WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Pursuing the things of God Publishing Date: 2014-11-16T05:00:44-08:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/pursuing-the-things-of-god/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000 This is a teaching. 00:00:05.500 --> 00:00:08.500 Jacob, I think I told you last week, Jacob told me to, 00:00:09.500 --> 00:00:11.800 I was emailing back and forth to Jacob, how do we progress? 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:14.400 It seems like in some ways we stalled. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:17.300 How do we go forward? 00:00:17.300 --> 00:00:20.500 So I emailed him some thoughts and he liked them so much 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:23.200 that he told me to teach on them. 00:00:24.500 --> 00:00:28.100 So last week we looked at the gods in the business 00:00:28.100 --> 00:00:30.400 of reconciling the whole world to himself, 00:00:30.400 --> 00:00:33.100 of bringing the world back to himself. 00:00:33.100 --> 00:00:36.300 And we looked at how he invites us to take part of this 00:00:36.300 --> 00:00:39.400 and how it's a privilege for us to now join in this work of God, 00:00:39.400 --> 00:00:41.300 of bringing the world back to God, 00:00:41.300 --> 00:00:43.700 of seeing the kingdom established on the earth. 00:00:43.700 --> 00:00:47.500 This is a huge privilege for us to share in this work. 00:00:49.800 --> 00:00:52.800 But along with the privilege is also now the responsibility, right? 00:00:52.800 --> 00:00:55.100 It's the responsibility that I actually step out 00:00:55.100 --> 00:00:57.000 and now start doing this work. 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:00.300 Just because God's given me this mandate or given me this privilege, 00:01:00.300 --> 00:01:02.000 I can't just sit back and enjoy it. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:07.800 I have to actually step out to do it, right? 00:01:08.500 --> 00:01:12.000 And a lot of the doing involves training and getting prepared for it. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:14.800 And that's what we're going to talk about this morning. 00:01:14.800 --> 00:01:17.800 This morning I want to talk a lot about, 00:01:17.800 --> 00:01:20.800 there's going to be a lot about counting the costs of about 00:01:22.100 --> 00:01:23.600 what it's going to cost us. 00:01:23.600 --> 00:01:24.700 There's a lot of it. 00:01:24.700 --> 00:01:27.400 And it's all coming out of stuff from my own life. 00:01:28.100 --> 00:01:32.100 So I'm sharing a lot of things and struggles and battles I've had to face. 00:01:32.100 --> 00:01:35.100 So it's kind of a personal message this morning. 00:01:35.100 --> 00:01:37.400 Most of them are, but this one even more so. 00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:40.200 And yeah. 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:42.400 So know that everything I'm talking about today 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:45.600 is stuff I've had to work through for the last four years. 00:01:45.600 --> 00:01:47.800 I think I've been here four years, right? 00:01:47.800 --> 00:01:50.800 I'm asking you, but three or four. 00:01:50.800 --> 00:01:53.700 I think it was 2010 I came, December. 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:57.100 So all this is coming out of stuff I've had to work with. 00:01:57.100 --> 00:02:00.300 And I emailed it to Jacob. 00:02:00.300 --> 00:02:02.800 And he was like, that's tough when you put it that way. 00:02:02.800 --> 00:02:04.500 As in it's a hard thing to do. 00:02:04.500 --> 00:02:06.300 But he approved of all the stuff. 00:02:06.300 --> 00:02:08.300 So that's good to know. 00:02:09.700 --> 00:02:13.200 So we talked about the privilege and the responsibility that we have. 00:02:13.200 --> 00:02:14.300 So what do we do now? 00:02:14.300 --> 00:02:19.600 How do we now, from taking the knowledge that yes, we have this job to do, 00:02:19.600 --> 00:02:21.700 how do we now actually take that step? 00:02:21.700 --> 00:02:23.100 How do we actually now step into it? 00:02:23.100 --> 00:02:28.000 How do we start accomplishing what God wants for us to do? 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:31.000 Well, the only way I can accomplish this thing 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:34.100 is if I'm willing to train myself 00:02:34.100 --> 00:02:36.300 and I'm willing to grow in my gifts 00:02:36.300 --> 00:02:38.400 and grow in my understanding of who God is 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:40.500 and what his kingdom looks like. 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:44.400 And this is accomplished in a number of ways. 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.400 None of this will probably be new, this part here. 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:49.400 I'm just going to mention it now. We'll come back to it later. 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:52.400 But all this training and this growing up and this maturing 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:54.600 all happens in three ways. 00:02:54.600 --> 00:02:56.600 Or from three sources, you could say. 00:02:56.600 --> 00:02:59.700 One is through a... 00:02:59.700 --> 00:03:02.900 What did I put here? 00:03:02.900 --> 00:03:06.900 By willing to place myself under a spiritual father. 00:03:06.900 --> 00:03:23.400 I really don't like the word spiritual. 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:28.400 But it helps, in this case. 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:34.400 No, we'll get there. 00:03:34.900 --> 00:03:37.900 Yeah, I don't have a category for this part. 00:03:37.900 --> 00:03:39.900 This is more just setting it up. 00:03:39.900 --> 00:03:42.900 We'll come back to this later and explain all these things. 00:03:42.900 --> 00:03:45.400 So I place myself under a spiritual father or just father. 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:49.900 I prefer just father, but to distinguish between my biological dad 00:03:49.900 --> 00:03:53.900 and my other dad or father, Jacob, 00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:55.900 I'll just use the word spiritual. 00:03:55.900 --> 00:03:57.900 The reason I don't like spiritual is because it makes it sound like 00:03:57.900 --> 00:03:59.900 he's just there for the godliness part of me 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:02.900 and has no influence on the rest of my life. 