WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Rebuilding Cities Publishing Date: 2022-04-24T06:00:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/rebuilding-cities/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.160 hearts to receive from you and I pray that everything that you want to accomplish will 00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:12.160 happen and that no one including me about will stand in your way. We want everything 00:00:12.360 --> 00:00:19.360 that your spirit has for us and so we welcome you in Jesus name. Amen. We are going to talk 00:00:20.200 --> 00:00:27.200 about rebuilding cities today. So the title of the message is Rebuilding Cities. Rebuilding 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:34.800 cities has always been God's plan A. It's not something that God decided he would do 00:00:36.080 --> 00:00:43.080 after everything that happened happened. Right from eternity he has always wanted to rebuild 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:50.280 cities because it says in Revelation chapter 13 8 it says that the Lamb of God was slain 00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:55.420 before the foundations of the earth were laid and so if Jesus Christ was slain before the 00:00:55.460 --> 00:01:02.460 foundations of the earth were laid it is also true then that God always wanted cities. Ancient 00:01:03.180 --> 00:01:09.580 ruins he always wanted to restore. Devastated former places he always wanted to raise up. 00:01:09.580 --> 00:01:15.860 It is his plan A. It's not something he is doing because this thing didn't go as planned 00:01:15.860 --> 00:01:20.700 so now I am going to rebuild. No. It is in the very nature of God as we said last week. 00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:24.580 It's in the very nature of God to resurrect. It's in the very nature of God to give life 00:01:24.780 --> 00:01:31.780 and therefore it is plan A for God to rebuild cities. Plan A. And the cool part is that 00:01:34.940 --> 00:01:41.940 we become part of this plan A. Simple ordinary people get to be part of this plan A that 00:01:42.540 --> 00:01:49.540 God has for the earth. So if I follow Jesus and if we follow Jesus we have to follow Jesus 00:01:49.860 --> 00:01:55.660 into the thing he is doing which is restoring the fortunes of his people. And when we read 00:01:55.660 --> 00:02:01.860 that verse that Psalm 126 1 when we read that verse it almost sounds like God wants to restore 00:02:01.860 --> 00:02:08.860 his people as in our fortunes. No no no no. He is restoring the fortunes of the world. 00:02:08.900 --> 00:02:14.220 His people is everyone. His people is us here meeting here now and his people is anyone 00:02:14.220 --> 00:02:21.220 walking around. And so he wants to restore the fortunes of his people. And then if I 00:02:21.740 --> 00:02:28.740 follow Christ I follow him right into this plan. Grand plan that he has which is I am 00:02:29.100 --> 00:02:35.220 about restoring the fortunes of my people. And may we become a people who as it says 00:02:35.220 --> 00:02:42.220 in Psalm 126 1 it says when God changed the fortunes of his people there was laughter 00:02:42.980 --> 00:02:49.620 in our mouths. There were songs of joy on our tongues. That's the direction God is leading 00:02:49.620 --> 00:02:55.820 us that can we have laughter just from the sheer fact that God is restoring the fortunes 00:02:55.820 --> 00:03:01.820 of his people. There are songs of joy that's springing up here and there and all across 00:03:01.820 --> 00:03:08.140 the world because God is restoring. God is rebuilding. And that's what we are going to 00:03:08.140 --> 00:03:12.020 talk about today. And there are a few things that I have written down in no particular 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:17.260 order. We will go through them one by one. I think it's already 12.30 so we will see 00:03:17.260 --> 00:03:24.260 where we get to. But it's good. Okay. So the Jews thought the Israelites thought that the 00:03:31.500 --> 00:03:37.460 redemption plan that God had was just for them. Was just for rebuilding the temple. 