WEBVTT

NOTE
Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver
Episode: Prevailing Church : Nuts and Bolts
Publishing Date: 2018-07-22T06:00:44-07:00
Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca
Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/prevailing-church-nuts-and-bolts/

00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.920
Amen, amen.

00:00:32.920 --> 00:00:39.920
We sing blessing and glory, honor and power.

00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:48.720
Amen, amen, amen.

00:00:48.720 --> 00:00:56.320
Mike and Karen are away somewhere, and Anne and Kamal are away somewhere, and Dano and

00:00:56.760 --> 00:01:00.960
Blessie are the only ones who made it to Banff out of the 18 people who were supposed to

00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:05.960
leave, and the rest are somewhere too.

00:01:05.960 --> 00:01:10.960
So I think there are about 15 or 16 of us missing.

00:01:10.960 --> 00:01:15.960
But you're here.

00:01:15.960 --> 00:01:22.960
Hey, Derek, can we get rid of all the pinks?

00:01:23.960 --> 00:01:30.960
Okay, guys, so we've been talking about the prevailing church for almost four or five

00:01:35.800 --> 00:01:42.800
months now, four months maybe, and time to wrap it up and start making it practical,

00:01:42.880 --> 00:01:47.680
because you can go on and on about how to build a prevailing church and then not do

00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:48.640
anything about it.

00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:55.640
So this is the wrap-up kind of time for this topic, and so over the next four weeks we'll

00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:01.480
wrap it up and then we'll have to do something about it, like all the stuff that we've learned

00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:07.440
we've got to put into practice in Jerusalem, as in, sorry, in Vancouver.

00:02:07.440 --> 00:02:14.440
So that's why I call it nuts and bolts, as in how do we now take the gritty details we've

00:02:15.440 --> 00:02:17.240
learned and implement them.

00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:19.840
So that's why I'm calling it nuts and bolts.

00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:26.240
So let's define the prevailing church again, and I do that every time we've stuck to this

00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:27.080
topic.

00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:33.560
A prevailing church is a church that knows how to engage the world around it or the culture

00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:40.560
around it, and then contend with the culture or the world around it, and then overcome

00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:42.560
the culture or the world around it.

00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:44.240
That's the nature of a prevailing church.

00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:48.720
Jesus said that I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against

00:02:48.720 --> 00:02:49.760
it.

00:02:49.760 --> 00:02:54.960
And so his intent was, hey guys, if you want to build with me, then build a church that

00:02:54.960 --> 00:03:01.280
prevails, that prevails not by sitting within its walls and singing, which is a great thing

00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:08.280
to do, but then going beyond that where you learn how to engage people around you, where?

00:03:08.360 --> 00:03:15.360
In your sphere of society, in the segments of society that you occupy, in the streets

00:03:15.360 --> 00:03:21.920
that you live in, in the status that you hold, wherever you're located, engage the people

00:03:21.920 --> 00:03:22.680
around you.

00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:27.200
Why? Because like Prashanth was saying, I live in you. It's the only way they're going

00:03:27.200 --> 00:03:29.560
to meet me. So engage people around you.

00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:34.600
And then after you engage, once you start engaging, know that there will be conflict,

00:03:34.600 --> 00:03:41.060
there will be arguments, there will be contention, there will be pushback, there will be receiving.

00:03:41.060 --> 00:03:46.280
And so contend. Contend is to be able to stand and endure and not back off.

00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:51.280
And then finally it says, after you contend, you overcome. Overcome as in you prevail,

00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:57.600
you endure. Now there are rewards. Now there's a spoil of war. And that's the nature of the

00:03:57.600 --> 00:04:03.280
church. And so the intent is in the next three or four weeks, wrap the whole thing up and

00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:10.280
then find something that Acts 29 can do that God says, here Betty, here, what's your name?

00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:19.040
Rene. Sorry Rene. Here Betty, here Rene, this is what I see you guys doing. You at Richmond

00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:25.000
Christian, you in your management thingy and your gym and in Burnaby, here's what you do.

00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:29.760
And now each one gets things to do and the entire church begins to work together. So

00:04:29.760 --> 00:04:34.160
that's where we are heading with this. But to begin to become a prevailing church,

00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:40.960
when it comes to nuts and bolts, three things that we must understand is that you need to live like

00:04:40.960 --> 00:04:45.900
Jesus. And to live like Jesus, you have to pay attention to these three things. One, a submitted

00:04:45.900 --> 00:05:03.260
life. Two, a right standing life or a righteous life, a right standing life. And three, words and

00:05:03.260 --> 00:05:10.340
works life. Words and works life. And we'll talk about that. And when I say church, I don't mean

00:05:10.340 --> 00:05:15.340
a building. When I say church, I don't mean Sunday. Sunday, as I often want to say, I will

00:05:15.340 --> 00:05:21.220
keep saying Sunday is an activity of the church. When we meet like this on a Sunday, it's just the

00:05:21.220 --> 00:05:27.140
activity of the church. It's not church. Church is people. Church is people amongst whom God

00:05:27.140 --> 00:05:33.580
dwells and through whom God wants to show himself. So when we say we're coming to church on Sunday,

00:05:33.580 --> 00:05:39.580
it's completely false. We're not coming to church on Sunday. We are engaging in an activity that

00:05:39.580 --> 00:05:46.460
the church engages in on a Sunday, which is meeting together. That's it. This is just an activity of

00:05:46.460 --> 00:05:52.740
the church. So just remember the definition of a church so that we don't confuse it with God is

00:05:52.740 --> 00:05:57.460
trying to build a bunch of people who meet in a building on Sunday afternoon at 1.45 and are

00:05:57.460 --> 00:06:03.820
usually late by five minutes. That's not what his intent is. So if we want to build a prevailing