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:07.400 There, the spiritual father has influence on all areas of my life. 00:04:07.400 --> 00:04:11.400 From how I treat my family, to how I go about my work, 00:04:11.400 --> 00:04:14.400 to how I stay calm or get mad, 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:16.400 to how my relationship is with god. 00:04:16.400 --> 00:04:20.400 There's an influence from the spiritual father on all those things. 00:04:20.400 --> 00:04:23.400 The second influence that I need to grow in 00:04:23.400 --> 00:04:26.400 is being connected to a body. 00:04:26.400 --> 00:04:28.400 So I place myself under a father. 00:04:28.400 --> 00:04:32.400 I'm connected to a body. 00:04:33.400 --> 00:04:35.400 So that's the second place. 00:04:35.400 --> 00:04:39.400 I'm connected to a body where a body can encourage me, 00:04:39.400 --> 00:04:43.400 can strengthen me, allows me to take risks and to fail 00:04:43.400 --> 00:04:46.400 and to grow and learn from those risks, those failings. 00:04:46.400 --> 00:04:48.400 A body being like this body here. 00:04:48.400 --> 00:04:53.400 So I learn from the father, the body, and also 00:04:53.400 --> 00:04:58.400 I learn by placing my, or reconnecting with the father, 00:04:58.900 --> 00:05:01.900 or the holy spirit. 00:05:05.900 --> 00:05:08.900 That's not how you spell that word. 00:05:08.900 --> 00:05:11.900 This is a really nice marker by the way. 00:05:14.900 --> 00:05:17.900 Connect with my heavenly father. 00:05:18.400 --> 00:05:21.400 Connect with my heavenly father. 00:05:27.400 --> 00:05:30.400 As in I need to grow in that connection with god. 00:05:30.400 --> 00:05:33.400 These are the three areas, three things I need to be connected with 00:05:33.400 --> 00:05:36.400 of coming under, of learning from, in order to grow 00:05:36.400 --> 00:05:41.400 so that I can now accomplish this mandate that god has given me. 00:05:41.400 --> 00:05:44.400 In order to accomplish and to learn from all these though, 00:05:44.900 --> 00:05:46.900 I have to begin by first counting the cost. 00:05:46.900 --> 00:05:49.900 This is where we'll get to the first point on that sheet. 00:05:49.900 --> 00:05:53.900 We have to count the cost and realize the sacrifice that's required. 00:05:53.900 --> 00:05:58.900 Because guys, there is a sacrifice, a huge sacrifice 00:05:58.900 --> 00:06:02.900 required out of you, out of me, in order to now walk in these things 00:06:02.900 --> 00:06:05.900 that god has given to us. 00:06:05.900 --> 00:06:08.900 And so often neglected the fact that there is, 00:06:08.900 --> 00:06:10.900 because this is going to cost us. 00:06:11.400 --> 00:06:14.400 Luke 14, 25-33. 00:06:14.400 --> 00:06:19.400 Jesus doesn't shy away from this idea of sacrifice and there being a cost. 00:06:19.400 --> 00:06:21.400 He talks about it quite a bit. 00:06:21.400 --> 00:06:24.400 So here's Luke 14, 25-33. 00:06:24.400 --> 00:06:26.400 That's how Jesus puts it. 00:06:26.400 --> 00:06:30.400 Now the crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and said to them, 00:06:32.400 --> 00:06:37.400 He said to them, whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, 00:06:37.900 --> 00:06:40.900 wife and children, brothers and sisters, 00:06:40.900 --> 00:06:44.900 yes, and even life itself cannot be my disciple. 00:06:44.900 --> 00:06:49.900 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 00:06:49.900 --> 00:06:52.900 For which of you intending to build a tower 00:06:52.900 --> 00:06:55.900 does not first sit down and estimate the cost 00:06:55.900 --> 00:06:57.900 to see whether he has enough to complete it? 00:06:57.900 --> 00:07:00.900 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, 00:07:00.900 --> 00:07:03.400 all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 00:07:03.400 --> 00:07:06.900 saying this fellow began to build and was not able to finish. 00:07:07.400 --> 00:07:10.400 Or what king going out to wage war against another king 00:07:10.400 --> 00:07:14.400 will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with 10,000 00:07:14.400 --> 00:07:17.400 to oppose the one who comes against him with 20,000? 00:07:17.400 --> 00:07:20.900 If he cannot, then while the other is still far away, 00:07:20.900 --> 00:07:24.400 he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 00:07:25.400 --> 00:07:29.400 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple 00:07:29.400 --> 00:07:32.400 if you do not give up all your possessions. 00:07:32.900 --> 00:07:36.900 Jesus puts it pretty starkly here, there is a cost. 00:07:39.900 --> 00:07:43.900 To be his disciple, to learn from him, to grow in him, 00:07:43.900 --> 00:07:46.900 to grow in this mandate that God has given to each one of us, 00:07:46.900 --> 00:07:48.900 this privilege and responsibility to join his work, 00:07:48.900 --> 00:07:50.900 there is going to be a cost. 00:07:50.900 --> 00:07:55.900 And Jesus says, unless you hate your parents, your wife, your children, 00:07:55.900 --> 00:07:59.900 your life itself, you cannot do these things. 00:08:02.900 --> 00:08:04.900 Jesus is using some kind of exaggeration, 00:08:04.900 --> 00:08:07.900 he is not telling us to actually hate my wife and children. 00:08:09.900 --> 00:08:13.900 We cannot go too far in the extreme where we now just abandon everything. 00:08:13.900 --> 00:08:16.400 1 Timothy 5.8 says, 00:08:16.400 --> 00:08:20.900 And whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially for family members, 00:08:20.900 --> 00:08:24.900 has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 00:08:24.900 --> 00:08:26.900 So in one sense, we are not abandoning our family, 00:08:26.900 --> 00:08:28.900 that is not what Jesus is calling to, 00:08:28.900 --> 00:08:31.900 you should just leave them all behind and go be with him. 00:08:32.400 --> 00:08:36.400 The point here is that you cannot have anything to tie you down, 00:08:36.400 --> 00:08:38.400 if you are going to follow Jesus. 00:08:38.400 --> 00:08:42.400 That he is the only thing you are after, more than anything else. 00:08:45.400 --> 00:08:48.400 So let's say, I will give an example here, 00:08:48.400 --> 00:08:50.400 if I like chocolate ice cream, 00:08:50.400 --> 00:08:53.400 whoops, if I like chocolate ice cream, 00:08:53.400 --> 00:08:55.400 it also has this kind of tie to me, right? 