00:03:37.460 --> 00:03:42.220 Was just for their kingdom to be prosperous. But we know on this side of the cross that 00:03:42.220 --> 00:03:48.220 this plan that God has is for the entire earth. So today it's more so for our thinking to 00:03:48.220 --> 00:03:52.220 change. For our thinking to be aligned with the ways of the spirit. For our thinking to 00:03:52.220 --> 00:03:57.180 be aligned with how God wants us to think. Because everything we have been talking about 00:03:57.180 --> 00:04:03.420 hearing about will not happen unless I shift we shift our thinking. Because all of a sudden 00:04:03.420 --> 00:04:09.740 we open our eyes to the reality that I am part of something great. That I am part of 00:04:09.740 --> 00:04:16.740 something that he is doing across the face of the earth. I wrote it down this way. When 00:04:16.740 --> 00:04:23.740 God looks at us. He looks at us and sees his plan for the world through us. So when he 00:04:23.740 --> 00:04:30.740 looks at us. When he looks at Pawan. God looks at Pawan and the perspective that God has 00:04:32.380 --> 00:04:39.380 is I am looking at him and in him I see my plan for the world around him. And so if all 00:04:40.260 --> 00:04:45.220 of us start thinking like this which is whenever God looks at me. Whenever God looks at us. 00:04:45.220 --> 00:04:52.220 There is a deep plan. A great plan. A grand plan that he has for me to be part of his 00:04:52.860 --> 00:04:58.740 plan. And then I follow him into the places he leads me to. And because this is something 00:04:58.740 --> 00:05:05.800 he already wants to do. And all I am saying is yes I am willing then he does the rest. 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:12.800 So he takes pleasure. He takes pleasure in invading cities. He takes pleasure in invading 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:19.800 cities. He takes pleasure in invading cities. With his goodness. With his mercy. With his 00:05:21.200 --> 00:05:28.200 joy. With his laughter. He takes pleasure in invading. I want us to see our God like 00:05:28.760 --> 00:05:35.760 that today. He is invading cities. He is invading Vancouver. He is invading different parts 00:05:35.760 --> 00:05:42.760 of the world. And his plan for different cities are different but it is all to the same end. 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:49.800 It is all to the same goal that he has. But we follow him into that plan. And he restores 00:05:51.940 --> 00:05:56.160 the land and then brings healing to the land because that is what he does. That is what 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:03.160 is in his nature. And cities are rebuilt only through a restored people. Cities are rebuilt 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:10.160 only through a restored people. Not a man. Not a woman. Not two. Not three. It is restored 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:19.840 through a people. Yes great things can happen through one person following God. Great things 00:06:19.840 --> 00:06:25.580 can happen with two or three people following God. But there is a greater plan that God 00:06:25.580 --> 00:06:32.580 has when his church, the entirety of the community of God here in Vancouver, here at Acts 29 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:38.320 there at Vernon, we all gather together and we say this is the plan of God and therefore 00:06:38.320 --> 00:06:43.120 I am going to follow him into the very thing he is leading me to. So rebuilding cities 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:49.000 is not done by one person or two people. It is done by a community. And so what God is 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:54.160 doing really in our midst over the last few weeks is this. He is saying shift your thinking 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:58.880 because your life is far greater than what you thought it is. It is not because of your 00:06:58.880 --> 00:07:04.400 might or your anything. It is just that your DNA, that which is deposited right inside 00:07:04.400 --> 00:07:10.120 you craves for this and it breaks out everything and this reality will come into existence 00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:15.640 because that is how I made you. The moment that I received Christ, the moment we received 00:07:15.640 --> 00:07:22.640 Christ, this is what happened. The DNA changed. And this DNA has one thing in it. It craves 00:07:22.840 --> 00:07:29.840 to see the glory of God on the earth. Not as one person, two people, as a body. That's 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:37.700 what he is doing today. That's what he has been leading us. So I want our thinking to 00:07:37.700 --> 00:07:44.700 change to a point where we are always thinking about what do you have for us as a body? How 00:07:44.700 --> 00:07:51.700 am I fitting into your plan at Acts 29 in Vernon for the regions of earth? Because it 00:07:57.260 --> 00:08:04.020 starts and it always starts with Jerusalem but it doesn't end there. It goes to Judea, 00:08:04.020 --> 00:08:08.640 to Samaria, to the ends of the world. So it starts in Vernon, it starts in Vancouver but 00:08:08.640 --> 00:08:13.620 then from there it springs into Ottawa. Then from there it goes to Lagos, Nigeria. From 00:08:13.620 --> 00:08:20.620 there it goes into Singapore because he doesn't stop. He is just starting. And that's precisely 00:08:21.900 --> 00:08:26.940 where we are right now because he is saying this is going to go so fast you better jump 00:08:26.940 --> 00:08:33.940 in on the train because this train ain't stopping. And it's preparation time and it's already 00:08:34.020 --> 00:08:41.020 started. And we say yes Abba and we follow him. So he restores the fortune of his people 00:08:41.020 --> 00:08:48.020 and it is not done by one man or one woman. It is done through a people, through his church. 