biggest weapon.
God did this at the beginning when he created, he used words.
And then he gave man the ability to do it too.
The first thing he does with Adam is, hey I want you to go name the animals, use your words.
Hey I want you to name this beautiful person I'm creating out of your rib, use your words.
It's an age old thing.
And so the words that we speak must contain three things, the word.
And when I talk about the word there, it has two parts to it.
The first part is Hebrews 412, which and Psalm 149, 5 or 6, let me just check.
Psalm 149, what does it say? 6.
Psalm 149, 6.
In both these the word is called a two-edged sword.
So one of the things we use is we simply use verses.
We simply use verses.
Like Jesus did.
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
You shall not test the Lord your God.
He used words.
In a face to face, hand to hand, close combat with Lucifer himself, he used words.
He did not use power.
He did not use miracles.
He did not use angels.
He did not use his position with God.
He used words.
So the word as in Hebrews 412, where it's a two-edged sword, it can cut, you can use scriptures.
The second is the word as in strategies and examples.
Strategies and examples.
In 1 Corinthians 10 6 it says, we have told you these stories, Paul is saying, so that they might be examples to you.
What do you mean strategies and examples?
Where you are dealing with a situation and you remember how someone in the Bible used a certain method to bring about a certain change.
And you take that story and use it as a strategy to undo things.
Real life examples.
Let me give you examples of both.
Dano and I went to Bhutan.
One of the things we did when we went to Bhutan is stand at the gates of Bhutan.
Because it's a Buddhist kingdom that is opposed to Christianity.
Like I'm talking about violently opposed to Christianity.
Some things need to be exposed.
Religions that they say they are peaceful are usually not.
They are violent.
So it is this Buddhist kingdom in the northern Himalayas that is violent.
I remember standing there with him.
And this was done for the future.
Again use words where you use scriptures.
Open Psalm 24 and began to read.
And Psalm 24 says, lift up you ancient gates.
Be open you doors for the king of glory will come in.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty in battle.
And we prayed that. That was in 2009.
I'm still waiting to see the church in Bahrain going to Bhutan.
Because that's one of the lands given to them.
To go and begin to claim what was spoken in 2009.
And it will happen.
Half the time I tell you things in advance so that when it happens you know that God was faithful.
That's using scriptures straight off.
Let me give you examples of using stories.
This is a story that some of you have heard and many may not have.
When I first came to Canada there was a time when my immigration papers were stuck in Vegreville, Alberta.
I had three days left for the papers to come through.
If not I would have to return to India.
Two days left for the papers to come through.
If not I would have to return to India.
Sue and Joan and maybe Ruth remember this.
Where there was this cell group that I used to be part of and I went and asked them to pray.
And now there's one day left and I've got one day to either stay in Canada or go back.
And I remember a guy called Roland Tan, his wife Margaret, came and said to me,
Little foxes are spoiling your vine.
That's all she said.
Little foxes are spoiling your vine.
It's a scripture from the Song of Songs.
And so I started praying, oh God, these little foxes, chase them away and stuff like that.
And then a friend came and said to me, why are you praying that way?
How did Samson deal with the foxes?
So I went and read the story of Samson.
And here's what Samson did.
Samson caught the foxes.
He tied their tails together.
He set their tails on fire and sent them back into the standing grain of the enemy.
So the next morning I wake up.
This is the last day.
By that evening, if I don't get my papers, I have to leave Canada for India.
And so I wake up in the morning and I pray this simple prayer.
Father, these little foxes that are spoiling my vine, that's causing my papers to be stuck in Vegreville, Alberta.
It's not being released.
It's been months.
I've done everything.
It's not been released.
I catch these little foxes right now, as Samson did.
I tie their tails together.
I set their tails on fire.
And I send them back into the standing grain of the enemy.
And I release my papers.
At 8.20, I still remember the time because it was way too early for me.
At 8.20, I get a call from Vegreville, Alberta saying, we just want you to know that 20 minutes ago,
we released your papers and we're sending them by courier.
And you should receive them by this evening.
I'm just giving you one example.
I can give you example upon example upon example of how you take stories from the Bible.
And you realize that this is a strategy that can be unfurled.