00:08:55.400 --> 00:08:58.400 Where if someone offers me a bowl of chocolate ice cream, 00:08:58.900 --> 00:09:02.900 perhaps I will, I am willing to give other stuff up to go to it. 00:09:02.900 --> 00:09:04.900 Or let's say someone offers me chocolate ice cream, 00:09:04.900 --> 00:09:07.900 and says, if you will go and grab my sneakers, 00:09:07.900 --> 00:09:09.900 you can have some of my ice cream. 00:09:09.900 --> 00:09:12.900 Now there is this incentive to do it, because I kind of like the ice cream. 00:09:12.900 --> 00:09:15.900 However, if I hate chocolate ice cream, 00:09:15.900 --> 00:09:17.900 which I kind of do, 00:09:19.900 --> 00:09:21.900 you too? Wow. 00:09:23.900 --> 00:09:25.900 Me too. 00:09:25.900 --> 00:09:27.900 Wow. 00:09:27.900 --> 00:09:30.400 If you hate chocolate ice cream, all of a sudden, 00:09:30.400 --> 00:09:33.400 there is no more, chocolate ice cream has no hold over your life, right? 00:09:33.400 --> 00:09:37.400 So someone can't use chocolate ice cream to get you to do something, 00:09:37.400 --> 00:09:39.400 that you wouldn't normally do. 00:09:39.400 --> 00:09:41.400 Because I don't care. 00:09:41.400 --> 00:09:44.400 I am not getting your shoes, because your chocolate ice cream means nothing to me. 00:09:44.400 --> 00:09:47.400 In fact, it is less of an incentive to go and do that. 00:09:47.400 --> 00:09:49.400 If I hate chocolate ice cream, 00:09:49.400 --> 00:09:52.400 then that ice cream will never be a reason, for instance, 00:09:52.400 --> 00:09:55.400 that I don't go outside on a hot sunny day. 00:09:55.400 --> 00:09:57.400 Because I might be afraid my ice cream might melt. 00:09:57.900 --> 00:10:00.900 If I don't like the ice cream, it doesn't matter if I go outside, 00:10:00.900 --> 00:10:03.900 because I don't care if it melts, because I don't like it anyways. 00:10:03.900 --> 00:10:05.900 This is kind of the point Jesus is getting at, 00:10:05.900 --> 00:10:08.900 that we can't allow our family members, 00:10:08.900 --> 00:10:10.900 or other people, or our own life, 00:10:10.900 --> 00:10:14.900 to have influence on what we are going to do, or what God calls us to. 00:10:14.900 --> 00:10:16.900 And guys, this is a huge issue. 00:10:16.900 --> 00:10:18.900 And having four kids, 00:10:18.900 --> 00:10:21.900 this is obviously a very pertinent issue to me. 00:10:22.900 --> 00:10:26.900 And this is an issue where there is tons of guilt. 00:10:27.400 --> 00:10:29.400 Right? 00:10:29.400 --> 00:10:31.400 I'm sharing from my own life here, guys, 00:10:31.400 --> 00:10:34.400 because this is something I've had to deal with a lot. 00:10:35.400 --> 00:10:38.400 For the issue of family, how do I value my family? 00:10:38.400 --> 00:10:40.400 So the question I have to ask is, 00:10:40.400 --> 00:10:43.400 should I go and meet with Jacob this night, say on a Tuesday night, 00:10:43.400 --> 00:10:46.400 or should I be at home with my kids to tuck them into bed? 00:10:46.400 --> 00:10:48.400 This is the dilemma I face, right? 00:10:48.400 --> 00:10:50.900 Should I go to Teliaus on a Wednesday night, 00:10:50.900 --> 00:10:52.900 or should I be at home with my wife and kids? 00:10:52.900 --> 00:10:54.400 The kids aren't feeling well tonight. 00:10:54.400 --> 00:10:58.900 Should I be with them, or should I go do something else that God has called me to? 00:11:00.400 --> 00:11:02.400 Understand the big issues here. 00:11:02.400 --> 00:11:04.900 Sometimes we like to use really fluffy ones, 00:11:04.900 --> 00:11:06.900 and like, oh, if we just give up our $10. 00:11:06.900 --> 00:11:08.900 But the issues here are huge. 00:11:08.900 --> 00:11:11.900 These are issues I deal with all the time. 00:11:13.900 --> 00:11:15.900 How do we face these tough situations? 00:11:15.900 --> 00:11:17.900 And it's not just spouses and children. 00:11:17.900 --> 00:11:20.900 I know not everyone here has children and spouses. 00:11:20.900 --> 00:11:22.900 Other issues too. 00:11:23.400 --> 00:11:26.400 Following the path of God can take you away from your parents. 00:11:26.400 --> 00:11:30.400 And so following God might mean that you can't be with your parents if they're ill or sick, 00:11:30.400 --> 00:11:31.900 and you can't help them. 00:11:31.900 --> 00:11:34.400 Two years ago, I think it was two years ago, 00:11:34.400 --> 00:11:38.400 most of you guys know, my dad went through a complete nervous breakdown. 00:11:40.400 --> 00:11:42.900 Lost it all. He couldn't stop crying. 00:11:42.900 --> 00:11:44.900 You said the wrong word, and he would just lose it. 00:11:44.900 --> 00:11:47.400 He couldn't remember. He's still affected by it. 00:11:47.400 --> 00:11:48.900 And it was tough. 00:11:48.900 --> 00:11:52.400 There was part of me that wanted to go move back to Alberta to be with them, 00:11:52.400 --> 00:11:53.900 just so I could help out at the time, 00:11:53.900 --> 00:11:55.900 because my dad's going through this huge thing, 00:11:55.900 --> 00:11:57.900 and he's on heavy medications. 00:11:57.900 --> 00:12:00.900 He can't sleep, or he sleeps too much with the medication. 00:12:00.900 --> 00:12:03.400 My mom was also going through a lot of stuff that time, 00:12:03.400 --> 00:12:05.400 and it was just a mess. 00:12:05.400 --> 00:12:07.900 And part of me wanted to go there, 00:12:07.900 --> 00:12:10.900 and yet at the same time feel like God is calling me here. 00:12:10.900 --> 00:12:12.900 Am I willing to give that up? 00:12:12.900 --> 00:12:14.900 Marianna struggles with this too. 00:12:14.900 --> 00:12:17.900 We have tons of family in Ontario, 00:12:17.900 --> 00:12:19.900 and love to be with our family. 00:12:19.900 --> 00:12:21.900 We love living with family. 00:12:22.400 --> 00:12:25.900 We spent a couple of years in Vernon, where my sister lived by. 00:12:25.900 --> 00:12:29.400 It was some of the best times, having a sister live close by. 00:12:29.400 --> 00:12:32.900 And yet, now we live here, and they moved to Alberta. 00:12:32.900 --> 00:12:36.900 We have no real close family here, like relatives and stuff. 00:12:36.900 --> 00:12:39.400 I have an uncle in Delta, but that's about it. 00:12:39.400 --> 00:12:40.900 And we're not all that close. 00:12:40.900 --> 00:12:43.400 We see each other once or twice a year, but that's about it. 00:12:44.900 --> 00:12:46.900 These are issues you guys have to face too. 00:12:46.900 --> 00:12:51.400 Some of you haven't seen sisters and brothers or parents in decades. 00:12:52.900 --> 00:12:54.400 Why do we get this stuff? 00:12:54.400 --> 00:12:55.900 This is the stuff that... 00:12:55.900 --> 00:12:58.400 These are the kind of costs that we have to start evaluating. 