00:08:48.300 --> 00:09:08.980 I want to read Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61 verse 4, they as in we shall build up the 00:09:11.220 --> 00:09:18.220 ancient ruins. They as in we shall raise up the former devastations. We shall repair the 00:09:19.540 --> 00:09:24.860 ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. I want us to read that again because this 00:09:24.860 --> 00:09:31.860 is what we have been called to. We shall build up. So think about it. Not I, not the two 00:09:31.860 --> 00:09:38.860 of us. We shall build up. What? Ancient ruins. We shall raise up the former devastations. 00:09:39.540 --> 00:09:46.540 We shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. So because it's in God's 00:09:48.060 --> 00:09:55.060 very nature for him to rebuild cities, to rebuild ancient ruins, it will happen. Because 00:09:56.420 --> 00:10:02.040 all across some of the verses, we won't read it today, it says it will, it will, they will. 00:10:02.040 --> 00:10:09.040 Use confidence that it will. We can't escape the will. It doesn't say it may happen. It 00:10:10.280 --> 00:10:16.200 says it will happen. Whether through us or through someone else, it will happen. And 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:23.200 our prayer is that it happens through us. It will happen. The entire earth, Vancouver 00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:30.240 will change. Cities will change. It is the truth of God. It is the truth of God. It is 00:10:32.040 --> 00:10:39.040 it cannot be stopped. And now we have a choice, which is to jump right into what he is doing. 00:10:41.760 --> 00:10:44.760 So we are talking about real things. We are not talking about something that's going to 00:10:44.760 --> 00:10:48.680 happen ten years from now. We are talking about something that's happening today. We 00:10:48.680 --> 00:10:52.520 are talking about things that are going to be birthed in our spirits tomorrow, which 00:10:52.520 --> 00:10:57.320 he has already planted in our hearts. And it's going to happen. So I want us to be aware 00:10:57.320 --> 00:11:03.120 of that, that this is not for future. This is for now. So what does rebuilding a city 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:10.120 really look like then? Rebuilding a city is not just transformation, a spiritual transformation 00:11:11.780 --> 00:11:18.260 of the city. So think about Vancouver. Let's stick here. When God says I'm going to rebuild 00:11:18.260 --> 00:11:24.960 Vancouver through you, he's not just talking about changing the spiritual nature of the 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:29.200 city. He's not just talking about a spiritual transformation that will happen. Because what 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:34.920 happened in the past is we were, and when I say we, the church, sometimes gives soup 00:11:34.920 --> 00:11:40.840 to the poor and clothes to the needy and we think that's very good. And so when we move 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:47.040 away from just doing that to this, which is proclaiming the gospel and reaching to people, 00:11:47.040 --> 00:11:52.040 it is very natural for us to think that just the spiritual transformation of a city is 00:11:52.040 --> 00:11:58.360 what he is interested in. But no, it is a big part of what he is interested in. But 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:04.000 with the church, he wants to do more and we are not going to limit God in what he is doing. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:10.680 So what does that mean? Well, for Vancouver then, through his church, God wants to change 00:12:10.680 --> 00:12:17.680 the landscape of justice. Through his church, God wants to change the landscape of law and 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:24.720 order. Through his church, God wants to birth businesses and things, the systems that are 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:31.720 set up based on the principles of the word. Through his church, he wants to provide solutions 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:38.960 to complex problems. That is rebuilding. So rebuilding, because we started with soup and 00:12:40.160 --> 00:12:44.000 clothes, we can't just all of a sudden go and say, oh well, that was all physical. Now 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:48.160 we are all about spiritual and here we go, the spiritual transformation is happening. 