00:06:03.820 --> 00:06:10.780
church, then we must imitate or must completely sell ourselves to the life that Jesus lived. And

00:06:10.780 --> 00:06:15.460
to do that, there are three requirements. One, a submitted life. Two, a right standing or a

00:06:15.460 --> 00:06:24.300
righteous life. And three, a words in words life. And we'll only take the third one today, but let

00:06:24.300 --> 00:06:31.140
me quickly explain the first two. A submitted life. It's possible for a person to live right without

00:06:31.260 --> 00:06:40.460
submitting. Strangely, I can live right with God without submitting to you. I can follow rules and

00:06:40.460 --> 00:06:48.700
regulations without even submitting to God. Strange. Most religions allow you to live a life where you

00:06:48.700 --> 00:06:55.300
can live according to the rules and regulations without submitting to anything or anybody. That's

00:06:55.300 --> 00:07:01.300
how isms are formed. Marxism doesn't need a God, but you can submit. You can live according to the

00:07:01.300 --> 00:07:07.700
rules and regulations of Marxism without submitting to Marx or Lenin or anybody. The point being,

00:07:07.700 --> 00:07:12.380
the first requirement is a submitted life. And you see Jesus doing that. When he was a kid,

00:07:12.380 --> 00:07:15.780
he had to submit to his parents. When he was growing up, he had to submit to scribes and teachers.

00:07:15.780 --> 00:07:20.300
When he grew up, he was always submissive to his father. At the end of the day, he became a

00:07:20.300 --> 00:07:27.500
bond servant. The moment you say you're a bond servant, you must submit. So a submitted life. We

00:07:27.500 --> 00:07:31.740
won't talk about that today, but a submitted life is critical. Two, a righteous life. A righteous

00:07:31.740 --> 00:07:38.340
life simply means right standing. A life that is in right standing. In right standing with who? We've

00:07:38.340 --> 00:07:48.460
talked about this before. Right standing with God. Right standing with yourself. Right standing with

00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:58.140
others. And right standing with your environment. This is what makes a man righteous. Crazy, eh?

00:07:58.140 --> 00:08:05.980
And we think it's a prayer. We think righteousness is praying and confessing our sins and we become

00:08:05.980 --> 00:08:12.660
righteous. Sure, God gives us his righteousness, but if you want to live a righteous life, then I

00:08:12.660 --> 00:08:17.860
must pay attention to all four. That I must be in right standing with God, which is what most of us

00:08:17.860 --> 00:08:23.380
focus on. Then I must be in right standing with myself. As in, hey Jacob, how much do you like

00:08:23.380 --> 00:08:30.100
yourself? How well do you think of yourself? How do you honor yourself? What is the integrity that

00:08:30.100 --> 00:08:35.380
you like carrying? How do you see yourself in the image of God? What is it to be in right standing

00:08:35.380 --> 00:08:43.540
with oneself? One is with peace. It's not a me-focused thing. It's a God-focused thing. Then after that,

00:08:43.540 --> 00:08:48.940
it comes on to you. This is why Jesus said that love the Lord your God and then, what does he say

00:08:48.940 --> 00:08:54.780
next? Love your neighbor as you love yourself. So there's no question of going further into the

00:08:54.780 --> 00:08:59.860
neighborhood if I first don't come into this place of right standing with myself. Where things become

00:08:59.860 --> 00:09:04.060
important to you. Integrity becomes important to you. David kind of knew this when he said,

00:09:04.060 --> 00:09:12.420
oh God, you desire truth in the where? In the inward parts. Man, it's magnificent when you

00:09:12.420 --> 00:09:17.460
suddenly find out, oh shucks, this is how you made me and it is precious and I will hold on to it.

00:09:17.460 --> 00:09:29.060
And the third part is right standing with others, which is critical. The Lord's Prayer talks about

00:09:29.060 --> 00:09:34.900
it. Forgive me my sins as I forgive those that have trespassed against me. That's just one example.

00:09:34.900 --> 00:09:38.940
Right standing with others and then the last one is right standing with the environment. God is

00:09:39.060 --> 00:09:46.820
green. Only he doesn't go crazy about it, but he is crazy about it. Right standing with the

00:09:46.820 --> 00:09:52.260
environment. That's what the righteousness part of it is. But today we are only looking at the

00:09:52.260 --> 00:09:57.140
third one, which is the words in works life and that's what we focus on. Hey, is there a thingy?

00:09:57.140 --> 00:10:12.500
No? Okay. Can you locate the thingy? No, that's a DI box. I could try using that,

00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:20.580
but it might damage the box lot. Okay, so guys, when we look at Jesus's life,

00:10:20.580 --> 00:10:30.460
words and works life, here's what we're trying to say. That Jesus's ministry was made up of the

00:10:30.460 --> 00:10:35.900
words of Jesus and the works of Jesus. And if you want to be a prevailing church that actually

00:10:35.900 --> 00:10:42.300
makes headway in the world, we must be able to do two things that Jesus did. Speak his words,

00:10:42.300 --> 00:10:51.860
do his works. If we don't do one of these, then you can teach a church all about how to prevail,

00:10:51.860 --> 00:10:57.940
but the church will not be effective in the world if the church doesn't learn how to do these two

00:10:57.940 --> 00:11:04.980
things. I need to know how to announce or proclaim the words of Jesus and I need to demonstrate the

00:11:04.980 --> 00:11:12.140
works of Jesus. And that's all we're looking at today and then we'll close. Jesus's ministry

00:11:12.140 --> 00:11:16.940
was made up of the words of Jesus and the works of Jesus. So what were the words of the announcement?