00:13:00.900 --> 00:13:03.400 Another one, maybe if we go down this path, 00:13:03.400 --> 00:13:05.400 our parents will disapprove of us. 00:13:05.400 --> 00:13:07.900 I mean, again, struggled with this too. 00:13:07.900 --> 00:13:11.400 Where we were kind of the black sheep of the family, 00:13:11.400 --> 00:13:13.400 because we moved out to Vancouver. 00:13:14.400 --> 00:13:16.400 We were the black sheep, apparently just moving to Vancouver. 00:13:16.400 --> 00:13:17.900 For a number of reasons. 00:13:17.900 --> 00:13:20.400 It came even worse when we moved out here. 00:13:21.900 --> 00:13:23.900 I know talking with Jacob, he faced that too. 00:13:26.400 --> 00:13:29.900 How he faced this kind of backlash from his family, 00:13:29.900 --> 00:13:32.400 because he came out here, because he was following what God was going to do. 00:13:32.400 --> 00:13:34.400 Because he didn't have a real job. 00:13:34.400 --> 00:13:37.400 He didn't know where his paycheck is coming from or anything like that. 00:13:38.400 --> 00:13:40.900 This is part of the cost that God is calling us to. 00:13:40.900 --> 00:13:42.400 What are we going to do? 00:13:42.400 --> 00:13:44.900 Are we going to love God? 00:13:44.900 --> 00:13:47.400 Or are we going to spend our time with our family? 00:13:47.400 --> 00:13:49.400 And these are not easy decisions. 00:13:49.400 --> 00:13:51.900 Because I love my wife, I love my kids. 00:13:51.900 --> 00:13:53.400 It is not easy to say, 00:13:53.400 --> 00:13:55.900 I'm going to go be at Telly House on a Wednesday night, 00:13:55.900 --> 00:13:57.400 rather than be with them. 00:13:57.400 --> 00:13:58.900 It is not an easy decision. 00:14:02.900 --> 00:14:06.400 Maybe the cost is disrupting of your lifestyle as well. 00:14:07.900 --> 00:14:10.900 Where all of a sudden God is calling you to give up a job, 00:14:10.900 --> 00:14:13.900 or give up a security, or give up something like that. 00:14:13.900 --> 00:14:15.900 Are we willing to let that go? 00:14:15.900 --> 00:14:18.900 To hate your own life, in order to follow God? 00:14:18.900 --> 00:14:21.900 There is this cost to discipleship of Jesus. 00:14:21.900 --> 00:14:24.900 Where yes, it's a privilege, and there's a responsibility. 00:14:24.900 --> 00:14:29.900 And to do that, there is a cost for our own selves to give up. 00:14:30.900 --> 00:14:34.900 There needs to be a time of reflection guys, where we ask ourselves, 00:14:34.900 --> 00:14:37.900 do I really believe this word that was spoken over me? 00:14:37.900 --> 00:14:41.900 I think last week we talked about going over the prophetic words that have been spoken over you. 00:14:41.900 --> 00:14:43.400 Hopefully some of you did that. 00:14:43.400 --> 00:14:47.400 And looking at this word, we have to ask ourselves seriously and say, 00:14:47.400 --> 00:14:51.400 do I believe this prophetic word, that this is what God has called me to? 00:14:51.400 --> 00:14:57.400 And if this is what he has called me to, what am I willing to give up to see it come about? 00:14:57.400 --> 00:15:00.400 How much am I willing to sacrifice in order for it to come about? 00:15:01.400 --> 00:15:05.400 How much am I willing to pay to see this word come to fruition? 00:15:05.400 --> 00:15:07.400 And it can't be an emotional decision. 00:15:07.400 --> 00:15:10.400 I mean sometimes it's really easy to get caught up in emotions. 00:15:10.400 --> 00:15:15.400 Like in Vernon, when we were there and Jacob first gave this prophetic word, 00:15:15.400 --> 00:15:19.400 and you first hear it, there's this emotion that kind of goes along with it, 00:15:19.400 --> 00:15:23.400 right off, yes, let's go do it, let's go move to Vancouver. 00:15:23.400 --> 00:15:27.400 Not even thinking about what that will actually mean in terms of cost to family, 00:15:27.400 --> 00:15:30.400 of living, of money, of no job, of all these things. 00:15:30.400 --> 00:15:33.400 There's an emotion sometimes that just carries us off in there. 00:15:33.400 --> 00:15:37.400 We can't allow the emotion to be the thing that makes us make that decision. 00:15:37.400 --> 00:15:41.400 We have to really pray about it, we need to really contemplate about it, 00:15:41.400 --> 00:15:45.400 think about it, what are we willing to give up to see this come about? 00:15:48.400 --> 00:15:52.400 We can't also just do it just because this is something that we should be doing. 00:15:52.400 --> 00:15:56.400 It can't just be like, well okay, God called me this, I'll just kind of go along with it, 00:15:56.400 --> 00:16:02.400 because he's my king so I'll just kind of go along with it, I have no other choice. 00:16:02.400 --> 00:16:04.400 It's got to be more than that. 00:16:04.400 --> 00:16:05.400 It's got to be more than that. 00:16:05.400 --> 00:16:08.400 If we're just going along with it because you're supposed to or you should, 00:16:08.400 --> 00:16:12.400 again, it's going to be a burden on you, it's going to weigh you down, 00:16:12.400 --> 00:16:18.400 it's going to cause you to become bitter and angry and it will ruin your life. 00:16:18.400 --> 00:16:20.400 Yeah, it'll be a pain. 00:16:23.400 --> 00:16:27.400 Or sometimes we just, again, with emotions we get swept up into it, right, 00:16:27.400 --> 00:16:31.400 and we get all excited and we move out there, and then all of a sudden, 00:16:31.400 --> 00:16:36.400 the world starts to come and the cares of the world, this is the parable of the sower and the seeds, 00:16:36.400 --> 00:16:40.400 we accept it quickly and we don't really count the cost, we just kind of jump into it, 00:16:40.400 --> 00:16:43.400 and all of a sudden life becomes a lot harder, and then all of a sudden we're like, 00:16:43.400 --> 00:16:45.400 why are we doing this? 00:16:45.400 --> 00:16:48.400 And it weighs us down, the cares of the world weigh us down, 00:16:48.400 --> 00:16:51.400 and all these things start to choke it right out of us, 00:16:51.400 --> 00:16:55.400 and now what had potential is choked and withers and dies. 00:16:55.400 --> 00:16:59.400 Or sometimes we want to just accept the word, so we kind of accept it and say, 00:16:59.400 --> 00:17:04.400 that's great, but again, we don't count a cost or figure in that there's going to require us of something, 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:07.400 and so we just let it be and nothing gets done. 