00:12:48.160 --> 00:12:53.000 It is at the very core of everything that he does, but it is not limited to just that. 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:58.640 It is way more. And we got to tap into this. Rebuilding ancient cities is something he 00:12:58.640 --> 00:13:05.120 takes pleasure in. And we look at it in the way he sees it. We are not going to remove 00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:10.440 aspects of it and say, this is what I am interested in. So no, this is everything together, everyone 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:17.600 together. We get all of it, all of what he wants to do. So rebuilding is the progression 00:13:18.920 --> 00:13:25.920 and establishment of the upside down rule of Christ. I love that verse. It is from Acts 00:13:26.800 --> 00:13:33.800 chapter 17, 6. You don't need to read it, but Paul and Silas are in Thessalonica. And 00:13:34.680 --> 00:13:40.520 when Jason is dragged out and taken to the authorities, this is what they say of Jason. 00:13:40.520 --> 00:13:46.920 This guy is part of the group of people who have turned everything upside down. So rebuilding 00:13:46.920 --> 00:13:53.920 cities, rebuilding cities, rebuilding nations is about the kingdom of God, which is turning 00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:02.240 everything upside down, invading into a place, into a people. And it happens through us. 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:07.480 It's not limited to just the spiritual and just the soup and just the clothes. It changes 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:12.880 everything. My goodness, this is the God we serve. So he is not just something or someone 00:14:12.880 --> 00:14:19.280 who can be limited to just one thing and one box. He is greater. He is good. He is Yahweh. 00:14:19.280 --> 00:14:26.280 We heard from Eric about God, the God of Ezekiel, the God of Jacob, the God of Abraham is our 00:14:26.280 --> 00:14:31.480 God. And when he rebuilds something, he does it in style and he does it well and he does 00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:37.240 it not for one year or two years. He does it forever so that his glory will permeate 00:14:37.240 --> 00:14:43.000 and take a hold of everything there is. That is who he is. That is his truth. And this 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:48.080 is not us saying it because we feel like it. This is what is in the word. And because the 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:53.400 word is true and I am, I am wrong and you are wrong, but because the word is true. And 00:14:53.400 --> 00:14:58.200 if we align ourselves with the word, everything that we say then is true and it will come 00:14:58.200 --> 00:15:05.200 to pass. It is the truth. It is the truth because he said so. It is the truth. So what 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:16.720 are some blueprints? How do we rebuild? You rebuild accurately if you carry God's heart 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:23.720 for the city. You rebuild accurately if you carry God's heart for the city. And what 00:15:38.280 --> 00:15:45.280 he wants to do in Vancouver is different from what he wants to do in Keefe, which is different 00:15:46.280 --> 00:15:53.200 from what he wants to do in Lagos, which is different from what he wants to do in Nigeria, 00:15:53.200 --> 00:16:00.200 which is different from what he wants to do in another place. And if I can grab onto this 00:16:00.920 --> 00:16:07.920 truth and his heart, then I can rebuild with him. Accurately catching God's heart. So Joshua 00:16:07.920 --> 00:16:14.920 was ready to lead because he arrived at a place where he understood God's heart because 00:16:14.920 --> 00:16:19.920 he looked at what was happening and over a period of time, Joshua got it. He understood 00:16:19.920 --> 00:16:25.400 that this God operates this way with his people. And because he carried his heart, he could 00:16:25.400 --> 00:16:32.400 lead them. And for us to go into cities and for us to rebuild, what we need to do is get 00:16:32.400 --> 00:16:39.400 ahold of his heart for that city. Get ahold of what he wants to do in that city. And we 00:16:42.160 --> 00:16:46.160 do it for his pleasure. We don't do it for anything else. We don't rebuild for the sake 00:16:46.160 --> 00:16:53.160 of rebuilding. This is how it's supposed to work, so this is what I'm doing. We do it 00:16:53.160 --> 00:17:00.160 for the sake of his pleasure. Because we get pleasure from God. We get pleasure from God. 00:17:00.160 --> 00:17:07.160 We get pleasure by him having pleasure in what he accomplishes, in what he does. And 00:17:07.480 --> 00:17:14.480 something we've talked about already over the last few weeks, God always has specific 00:17:15.760 --> 00:17:21.640 directives on how he wants to do it. And we can't miss it. This is the God who told the 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:28.640 Old Testament people, this is how I want the tabernacle to be built. It had specifications. 