00:11:16.940 --> 00:11:25.180
Look at Mark 1.15. Mark 1.15. And you'll see that Jesus, Paul, Peter all had variations of Mark 1.15

00:11:25.180 --> 00:11:36.460
happening throughout their life. Mark chapter 1, verse 15. Here's what it says. We've got to pledge

00:11:36.460 --> 00:11:43.060
allegiance to this, guys, because it's not something that comes naturally to us. Starting

00:11:43.060 --> 00:11:49.100
at verse 14. After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the good news of

00:11:49.100 --> 00:11:57.500
God. And this is what Mark 15 says. The time has come, he said, the kingdom of God is here. Repent

00:11:57.500 --> 00:12:05.740
and believe the gospel or the good news. The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and

00:12:05.740 --> 00:12:14.820
believe the gospel. So when it comes to the words of Jesus, what are we supposed to announce? The

00:12:14.820 --> 00:12:19.820
announcement is very simple. Guys, the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent

00:12:19.820 --> 00:12:25.980
and believe the gospel. Some variation of this must become normal for us, guys. Every time you go

00:12:25.980 --> 00:12:31.540
out, it must become normal for us. When Chris went out for dinner yesterday, it had to be normal for

00:12:31.540 --> 00:12:37.340
us. Dano told us about how he visited with a family last week. It became normal for him. A guy is

00:12:37.340 --> 00:12:44.380
defending his thesis. His first page makes it obvious. It becomes normal for him. This is the

00:12:44.380 --> 00:12:49.780
way it's supposed to be. It's very normal for you to speak about the one thing that you're excited

00:12:49.780 --> 00:12:57.180
about. Why is it that when Christians adore someone within these walls, that they're not able to

00:12:57.180 --> 00:13:02.820
announce him outside of these walls? It's odd because most things that we adore, we announce.

00:13:02.820 --> 00:13:11.420
And yet when it comes to Jesus Christ, somehow we do not announce he who we adore, which is very

00:13:11.420 --> 00:13:17.100
odd. I mean, I get excited about a burger. I've told everyone about the Baconator at Wendy's. I

00:13:18.100 --> 00:13:26.460
adore that Baconator. Everybody knows about it. Thank you. You're very resourceful. I will...

00:13:26.460 --> 00:13:39.740
Is Jeevan here? Oh, he's here. Okay. Thanks, Derek. You've just been promoted to associate pastor.

00:13:39.740 --> 00:13:56.060
Sorry, Jeevan. It was yours for two weeks. Yeah. So guys, our announcement is very simple. What is

00:13:56.060 --> 00:14:05.100
the announcement? What is the announcement? What is the announcement? Or what are the words we are

00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:09.660
speaking? We said Jesus and ministry involve two things, words and works. What is the announcement?

00:14:09.660 --> 00:14:35.660
It is time is near or here. Two, King Jesus and his rule is yours to enter into. And three,

00:14:35.660 --> 00:15:05.540
turn from your present ways and beliefs and accept the good news that Jesus wants to

00:15:05.540 --> 00:15:34.380
rescue you from sin, sickness, death, penalty, falsehood, danger, and eternal loss. Man, is that

00:15:34.380 --> 00:15:41.860
good news or what? Guys, if you can write this down and remember it, learn it, memorize it.

00:15:41.860 --> 00:15:48.380
Unfortunately, truth is not learned through any other method first, but through repetition. Once

00:15:48.380 --> 00:15:52.540
you repeat it enough, it becomes so ingrained that you're able to practice it because it is

00:15:52.540 --> 00:16:00.260
ingrained. So what is the announcement? The announcement is very simple and everybody here

00:16:00.260 --> 00:16:02.860
can do it. You don't have to be a pastor. You don't have to go to Bible college. You don't have to

00:16:02.860 --> 00:16:08.060
do anything like that. The announcement is very simple. The time is near or here. Two, King Jesus

00:16:08.060 --> 00:16:14.260
and his rule is yours to enter into. As in, hey, there's a new sheriff in town. He's got a whole

00:16:14.260 --> 00:16:19.420
town for himself and he's so willing to let you be part of this. You don't have to go through a

00:16:19.420 --> 00:16:23.020
citizenship test. You don't have to qualify. You don't have to pledge allegiance to the Queen.

00:16:23.020 --> 00:16:27.660
You just have to walk in because he's willing to have you walk in. And three, turn from your

00:16:27.660 --> 00:16:32.340
present ways and beliefs and accept the good news that Jesus wants to rescue you. Rescue you

00:16:32.340 --> 00:16:37.660
from what? From sin, from sickness, from death, from the penalty of sin, from falsehood, from danger,

00:16:37.660 --> 00:16:48.540
from what is the last one? Eternal loss. And this whole thing is summed up with one Greek word,

00:16:48.540 --> 00:16:59.580
sozo. Not sozo, sozo. That is what he's offering us. Any questions?

00:16:59.580 --> 00:17:14.460
Yeah, if you don't think you're a sinner, you don't need a savior. So, it takes humility to admit that

00:17:14.460 --> 00:17:22.340
you're a sinner. It's difficult. Pride will never allow anybody to admit that they need a savior.

00:17:22.340 --> 00:17:28.100
And so, that's one of the things that we'll have to talk about at some point. So, this is the

00:17:28.100 --> 00:17:32.460
announcement. If this is the announcement, let's look at what the works are. What are the works?

00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:37.580
The strange thing is you announce this and it's invariably, I mean, it's guaranteed that when you

00:17:37.580 --> 00:17:42.860
announce this, the works break out. You've got to understand this, guys. Every time you announce this,

00:17:42.900 --> 00:17:48.460
the works will happen. Every time you announce this, the works will happen. We want the works

00:17:48.460 --> 00:17:54.260
without the words because the words are hard to speak. It sounds non-hipster, non-sophisticated.