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:12.400 It just kind of, we do the whole, ksar-a-sar-a, as Jacob likes to say a lot, 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:16.400 whatever will be will be, right, and so we just kind of lounge back and say, 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:19.400 ah, this is the word spoken over me, it'll come about, I don't have to do anything, 00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:22.400 and then it just kind of fades away and nothing gets done, 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:28.400 the birds come down and eat it all up before it takes any kind of root, right? 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:35.400 I told you this week would be a bit more of a harder one. 00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:40.400 Listen to Sue what she said, right? Sue said you're supposed to listen to every word. 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:46.400 She had no idea what she was talking about when she said that. 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:52.400 So we need to count the cost, we need to figure out the cost, 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:55.400 and then when we do that, when we're willing to say, 00:17:55.400 --> 00:17:59.400 okay, I know God this is going to cost me, this will cost me my reputation, 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:03.400 this will cost me time with my family, this will cost me all these different things, 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:08.400 now we begin to be able to grow in this, and we still say yes, we begin to grow in it, 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:10.400 and that's where we come to these things. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:15.400 So now that I know the cost, I can place myself under a father, 00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:19.400 because I don't really like the word spiritual there, 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:23.400 but a father who's able to help me, to guide me in all these things of life, 00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:27.400 who can help me hear what the Holy Spirit is saying, 00:18:27.400 --> 00:18:30.400 because sometimes I don't like to hear this part about the cost thing, 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:32.400 so I'll just ignore that part. 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:36.400 But a father can hit that with you. 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:41.400 Well, 1 Corinthians 4 verses 15 to 16 says, 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:45.400 For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:47.400 you do not have many fathers. 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:51.400 Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:55.400 I appeal to you then, be imitators of me. 00:18:55.400 --> 00:19:00.400 This father then is someone we can cling onto, we can grab to for dear life sometimes. 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:06.400 We can learn from the father, from our father. 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:09.400 This is the, yeah. 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:13.400 1 Corinthians 4 verses 15 to 16. 00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:18.400 We learn from this father. 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:23.400 I call you a spiritual father just to help distinguish between God the father and the other father. 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:26.400 We can learn through the spiritual father by talking to them. 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:31.400 Guys, I spend tons of time talking with Jacob, every other week or every week or more, 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:35.400 talking to him, asking him questions, learning from him. 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:40.400 We allow them to speak into our lives, where Jacob's constantly speaking into my life. 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:46.400 We allow the father to correct things, to change directions that we are heading in. 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:51.400 This has been a lot of recently too, where Jacob's been able to speak into my life. 00:19:51.400 --> 00:19:54.400 This is where we need to go now, Jacob, or Jason. 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:58.400 Where Jacob can say, these are the things that need to change in your life. 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:00.400 A father's able to warn you. 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:03.400 This just happened just before he left on his trip. 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:06.400 Jacob's saying, Jason, when you're going into this time, 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:08.400 beware of these things coming back into your life. 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:12.400 Just watch out for them. Don't allow them to take a hold in your life. 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:18.400 All these things that the spiritual father is able to point me in, to direct me in, 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:25.400 to correct me in, the spiritual father is someone we can cling to 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:28.400 when life is just kind of crummy sometimes. 00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:36.400 I did that last two weeks ago, where life just seemed hard. 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:39.400 I didn't know what to do, what to turn. 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:44.400 I phoned Jacob out and said, Jacob, help, I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. 00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:46.400 I don't know where I'm supposed to be going. 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:49.400 I feel like there's all these different things happening right now, 00:20:49.400 --> 00:20:51.400 and I don't know which direction to go into. 