In Vietnam, Jason was there.
Was there anyone else from here who came to Vietnam?
No.
Jason was there.
When we first went to Hanoi, there's a river there.
There's a river there that is treated as a holy river.
In that river, there's a turtle that was 110 years old.
And that turtle died.
It was when the turtle died that I clearly heard God saying to,
I don't know if you remember this, I even showed you the BBC photograph.
Clearly God saying, it's time for a change of who rules Hanoi.
And I remember praying that in church.
Time for a change.
This ancient king that has been, that is supposed to have ruled Hanoi for ages is now dead.
Time for you to go in.
You know the first thing we did when we went to Hanoi,
and this is when people will think this is getting too super spiritual, too Pentecostal,
hey, at the end of the day, the results should bear it out.
The proof of the pudding is in the results.
And if the results bear it out, you know that the action was not unwarranted.
The first thing Jason and I did, along with Isaac, the guy who supplied us furniture,
was go to this lake.
And we did what Elijah did.
And what did Elijah do?
He heard that there was a lake that was causing barrenness and unproductivity in Jericho.
So he takes a bowl and he takes salt in it.
We went and bought a fresh bowl.
It was a scary thing because there are cops surrounding the place,
because Hanoi is not the easiest place to do these things in.
And we go to this lake and we stand there and we take this new bowl with salt in it,
and we sprinkle it in the river, and then we started prophesying over that city.
That was our first visit to Hanoi.
After that, you know what has happened.
You've seen the pictures.
I mean, you don't remember the pictures, but I look at these pictures on my camera every day.
It fascinates me.
You were there when we went and taught in that narrow room.
Guys, stories can be used as strategy and examples.
And verses can be used as a sword to cut us under.
That is part one.
The second part is faith.
Faith is your ability.
Faith is your understanding of knowing what God can do because you trust him.
Authority is different.
Authority is what you think can happen through you because God has given you or delegated to you that ability.
When these three things combine, now you begin to inflict loss upon the enemy.
Otherwise, all we are doing is doing what the Red Cross does.
Put people on stretchers, bring them out of the battlefield, help them get raptured or die under sedatives.
We've got to break out of our dullness, eh?
We do not think militarily.
It's not in our way of thinking.
So my question, and so Sue's question was sentencing the thief.
I don't think there's ever a time you should go into any nation, into any city, without praying that,
Father, as I enter the city, I enter the city as an emissary of yours, and that I will plunder the enemy.
And here are the sentences or the things that I pronounce on him based on either what you've shown me or based on your word.
And you begin to speak it.
Be it Mongolia, be it New York City, be it Vancouver.
Make it a point.
And you may think, so what's the big deal? You think a prayer like that will work?
Guys, the only weapon you have is words.
Nothing else.
Nothing else. You don't have anything but words.
The blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross does not help if you don't put it in words.
The scriptures that Jesus has given us in the Bible does not help deal with the enemy unless you put it in audible words.
Audible words.
It cannot be prayers said in our mind.
It has to be audible words.
If you can hear it, the devil can hear it.
So you have to be loud enough to be legible to yourself.
That's all.
And combine it with faith, knowing that it will happen.
And then combine with authority, as in your understanding that even though the devil hasn't lost his power, you have authority over him because he lost his authority.
So here's the questions that I have to ask yourself.
That's a nice way of putting it.
Here are the questions I have to ask yourself.
So that includes all of us.
Have I rescued lambs out of the mouth of lions and bears in the last six months?
Did I smite the lion when he arose?
Have I rescued lambs out of the mouth of lions and bears in the last six months?
Can these lambs tell stories about how you rescued them?
And if the answer is no, praise God,
this time that is coming is going to be a time where you can begin to engage in this, learn it, imitate, begin to walk in this.
Not in prayer lines here, but beyond this.
This is easy.
Another question.
Don't you love this?
Don't you love what David wrote in Psalm 23?
You prepare a table for me where?
It's God's favorite place to set up tables for his children.
Not in the safety of a church,
but in the presence of my enemies.
That's where I will set up a table for you.
Means two things guys.
You know, in Judges chapter 1 verses 1 to 7, it talks about a king called Adoni Zedak.