00:17:54.260 --> 00:18:00.900
Justin Bieber probably won't go for this kind of stuff. Perhaps he will. Who am I to judge Justin

00:18:00.900 --> 00:18:08.660
Bieber, though I just did? Nowadays he does, right? Yeah, so that's why I'm sorry I threw him into the

00:18:08.660 --> 00:18:22.580
mix. He's a really nice guy, even though I don't like his music. Yep, so guys, here's the thing. The

00:18:22.580 --> 00:18:27.820
moment you announce the words, yeah, I really didn't need to take that pot shot at Justin Bieber,

00:18:27.820 --> 00:18:36.060
I apologize. The moment you speak those words, the works will exhibit themselves. The evidence of

00:18:36.060 --> 00:18:40.860
the works will be there. Guys, we've got to show the world how this works. We've got to show the

00:18:40.860 --> 00:18:45.620
world, not one or two people, everybody, the entire church, engaging in this thing called words,

00:18:45.620 --> 00:18:52.180
announcing what I just erased and then watching as the works go. So let's look at scriptures to see

00:18:52.180 --> 00:19:04.660
if it's true. Go to Luke 7, 20 to 22. Luke 7, verse 20 to 22. Luke 7, 20 to 22. And so here's what it

00:19:04.660 --> 00:19:11.100
says in the message. John the Baptizer sent us to ask you. So John the Baptist was in prison and he

00:19:11.100 --> 00:19:15.220
sends two of his disciples and says to his disciples, hey guys, can you go and find out

00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:20.700
whether Jesus is the real deal? And so John the Baptizer sends them. They come to Jesus and they

00:19:20.700 --> 00:19:25.780
say, John the Baptizer sent us to ask you, are you the one we've been expecting or are we still

00:19:25.780 --> 00:19:31.780
waiting? In the next two or three hours, Jesus healed many from diseases, distress and evil

00:19:31.780 --> 00:19:37.580
spirits. To many of the blind, he gave the gift of sight. And after doing all that, he gave them

00:19:37.580 --> 00:19:42.780
his answer. Go back and tell John what you have just seen and heard. The blind see, the lame walk,

00:19:42.780 --> 00:19:48.140
lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the wretched on the earth have God's

00:19:48.140 --> 00:19:54.900
salvation hospitality extended to them. Beautiful man. Learn that verse. If anyone asks you, so

00:19:54.900 --> 00:19:59.420
what's your job on the earth? What's your calling, brother? What's your purpose and your destiny?

00:19:59.420 --> 00:20:06.420
And stuff like that. Say, oh, I'm here to have the blind see, the deaf hear, the lepers cleansed,

00:20:06.420 --> 00:20:14.860
the dead raised and to proclaim the gospel of salvation and God's hospitality to people. Learn

00:20:14.860 --> 00:20:22.340
this verse. We must expect nothing less. None of us must expect nothing less. None of us must expect

00:20:22.340 --> 00:20:35.220
nothing less. Hey, Don. Are we good? Okay. So that's John chapter 7 verse 20 to 22. Let's look at

00:20:35.220 --> 00:20:43.140
Matthew 10 verse 7 and 8. Sorry. Oh, it was Luke. Sorry. Matthew 10 verse 7 and 8. Matthew 10 verse

00:20:43.140 --> 00:20:50.500
7 and 8. Look at what it says. Matthew 10 verse 7 and 8. As you go, preach saying, the kingdom of

00:20:50.500 --> 00:20:56.500
heaven is at hand. As you go, preach saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. What does that mean?

00:20:56.500 --> 00:21:02.180
As you go, preach saying, there is a king called Jesus, the king of kings, the ultimate God over

00:21:02.180 --> 00:21:10.220
all the earth. His rule is now present and you can enter into it. And then he says, to show evidence

00:21:10.220 --> 00:21:16.140
for that, do this too. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you

00:21:16.140 --> 00:21:21.140
have received, freely give. We don't charge for this. We don't have an entry fee for this. We don't

00:21:21.140 --> 00:21:25.820
even take up an offering during times like this. You go and you do exactly what he told you to do.

00:21:25.820 --> 00:21:35.420
This church must, at least at the beginning of this year, at the end of this year, have stories

00:21:35.420 --> 00:21:39.700
where people come and say, hey, we learned all that stuff about prevailing church. That was nice,

00:21:39.700 --> 00:21:45.740
but we now put it into practice. And the practice looks like this. When I was out at work yesterday,

00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:53.220
and his skin got cleansed. When I was out on Main Street, someone fell on the road and I raised him

00:21:53.220 --> 00:21:58.540
up from the dead. When I was walking around, I saw a man whose eyes were not too good and couldn't see

00:21:58.540 --> 00:22:03.820
well and I prayed for him and his eyes began to clear. This must become so natural that people

00:22:03.820 --> 00:22:09.780
will come and say, show us what your God can do. I do not want us to settle for anything less than

00:22:09.780 --> 00:22:18.540
this because this is Jesus in session. As in all of Jesus working through 30, 40, 50, 60 people,

00:22:18.540 --> 00:22:27.980
or perhaps more as we grow. Nothing less guys. Anything less is in Jesus. This is who he wants

00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:40.500
to be. Through whom? Through us. What a cool calling. Thank you for your excitement. Yeah,

00:22:40.500 --> 00:22:46.180
guys, whenever you announce the nature and the power of Jesus, it will result in him displaying

00:22:46.180 --> 00:22:52.220
his works. Whenever you announce the nature and power of Jesus, it will end up with him displaying

00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:59.540
his works. He always did this. Always did this. Look at Luke chapter 10 verse 9. Luke chapter 10

00:22:59.540 --> 00:23:08.300
verse 9. Luke chapter 10 verse 9. Here's what it says. Heal the sick in those towns saying to them,

00:23:08.300 --> 00:23:14.580
the kingdom of God has come near you. Jesus is saying very clearly, guys, you go about announcing

00:23:14.580 --> 00:23:21.860
who I am and announcing the good news that I can rescue people from sin, from death, from danger,

00:23:22.100 --> 00:23:27.620
from physical sickness, from the penalty of sin, from eternal damnation. If you go announce it,

00:23:27.620 --> 00:23:33.860
I guarantee you that I will evidence your announcement with works. And what works? You

00:23:33.860 --> 00:23:40.100
will cleanse the lepers. You will heal the sick. You will cast out demons. You will raise the dead.