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:54.400 It's a father I can just go to and share these things with, 00:20:54.400 --> 00:20:57.400 kind of get a little weepy with. 00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:01.400 And he didn't even necessarily give answers, but I know his love for me. 00:21:01.400 --> 00:21:04.400 I know that he's praying for me. Not just even praying, 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:09.400 just to go over things, but where he's really concerned about what's going on 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:11.400 and trying to help. 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:15.400 And it was the encouragement I needed at that time that I could go to him 00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:18.400 when I'm feeling really down and I can connect with him 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:23.400 and he can speak words of life into my life, which I really needed at the time. 00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:28.400 And sometimes we just learn from fathers just by being around them, 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:31.400 being in their presence, that we watch what they're doing, 00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:33.400 we imitate what they're doing. 00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:37.400 It's amazing how your kids imitate you when you're not telling them. 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:42.400 The repeating words that you have said, for the good and for the bad sometimes, 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:44.400 they're acting like you do. 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:48.400 All of a sudden, it's like, whoa, she's doing that just like Mariana does that all the time. 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:51.400 Or she's being like me. Stop that. 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:56.400 Your kids are imitators. And not just of us, even you guys, too. 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.400 What is it? 00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:02.400 My kids at one point started saying, aw, shucks a lot. 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:05.400 Because Jacob was always saying that. 00:22:05.400 --> 00:22:08.400 I can't remember what it was the other day that they were saying. 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:11.400 And it's just because Jacob says it all the time. 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:15.400 Easy, squeezy, lemon squeezy. Yeah. 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:17.400 Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy. Yeah. 00:22:17.400 --> 00:22:21.400 So notice that you guys are, my kids are imitating you as well. 00:22:21.400 --> 00:22:24.400 So watch what you're saying. 00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:26.400 Pardon? 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:28.400 They snort when they laugh, too. Yeah. 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:31.400 Oh yeah, they watch all of you guys, right? 00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:34.400 And it's not just us, you know, mom and dad. 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:37.400 All of you guys are having an influence on our kids. 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:42.400 And it's the same. We get influenced by Jacob just because we're with him a lot. 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:44.400 Because we see him on a Sunday morning even. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:47.400 All of a sudden, you start imitating him. 00:22:47.400 --> 00:22:53.400 I remember I did an internship once with this pastor in Musjah, of all places. 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:56.400 And he always said, cheerio. I don't know why. 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:58.400 He wasn't British at all. 00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:01.400 But every time he would say goodbye to somebody, I'd say cheerio. 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:03.400 And I found it the weirdest thing. 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:07.400 And yet, after spending like three months with this guy, I'm starting to say it. 00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:09.400 And I thought it was the craziest thing ever. 00:23:09.400 --> 00:23:12.400 Like, who says cheerio at the end of a sentence? 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:15.400 But just subconsciously, also, I started imitating this guy. 00:23:15.400 --> 00:23:18.400 And he wasn't even anywhere near like a spiritual father to me. 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:21.400 But sometimes we're just influenced by being around those people, right? 00:23:21.400 --> 00:23:23.400 And that's what a spiritual father does. 00:23:23.400 --> 00:23:25.400 He influences you even just by his presence. 00:23:25.400 --> 00:23:27.400 That's what Paul said at the end, right? 00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:30.400 I appeal to you, be imitators of me. 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:32.400 Just imitate what I'm doing. 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:34.400 Follow what I'm doing. 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:36.400 It doesn't mean you have to be perfection. 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:39.400 I don't expect you guys to be perfect around my kids. 00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:43.400 But the kids can learn what repentance is like as well when we screw up. 00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:46.400 They learn a lot of what screwing up is from me. 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:48.400 I do it a lot. 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:53.400 And they can learn what it means to say you're sorry when you've gotten upset or when you've messed something up. 00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:56.400 They learn repentance too. They learn forgiveness from you as well. 00:23:56.400 --> 00:23:59.400 That's all these things that the kids can learn from you. 00:23:59.400 --> 00:24:01.400 So we learn from a spiritual father. 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:04.400 We learn by being connected to a body. 00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:09.400 I think I told you guys before, you guys have helped shaped who I am in a lot of ways. 00:24:09.400 --> 00:24:11.400 A body can encourage you. 