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:35.960 Do we think that this very God who then rebuilds cities doesn't have directives? He has directives. 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:45.720 And we can rebuild without it. But it won't be complete. And it won't be good enough. 00:17:49.880 --> 00:17:53.560 And people do that. And there is a chance that if we are not careful, we could do the 00:17:53.560 --> 00:18:00.560 same. So when we rebuild with him, we look for his directives. We look for what do you 00:18:02.800 --> 00:18:07.960 want to achieve, Abba? What are you showing us for this city? So even right now, I want 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:12.480 us to think along these lines because these things have to translate into real physical 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:18.120 things that we touch and taste and see here in Vancouver. And which ever city God puts 00:18:18.120 --> 00:18:25.120 in your heart. And so what is your heart, Father? What do you want to do? Let's read Ezekiel chapter 22-30. 00:18:48.120 --> 00:18:55.120 Here is what it says. It says, God is looking, I look for someone among them. God is looking 00:19:10.360 --> 00:19:17.360 for someone among us who will build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:23.360 of the land. So I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. And may this not be 00:19:23.360 --> 00:19:30.360 the case where God looks for people to stand in the gap like Aaron did between the dead 00:19:30.360 --> 00:19:36.960 and the living. God is always looking. And what he is doing with us, he is preparing 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:43.280 us to be a people who stands in the gap. Where we are between the dead and the living. Where 00:19:43.280 --> 00:19:49.600 we are the ones who say, we will stand in the gap for you. We will stand in the gap 00:19:49.600 --> 00:19:56.040 on behalf of those who are dead or are dying so that they can live. And when we talk about 00:19:56.040 --> 00:20:02.760 getting the heart of God, it goes from just what do you want about Vancouver to a place 00:20:02.760 --> 00:20:08.680 of us really receiving God's heart for the city. That's how Nehemiah wept. Because he 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:15.360 is in the palace and he could well say, you know what, I am here for such a time as this, 00:20:15.360 --> 00:20:21.120 right in the palace. But he didn't say I am here for such a time as this. He looked at 00:20:21.120 --> 00:20:28.120 the state of Jerusalem and he said nothing. He just wept. And so this, can we see how 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:35.960 beautiful this is? Because it goes beyond what we are naturally inclined to do. And 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:43.960 it goes into us dying to ourselves and him taking over. Which is what he takes pleasure 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:52.400 in. And may we become a people like that. I am not. I am not. May we become a people 00:20:54.160 --> 00:21:01.160 like that. Who actually get a hold of his heart in that manner for cities, for nations. 00:21:02.120 --> 00:21:09.120 And it's absolutely possible. It's absolutely possible. And God is looking for a people 00:21:10.360 --> 00:21:17.360 like that on earth. Who gets his heart and then schemes with him, plans with him to then 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:27.400 build it the way he wants to do it. Number two, when God sends his people into a city 00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:34.400 or a nation, they are to tear down what needs to be torn down. You cannot build unless you 00:21:35.400 --> 00:21:42.400 tear down certain things. You cannot build because what you are after is cities and people. 00:21:43.040 --> 00:21:49.040 And they will be contested for. And so when we go in, when we look at a city, when we 00:21:49.040 --> 00:21:55.040 rebuild a city, we have to on one hand like those in the book of Nehemiah, we have to 00:21:55.040 --> 00:22:00.600 like those in the book of Nehemiah. On one hand we have bricks with which we build. 