00:23:40.100 --> 00:23:46.340
You will preach the good news. You will extend to people my hospitality. You will make to the world

00:23:46.340 --> 00:23:55.260
evident a really alive God called Jesus operating through normal people like you. Guaranteed.

00:23:55.260 --> 00:24:17.820
True. In John chapter 14 verse 12 and 13, here's what it says. John 14, 12 and 13. Jesus,

00:24:17.820 --> 00:24:24.420
knowing what the world will look like, sound like in the future, says, hey, I'm saying these words

00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:29.260
to you and perhaps you won't believe me for the words. So here's what. If you don't believe me

00:24:29.260 --> 00:24:36.100
for the words, why don't you believe me for the works I do? If you don't believe me for the words

00:24:36.100 --> 00:24:41.660
I speak, why don't you believe me for the works I do? But unfortunately, the church is in a condition

00:24:41.660 --> 00:24:49.020
where we know how to say words but we don't know how to do the works. And Jesus is saying, I knew

00:24:49.020 --> 00:24:52.900
a time like this will come, but let me show you the works I do too. And then he goes on to say,

00:24:52.900 --> 00:24:57.460
oh, by the way, you'll do at least these works and more. Why? Because I'm going to the Father,

00:24:57.460 --> 00:25:00.540
I'm leaving you here and I'm planning to do exactly what I did through you.

00:25:00.540 --> 00:25:12.620
So don't keep looking back at the failures of the number of people who you prayed for and nothing

00:25:12.620 --> 00:25:18.540
happened. If you don't have that in your life, you must be dead. Anyone who's alive has failure.

00:25:18.540 --> 00:25:24.260
Two, don't look at the condition in your life right now and say, well, I'm not healed in this,

00:25:24.260 --> 00:25:31.900
so how can I pray for others? Of course you can. Of course you can. It's not really about you,

00:25:31.900 --> 00:25:38.940
it's about others. The number of people that, it's exasperating sometimes when you pray for others

00:25:38.940 --> 00:25:42.020
and they're getting healed and you're not getting healed. I've been there so many times I can't

00:25:42.020 --> 00:25:46.660
remember. And I go back home and I tell the Father, great, so you healed him but you can't

00:25:46.660 --> 00:25:52.620
do this for me in a nice way and a slightly moany, complainy way. But the point is this,

00:25:52.620 --> 00:25:59.500
that at the end of the day, God just loves turning up and giving evidence that he is alive when you

00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:04.900
announce that he is alive. Did you hear that? Let me say that again. God loves turning up and giving

00:26:04.900 --> 00:26:21.420
evidence that he is alive when you announce that he is alive. God wants to let people know that,

00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:26.100
listen, I'm present. Listen, I've come to save you. Listen, I've come to set you free. Listen,

00:26:26.100 --> 00:26:29.900
I've come to forgive you. Listen, I've come to heal you. Listen, I've come to raise the dead.

00:26:29.900 --> 00:26:33.780
Listen, I've come to drive out demons. Listen, I've come to pour out my spirit. Listen, I've

00:26:33.780 --> 00:26:39.580
come to intervene. Listen, I've come to restore. Therefore, in response to this wonderful truth,

00:26:39.580 --> 00:26:47.260
turn around, repent, believe in the good news that Jacob is telling you. This is the reenactment of

00:26:47.260 --> 00:26:52.660
Luke 4, 16 to 19, where Jesus goes into the temple, he opens a scroll and he starts reading. He says,

00:26:52.660 --> 00:26:56.420
the Spirit of the Lord is upon me and you know the rest of the story. He has sent me to heal the

00:26:56.420 --> 00:27:00.980
broken hearted, to give sight to the blind, to open ears of the deaf, to make the lame walk,

00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:07.940
to restore to people beauty instead of ashes, to give them joy instead of mourning, to raise them

00:27:07.940 --> 00:27:14.500
up as strong oaks of righteousness. This is what Jesus is still doing. But who is he doing it through

00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:28.660
now? People like Mark and Azza and Don, flawed, defective, difficult vessels. These are the people

00:27:28.820 --> 00:27:39.540
he's doing it through. We must not lower the bar at all. It's the only place to live. But we must

00:27:39.540 --> 00:27:42.660
learn to announce and as soon as you announce, he will give evidence of your announcement through

00:27:42.660 --> 00:27:52.780
the works that he does. Let me end. Why would you want to go down this route, guys? For many reasons.

00:27:52.780 --> 00:27:57.780
One, I would just like the adventure of it. I would like the adventure of an entire church called

00:27:57.780 --> 00:28:03.060
Acts 29 saying we will not settle for anything less. I would just do it for the sake of the

00:28:03.060 --> 00:28:14.180
adventure. I mean this is better than bungee jumping because it's as risky. Yeah.

00:28:21.540 --> 00:28:27.380
Yeah, because healing never takes anyone to the Lord because a whole lot of people get healed and

00:28:27.380 --> 00:28:36.420
they can still go heal to hell. But the point is, if I announce, see here's what we do. We announce

00:28:36.420 --> 00:28:41.300
healing before we announce him as Savior and Lord. And Jesus is saying, I'm not saying that's what

00:28:41.300 --> 00:28:47.860
you're saying, I'm saying Jesus is saying that listen, announce me as Savior, announce me as Lord,

00:28:47.860 --> 00:28:52.580
announce me as King and announce the fact that my rule has come and then let me do what I do.