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:14.400 You guys have encouraged me so much the last four years. 00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:18.400 Even before we moved here. I remember I went to a Bible study. 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:21.400 This was like two months before we even moved here. 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:24.400 You had no idea who I was. 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:29.400 I think all you knew was this is the guy who's a prophetic word where the baby kicked the wife in the stomach. 00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:32.400 That's how I kept being referred to as. 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:35.400 You know that word where the baby kicked the mom? 00:24:35.400 --> 00:24:37.400 That's this guy. 00:24:37.400 --> 00:24:39.400 And you guys are encouraging to me. 00:24:39.400 --> 00:24:41.400 When we moved here, you guys have helped. 00:24:41.400 --> 00:24:46.400 You probably don't even know half the time of how you've made me feel better about things. 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:49.400 You guys have supported us on these last four years. 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:50.400 This is what a body does. 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:52.400 This is why we need to be connected to a body. 00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:54.400 A body encourages us. A body strengthens us. 00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:57.400 It gives us the muscle when we're feeling weak. 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:01.400 The body allows us to take risks and to fail. 00:25:01.400 --> 00:25:04.400 You've put up with some really bad messages from me. 00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:08.400 There have been. You probably weren't here yet. 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:12.400 But there were some that were just not that great. 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:14.400 And Jacob, you guys are nice so you don't let me know. 00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:17.400 But Jacob lets me know when they're not good. 00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:22.400 And you guys have allowed me to continue teaching. 00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:24.400 And hopefully improve. 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:28.400 Yeah, you guys allow me to mess up. 00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:29.400 And it's great. 00:25:29.400 --> 00:25:32.400 It's also been some very excellent ones. 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:33.400 Yes, thank you. 00:25:33.400 --> 00:25:35.400 Yes, they have gotten a lot better. 00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:36.400 I know. 00:25:39.400 --> 00:25:41.400 You guys have helped shaped who I am. 00:25:41.400 --> 00:25:44.400 Of the confidence of knowing what God's love is for me. 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:46.400 I've learned from watching you guys. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:49.400 What it means to speak in tongues. 00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:51.400 What it means to hear from God. 00:25:51.400 --> 00:25:54.400 I've learned it from Jacob, but I've also learned it from watching you guys. 00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:56.400 That being connected helps us to do that. 00:25:56.400 --> 00:25:58.400 It's important that we connect together. 00:25:59.400 --> 00:26:02.400 And it's important that we don't connect just on a Sunday. 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:04.400 And this is appeal to all of us. 00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:06.400 We need to connect more often than that. 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:08.400 We need to connect to these things throughout the week. 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:12.400 That's why we have a prayer meeting or a Bible study throughout the week. 00:26:12.400 --> 00:26:14.400 So we can connect to each other. 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:16.400 We can encourage each other more often. 00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:19.400 That's why we only try to do it once a week or maybe twice a week. 00:26:19.400 --> 00:26:21.400 We don't want to burden people. 00:26:21.400 --> 00:26:25.400 But it's important that we still get together more often than just on Sunday mornings. 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:28.400 The growth that happens for doing a prayer time together. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:33.400 The growth that happens when you come and just study the Bible together. 00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:35.400 In the Bible study setting. 00:26:35.400 --> 00:26:37.400 It's incredible. 00:26:37.400 --> 00:26:41.400 If you want to walk into things of God, you've got to connect. 00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:43.400 And yes, it will cost you time. 00:26:43.400 --> 00:26:47.400 Yes, it can be a hassle sometimes. 00:26:47.400 --> 00:26:53.400 It can be really inconvenient sometimes in the middle of the week to go out to a Bible study or go out to a prayer meeting. 00:26:53.400 --> 00:26:56.400 But this is again part of counting the costs. 00:26:56.400 --> 00:27:03.400 Are we willing to pay that cost of going out to a midweek thing, to a turn up thing, like Chris likes to call it, the turn up? 00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:06.400 Are we willing to pay the cost of going out to that? 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:11.400 Because of the benefits that will come to us, the benefits that then we can step into these things that God has for us. 00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:16.400 The benefit of being trained by the body to accomplish these things. 00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:21.400 And then finally we need to connect to the Heavenly Father as well. 00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:31.400 That we need to connect to the Father through the Holy Spirit, connect to Jesus by meditating on Scripture, by spending time in His presence. 