And so here's what Adoni Zedak used to do.
He used to catch people and if they did harm, he would cut their thumbs off.
He did that to 70 kings, cut their thumbs off and their toes off.
Finally, in Judges chapter 1, God says, Hey Judah, the tribe of Judah, and Judah arises.
I want you to go first.
And battle.
So Judah is at the forefront and he goes to battle.
And before Judah goes to battle, Judah turns to the tribe of Simeon and says,
Hey Simeon, you want to go with us?
And Simeon says, Yes, they both go and battle.
They catch Adoni Zedak.
And they bring Adoni Zedak and you know what they do to him?
Cut off his thumbs and toes.
And Adoni Zedak says this, I have done this to 70 kings and I had them eating the scraps under my table.
But now I have to go and battle.
I have eaten the scraps under my table, but now it is being done to me.
The point of this whole story is this.
When God says, I prepare a table for you in the presence of my enemies,
what he means is, I will situate you in a place where if you want to,
you can inflict loss upon the enemy.
Cut off his thumbs and his toes and have him eat the scraps off your table.
That's one side of it.
The second side of it is what Lot did.
Where there were angels that came into Sodom.
And they were disguised as men.
And the men of Sodom started planning to do them harm.
What did Lot do?
He called them and he seated them around his table.
And he said, I would rather that you be safe even if my daughters were harmed.
What was the point?
The point is, God wants us to do two things.
One, make the enemy eat the scraps off your table because I want to set a table where you and I can meet.
But in the presence of your enemies, because Jacob, I came to destroy the works of this devil.
I came, as I said in Isaiah 49, to say to those in darkness, come out into the light.
It is safe.
I came to set the captive free.
I came to say to prisoners, come out.
You are free.
You are OK.
Go.
This is what I came for.
I want to set up a banqueting table for you, Acts 29, in the presence of my enemies,
not in some safe enclosure where you sing hallelujah.
Nothing wrong with that.
I like that too.
But in the presence of my enemies so that they will eat the scraps off your table.
Plus, the ones you rescue will sit around your table and you will offer them, guarantee them protective hospitality,
saying before you are harmed, they'll have to harm me because that's exactly what my son did.
He hung on the cross and he said, before you touch Jacob, you'll have to touch me.
And then he rises up again.
This is the kind of God we are called to serve.
Isn't this God worth serving?
Is there not a cause?
This is what I mean by raging.
And may this not fizzle out by the time we reach home.
May this break through the dullness of our flesh and of our mind and of the idol that we worship at Acts 29 called self.
That idol must be cut down.
Because it will oppose everything we want to do and everything God is planning to do.
The idol of self.
We'll talk about that.
We'll stop here.
We learned what I wanted to finish today, which we will stop now.
What I wanted to finish today was how do we correctly wield the sword of the spirit?
Who do we not learn from?
Who do we learn from?
How do we prove ourselves as men?
Or I'm just including you women too.
From boys to men.
How do we prove ourselves as men?
What are the other things that we can have to be able to inflict loss upon the enemy?
We'll talk about that next time.
But remember this guys, the rampant worship of the idol of self has blunted the battle acts of my life.
The rampant worship of self has blunted the acts of my life.
In Jeremiah 50 verse 19, God turns and he's saying this to Cyrus, but you can take it for the church.
The church.
God says in Jeremiah 51 or 50, Jeremiah 51 verse 20, he says, you are my battle acts.
And that's what he wants to say to us.
Guys, you are my battle acts with you.
I will continue and complete what I plan to do.
You are my battle acts to inflict loss upon the enemy.
Jeremiah 51 verse 20, two zero.
Five one, Jeremiah five one, verse 20, two zero.
But the problem is the battle acts of our lives have been blunted by this idol called self.
Looking forward to pulling that down, pulling that idol down in our lives.
It has no business sharing space with Christ.
Questions?
Any questions guys?
Come on, someone step up for Nick and Diana.
Any questions, any thoughts you want to add?
Maybe I should say something.
If the government just wants to be sure of what kind of a body we have, we should read Joe 58 there.
You probably mean 38.
38, 38.
38.
Yeah.
So, any questions guys?
Okay, let's pray.