00:28:53.380 --> 00:28:57.140
People might still turn away. Guys, here's the thing. You remember when we said the prevailing

00:28:57.140 --> 00:29:01.540
church, we said engage, contend. Here's the contention. Every time Jesus did a miracle

00:29:01.540 --> 00:29:07.380
or a healing on earth, there were three reactions. One, they invited him and received him. Two,

00:29:07.380 --> 00:29:14.980
they told him to leave. Three, they stoned him. One of three reactions. With Paul, it was the same.

00:29:14.980 --> 00:29:23.380
Paul was in Lystra and Derby and he just healed a man who was really sick. And so they bring bulls

00:29:23.380 --> 00:29:28.180
to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas calling one Hermes and calling the other Zeus and they say,

00:29:28.180 --> 00:29:32.260
we want to worship you. And they said, no, no, no, don't worship us. What follows immediately after?

00:29:32.260 --> 00:29:38.660
They stoned Paul. There's only three reactions to anything God does. This is awesome. Let me bring

00:29:38.660 --> 00:29:43.700
the rest of my family and the rest of the Samaritan village and we want to receive you. Two, we're

00:29:43.700 --> 00:29:49.540
going to stone you so that you are dead. Three, that was nice. Thank you for the healing, but we

00:29:49.540 --> 00:29:57.700
would like you to leave now. Three reactions. That is the contending part. That is the contending part.

00:29:59.140 --> 00:30:04.020
And if they did it to your master, they will do it to you too. This is why the adventure of it

00:30:04.020 --> 00:30:09.700
excites me. Two, it will bring breakthrough into people's lives. It will bring breakthrough into

00:30:09.700 --> 00:30:16.100
people's lives. That's another reason I would do it. That our shucks father, people who are demonized,

00:30:16.100 --> 00:30:21.460
people who don't know how to come out of situations, you will rescue them and you'll use us to rescue

00:30:21.460 --> 00:30:28.180
them. Three, I'd love to understand and operate in the compassion of God. God does these things. Why?

00:30:28.180 --> 00:30:33.140
Not because he wants to show off his power, but because he wants to cause his compassion to flow.

00:30:33.140 --> 00:30:41.940
I was in a place called Shillong and this guy comes up and he's deaf. He's got some kind of a growth in his ear that keeps

00:30:41.940 --> 00:30:52.420
oozing pus and his left ear is deaf. His name was Wadbur and he comes up, I've got pictures of it, he comes up and as he comes up

00:30:52.420 --> 00:30:59.380
he's in terrible pain with pus oozing from his ear and I'm standing there and I don't feel like praying, I feel like crying

00:30:59.860 --> 00:31:05.620
because I can see the pain he's in and as I begin to cry I know that for the first time in my life I know what the

00:31:05.620 --> 00:31:13.860
compassion of Jesus Christ is and all I'm saying to him is Wadbur you have no idea how much Jesus cares for you, no idea

00:31:13.860 --> 00:31:18.340
how much Jesus cares for you and as I'm going to touch him he goes down on his knees and someone took all these

00:31:18.340 --> 00:31:24.340
photographs, me standing and then he going down on his knees and crying and why is he crying? Because while I'm

00:31:24.340 --> 00:31:30.900
saying you have no idea how much Jesus loves you his ear pops open. He's my Facebook friend now

00:31:33.460 --> 00:31:40.340
but I didn't even pray for him but for the first time in my life, this was about four or five years ago, I knew what it means

00:31:40.340 --> 00:31:46.980
when Jesus said I heal you because I am compassionate because I never felt the compassion of God. I knew the power of God but I never

00:31:46.980 --> 00:31:51.300
felt his compassion. I can understand how he feels every time you hurt in your body

00:31:51.300 --> 00:31:59.220
to know his compassion and then the last thing is I want us to be determined. I want us to make a determination that I will

00:31:59.220 --> 00:32:07.700
announce your words and I will not stop short of expecting your works because you're the one who does the works. I can do the

00:32:07.700 --> 00:32:17.540
announcement, you have to do the works. A determination, a daring, guys we must get this ABCD of Jesus together.

00:32:18.420 --> 00:32:26.420
The first part is the adventure of it, the second is you'll break other people out of the prisons they are in

00:32:26.420 --> 00:32:33.860
but Jesus loved doing. Third, to do this out of compassion because God so loved the world therefore I learn to now love you with the same

00:32:34.660 --> 00:32:44.180
strength. Three, four, determination that I am determined to do this. I am determined to do this. If the church stops short of this, the church is a club.

00:32:47.940 --> 00:32:56.020
We were meant to spend our lives. The only reason God is raising us up is to pour out our lives for others. Anything short of that is a club.

00:33:00.980 --> 00:33:09.460
Go to Romans 15, 18 and 19. Romans 15, 18 and 19. Romans 15, 18 and 19.

00:33:17.540 --> 00:33:41.940
Look at what Paul says. He says in verse 18, I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the gentiles or today we could say the rest of the world to obey God by what I have said and done.

00:33:42.660 --> 00:33:49.300
How did he do it? So he talks about what he announced. He announced what Christ had accomplished through him.

00:33:50.020 --> 00:33:59.540
And then what was the other part? What was the second part? How did he do it? Verse 19, by the power of signs and miracles through the power of the Spirit.

00:33:59.540 --> 00:34:10.740
So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. It has always been my ambition to preach the good news where Christ was not known

00:34:10.740 --> 00:34:22.260
so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation rather as it is written. Those who were not told about him will see and those who have not heard will understand. This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.