00:27:31.400 --> 00:27:37.400 So I can better understand who this God is and what He's like. 00:27:37.400 --> 00:27:40.400 God forms us both through the Father. 00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:42.400 So God will use both this and this. 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:45.400 It's not like they're doing these things outside of God, right? 00:27:45.400 --> 00:27:48.400 It's not like Jacob's just being Jacob when he's teaching me. 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:51.400 God is using Jacob to teach me. 00:27:51.400 --> 00:27:53.400 God is using you guys as the body to help teach me. 00:27:53.400 --> 00:28:00.400 And yet there's also times when it's just one on one time between God and me where I'm sitting down with the Bible 00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:01.400 and reading the Bible. 00:28:01.400 --> 00:28:04.400 And there's times I'm sitting down and praying and pouring out to God, what am I doing? 00:28:04.400 --> 00:28:06.400 Or God, I need your help. 00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:09.400 There are times when I'm just sitting and saying, God, I just want to feel your presence. 00:28:09.400 --> 00:28:11.400 I just want to be with you. 00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:16.400 There's times when Jacob starts waking up and being at the banqueting table. 00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:22.400 When you're feasting on who God is and feasting on the things that God has for you. 00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:25.400 These things need to take part of it as well. 00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:27.400 All three of these things. 00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:29.400 Any questions so far? 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:34.400 There's a lot in here I've been talking about. 00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:37.400 I shocked you so much with the first part. 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:43.400 This is how we're going to grow. 00:28:43.400 --> 00:28:47.400 This is how we're going to grow to accomplish what God has for us. 00:28:47.400 --> 00:28:49.400 We come under a spiritual father. 00:28:49.400 --> 00:28:51.400 We connect to a body. 00:28:51.400 --> 00:28:53.400 We connect with our Heavenly Father. 00:28:53.400 --> 00:28:55.400 It has to be all three of these. 00:28:55.400 --> 00:28:59.400 If any of those are missing, you're not going to be able to accomplish what God has. 00:28:59.400 --> 00:29:01.400 It just won't happen. 00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:06.400 If you try to do it without this, you're like an orphan. 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:08.400 You'll just kind of make things up. 00:29:08.400 --> 00:29:11.400 If you try to do it without this, you become a maverick. 00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:13.400 Just doing your own kind of thing. 00:29:13.400 --> 00:29:16.400 If you try to do it without this, you're nothing. 00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:18.400 It's pointless. 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:22.400 Then you're weak and you can't accomplish a thing. 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:24.400 You need all three things. 00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:33.400 If we do all three of these things, like I was saying before, there's going to be a cost. 00:29:34.400 --> 00:29:37.400 There's going to be a cost. 00:29:37.400 --> 00:29:40.400 I know there's a cost. 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:45.400 To pay the cost, it will involve us giving up control. 00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:48.400 This is the one thing I've had to learn. 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:52.400 We have to be willing to give up the control of all these things. 00:29:59.400 --> 00:30:01.400 Why do I want to be there to raise my kids? 00:30:04.400 --> 00:30:07.400 Because I love them, which is certainly part of it, obviously. 00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:11.400 But I want to see them...I want to be there to raise my kids. 00:30:11.400 --> 00:30:14.400 Because I want to see them become all who they can be, right? 00:30:15.400 --> 00:30:18.400 I want to see them come into their fullness. 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:20.400 And this is good. 00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:27.400 But I also want to be there because I think I need to be the one who does that, right? 00:30:27.400 --> 00:30:31.400 We think we need to be there because we want to have this control over who our kids are going to be. 00:30:31.400 --> 00:30:34.400 And like I said, on one level, that's a good thing. 00:30:34.400 --> 00:30:40.400 I mean, if you're not there in your kids' life, if you're not there for your parents when they're sick, that's not good. 00:30:41.400 --> 00:30:42.400 We're supposed to be there. 00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:43.400 We're supposed to be there. 00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:45.400 We're given the responsibility of raising these children. 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:52.400 However, if we're going to walk in these God things and do these things and start accomplishing what God wants us to do, 00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:57.400 we have to let go of this control and in some way trust God to say, 00:30:57.400 --> 00:31:00.400 okay, Father, if you're calling me to meet with Jacob tonight, 00:31:00.400 --> 00:31:05.400 I need to trust you to take care of my kids tonight when I'm not there. 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:10.400 Which sounds really nice and pious, but it is hard. 00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:13.400 Really hard. 00:31:15.400 --> 00:31:26.400 Do I actually trust God that my kids won't be screwed up if I go meet with Jacob or if I go to Tellyos or if I do all these other things? 00:31:28.400 --> 00:31:30.400 Guys, I'll tell you. 00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:35.400 My life is crazy sometimes. 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:41.400 Because of what I'm doing, this is in no way trying to brag. 00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:43.400 It's just what God's called me to do.