00:34:22.260 --> 00:34:34.660
So what's Paul saying there? Hey guys, go do likewise. I imitated Christ. Words, works. I've shown you how I go about it. I speak the words, God does the works. Why should you be any different?

00:34:34.660 --> 00:34:50.260
It might take us six weeks. It might take us nine weeks. It might take us twelve weeks but just imagine twelve weeks is four blooming months. That's nothing. What if we determine that this is how I'm going to function?

00:34:50.260 --> 00:35:01.060
The words and the works of Jesus. The words and the works of Jesus. The words and the works of Jesus. Announcing what he announced. Knowing that he will give evidence of his being alive through works.

00:35:01.940 --> 00:35:06.580
Look forward to any opportunity where there is a moment to break someone out of something.

00:35:08.660 --> 00:35:24.500
Volunteer to pray. Get used to rejection. Get used to rejection. Get used to humiliation. Get used to not being sophisticated. It is a hard thing to get used to because those are the very foundations of a democracy.

00:35:25.300 --> 00:35:31.140
Equality, liberty and what's the third one? Justice for all.

00:35:33.940 --> 00:35:39.620
Today we change that to other things but these are the very things you must lose and seek for others.

00:35:40.820 --> 00:35:46.260
I was going to ask Jeevan to come and talk about suffering when you're righteous. Righteous suffering.

00:35:46.900 --> 00:35:54.020
I mentioned this last Sunday. Do not look for justice but seek to give justice to everybody.

00:35:54.740 --> 00:35:58.340
Do not look for a vindication but try your best to help others be vindicated.

00:35:59.700 --> 00:36:04.660
Suffer humiliation but do not allow others to be humiliated and try not to humiliate others.

00:36:05.700 --> 00:36:15.300
We don't seek justice. We thirst for justice for others and we'll do anything to give others justice but you're not the one who's seeking justice for yourself.

00:36:16.500 --> 00:36:20.420
But we'll talk about that when we talk about one of the other ones.

00:36:23.460 --> 00:36:28.340
Any questions guys? I'm just going to go on and on and on about this. Go ahead Emily.

00:36:33.540 --> 00:36:38.020
What about when a healing doesn't happen? You just chalk it down as it did not happen.

00:36:38.660 --> 00:36:44.180
So, partially it's me but I'm also the person that you're praying for.

00:36:44.980 --> 00:36:50.980
Yeah. Yeah, nothing happens. Let's put it this way.

00:36:54.020 --> 00:37:00.020
I never try to defend why it did not happen except when it comes to myself.

00:37:01.060 --> 00:37:07.060
I can ask God how come I'm not healed and then come to an answer because I know me well.

00:37:07.220 --> 00:37:13.220
The only guy I know well is me. Everybody else, there are things in your lives that I'm not sure of.

00:37:13.220 --> 00:37:19.220
I can only ask God, Father why isn't this happening to Nick or why is this happening to Nick?

00:37:19.220 --> 00:37:22.260
And if God chose it, I can go and talk to him about it.

00:37:22.260 --> 00:37:29.220
But otherwise, never try to defend why healing or why something you said has not happened.

00:37:29.220 --> 00:37:31.220
All you can do is seek it out for yourself.

00:37:32.100 --> 00:37:37.700
And as you do that and trust not in the actual event but in the nature of God,

00:37:37.700 --> 00:37:41.140
you will find that your batting average goes up like crazy.

00:37:43.380 --> 00:37:46.660
I didn't mean to go baseball at all because I hate that game.

00:37:46.660 --> 00:37:55.460
But the point is this, that as you begin to move from the actual event to the nature of God,

00:37:55.540 --> 00:38:02.900
you find that the event throws you in a loop because you expect healing and it hasn't happened.

00:38:02.900 --> 00:38:07.300
But then you know that he is healer and you keep trusting his nature.

00:38:07.300 --> 00:38:13.780
And as you keep trusting his nature, you find that oh shucks, people are getting healed more often than not.

00:38:15.380 --> 00:38:18.980
I mean, I know for the guys who've been here for a while, you know this.

00:38:18.980 --> 00:38:24.500
But the last time I was not healed was in 1988.

00:38:25.780 --> 00:38:32.740
And yet, does that mean that you are not supposed to take medicines or go to a doctor?

00:38:32.740 --> 00:38:37.940
No, go to doctors. I'll drive you to the hospital and buy medicines. I won't pay for it.

00:38:38.660 --> 00:38:40.820
But I'll drive you to the pharmacy.

00:38:41.540 --> 00:38:51.060
But the point is this, that it is possible to trust the nature of God as healer for yourself

00:38:51.060 --> 00:38:54.100
and for others. And when things don't work out, don't defend it.

00:38:55.060 --> 00:38:59.300
I don't know how else to explain it. I wish there was a more reasonable explanation.

00:38:59.300 --> 00:39:03.220
But any other reasonable explanation will come from my head, not from his.

00:39:06.340 --> 00:39:10.180
So have there been times when people haven't been healed? Yep.

00:39:11.460 --> 00:39:17.860
Does that discourage me? No. So what discourages me? That not everybody is getting healed yet.

00:39:19.300 --> 00:39:22.820
I know that sounds like catch-22, but it's true.

00:39:24.260 --> 00:39:27.220
But then Jesus had perfect results.

00:39:35.220 --> 00:39:41.940
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and here's the other thing. The more you bat, the higher your average.

00:39:45.060 --> 00:39:50.100
The more you bat, the higher the average. When you bat twice and you get stuck out,

00:39:50.100 --> 00:39:54.900
I'm going into territory I've known nothing about. The last time I went for a baseball game was when

00:39:54.900 --> 00:40:02.500
a small kid was playing and I had to say stuff like, G-O-D-E-Y-E, good eye, good eye, good eye.

00:40:02.500 --> 00:40:09.540
That's the day I realized baseball is not for me. So the point is this, that if you

00:40:09.540 --> 00:40:14.580
struck out the first two times, then the natural tendency is I won't step into the works of God

00:40:14.580 --> 00:40:19.700
anymore. And yet God is saying, go bat a thousand times and see how well you will do.

00:40:20.980 --> 00:40:27.700
I mean, you want to read out that text sent by that guy? There's this guy, the guy who,

00:40:28.820 --> 00:40:39.060
Derek booked rooms for most of you in Banff and then canceled. He and Derek are talking a lot now.

00:40:40.020 --> 00:40:48.420
So here's what the guy wrote. Derek began to figure out that the guy was a believer,

00:40:48.420 --> 00:40:52.100
so he wrote to him and said, Hey, are you a believer? And the guy says, yes. And then he

00:40:52.100 --> 00:40:58.340
writes, good call. Yes, I truly believe in Jesus and I live according to Mark 16, 17 to 18,

00:40:58.340 --> 00:41:04.500
the authority he has given us. Being present to lay hands is definitely, being present to lay hands

00:41:05.700 --> 00:41:10.820
definitely works in my life. Anointing with oil according to James 5 increases results.

00:41:10.820 --> 00:41:14.660
Praying at a distance for someone is less effective, but over the years I've seen amazing

00:41:14.660 --> 00:41:19.380
results. This is a stranger who you guys were supposed to go in, whose apartment you guys were

00:41:19.380 --> 00:41:24.980
supposed to stay in. Recently Jesus allowed the doors to be open for me to access some of the

00:41:24.980 --> 00:41:30.740
Bronco hockey players, the guys who died in the bus thingy. Two in ICU in Saskatoon were upgraded

00:41:30.740 --> 00:41:36.980
from life threatening to stable two hours after I was in ICU to anoint them. I was told by several

00:41:36.980 --> 00:41:41.540
that a trip to Saskatoon would be such a waste because there are rules and I didn't even know

00:41:41.540 --> 00:41:48.340
their names. The impossible happened by 7 30 a.m. the next morning. I certainly do believe in Jesus.

00:41:49.860 --> 00:41:54.100
I mean, I just saw this text yesterday and I thought to myself, what are the odds that we're

00:41:54.100 --> 00:41:57.860
talking about this today? And here's a stranger saying, hey, this is the way I go about it.

00:41:59.620 --> 00:42:07.220
So attempt it guys. And when it doesn't work, do not come up with an excuse. Do not offer platitudes

00:42:07.220 --> 00:42:11.620
and statements like God wanted an angel in heaven. My God, he's got tons of them there.

00:42:12.580 --> 00:42:17.140
Yeah. When my dad died, those were the statements God wanted. And I thought to myself, if you knew

00:42:17.140 --> 00:42:22.820
my dad, you wouldn't call him an angel exactly. He was a nice dad, but he was no angel. At the end

00:42:22.820 --> 00:42:30.260
of the day, the point is we got to step out and do this. Just imagine if the entire church was here.

00:42:30.260 --> 00:42:34.820
So let's say 70 people who begin to do this once every or twice every week,

00:42:36.180 --> 00:42:42.900
announce and works, not one or the other announced and works. Announcing is harder. Works. You don't

00:42:42.900 --> 00:42:50.500
have to do anything. It's the Holy Spirit who does it. The reason we look foolish is because

00:42:50.500 --> 00:42:59.220
we think we are doing it. You got nothing to do with it. And the more you realize you got nothing

00:42:59.220 --> 00:43:05.700
to do with it, the more empty, helpless and dependent you get. The more empty, helpless and

00:43:05.700 --> 00:43:10.020
dependent you get. I'm going to end with this story and then call Marcus and Lorianna.

00:43:12.900 --> 00:43:18.260
Do we have chairs for them to sit? Can someone just grab two chairs?

00:43:20.580 --> 00:43:26.420
I remember after my dad died, my sister said, well, if you believe in Jesus, go raise him

00:43:26.420 --> 00:43:30.420
up from the dead. And I'm thinking to myself, oh shucks. So he's been dead now for three or four

00:43:30.420 --> 00:43:35.620
days. So we go to the mortuary with a friend of mine called Roland Tan and we pull out his body.

00:43:35.620 --> 00:43:41.060
And now going to pray for his body. I'm going to pray for his body and I'm looking at his body and

00:43:41.060 --> 00:43:46.020
I'm thinking to myself, now what's going to happen? And as I stood there, I looked at his body and I

00:43:46.020 --> 00:43:50.180
thought to myself, father, this is the easiest thing in the world to do because this is something so

00:43:50.180 --> 00:43:55.300
beyond me that I'm absolutely helpless. The only person who can do this is you. A cold or a cough,

00:43:55.300 --> 00:44:01.780
you think if you shout loud enough, it'll go. But when someone is dead, they are so dead, there's

00:44:01.780 --> 00:44:07.060
nothing you can do. And even though my dad did not rise from the dead, as I stood over his body,

00:44:07.060 --> 00:44:12.260
I thought to myself, there will be a day when I see this because this is so impossible that it

00:44:12.260 --> 00:44:18.180
is absolutely possible because Jesus Christ can do it. Come Marcus, Lorianna.

00:44:18.180 --> 00:44:25.300
No, don't worry, they're not leaving the church.

00:44:28.020 --> 00:44:31.220
God is not interested in Christians, God is interested in people.

00:44:33.940 --> 00:44:39.140
He never called anybody Christians. It was a derogatory term that is being used for people.

00:44:39.140 --> 00:44:43.140
God is interested in people being rescued, so he sends Jesus. So let's just pray.

00:44:43.140 --> 00:44:48.580
Father, after we pray, if anyone has any need for prayer, then