00:22:00.600 --> 00:22:06.120 And on the other hand we have weapons that God has put in our hands. And so we build 00:22:06.120 --> 00:22:11.800 and we destroy. We destroy that which needs to be destroyed as the spirit of God leads 00:22:11.800 --> 00:22:17.560 us. And then on the other hand we build. We build everything he wants to build. So we 00:22:17.560 --> 00:22:23.480 need to have that mindset too in that this is not just about building whatever he wants 00:22:23.520 --> 00:22:29.280 to build. Because there is no true building of what he wants to do unless you are also 00:22:29.280 --> 00:22:34.720 involved with him in destroying that which needs to be destroyed. In tearing down that 00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:41.720 which needs to be torn down. A couple of references. Jeremiah 1.10. I have said to you, I have 00:22:53.480 --> 00:22:59.080 said to you this day, over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, 00:22:59.080 --> 00:23:04.720 to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. You see where the building and the 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:11.720 planting comes? I have said to you this day, Acts 29, over nations and over kingdoms, for 00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:20.160 what about for rebuilding cities? Yes. But how do we do it? We do it by plucking up and 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:26.960 breaking down. By destroying and overthrowing. And then building and planting. So that's 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:33.720 how he trains us. Because in all of these things he is training our hands for war. Which 00:23:33.720 --> 00:23:40.720 is again in the DNA of every believer. We have gone far to, this is something that Jacob 00:23:40.760 --> 00:23:44.320 has always talked about. One of the things, and I am not saying it for the sake of saying 00:23:44.320 --> 00:23:51.000 it because I don't need to. But one of the things about Acts 29 is that Jacob demands 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:58.000 a lot of us. And it's really God's nature. It's not something that's just how our pastor 00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:07.960 is. It is how God is. This is who God is. It's, what are we reading? How can we do this 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:15.960 without him? It's not natural when we get, when we are born we don't get into these things. 00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:26.960 It is him. It is his way of doing it. He demands a lot. Christ demands a lot. And now it can 00:24:28.840 --> 00:24:34.480 be our pleasure to say yes to everything that he is demanding of us. I want to go through 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:40.200 this real quick. So we will go through this one by one. Next one is cities are rebuilt 00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:46.760 through ordinary people. We talked about restored people. We talked about church. But we need 00:24:46.760 --> 00:24:51.800 to think of it as cities are built through ordinary people who serve an extraordinary 00:24:51.800 --> 00:24:58.480 God. That's how he builds cities. And within the community that builds there will be different 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:04.280 roles for different people. But they are all ordinary. And I like talking about it because 00:25:04.920 --> 00:25:10.920 we need to think like that. Where there is no division between where we are at and where 00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:17.920 we think someone should be for them to partake in what God is doing. Tear it down. Because 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:22.040 if you follow Christ and if you have the Spirit of God living inside you it is natural for 00:25:22.040 --> 00:25:29.040 us to participate in these things. Next, obedience, and this is important, obedience is more important 00:25:29.560 --> 00:25:36.560 than perceived results. Obedience is far more important than perceived results. We cannot 00:25:41.840 --> 00:25:48.840 measure the effectiveness of what we are doing by just looking at the perceived results. 00:25:49.280 --> 00:25:54.440 Why do I say that? Well this is what happened across centuries with people who believed 00:25:54.440 --> 00:26:00.160 in him. Sometimes when they started they didn't see much. But when they kept at it, 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:07.160 kept at it, kept at it, kept at it, they saw what God promised. But the problem is when 00:26:07.320 --> 00:26:11.800 we now read it we don't see it like that. Because the moment you start reading about 00:26:11.800 --> 00:26:18.800 Moses you are like, oh wow. The moment you start reading about Joseph it's like great. 00:26:19.340 --> 00:26:23.280 But for those guys when they lived it, they lived it pretty differently. It's just like 00:26:23.280 --> 00:26:29.080 Ezekiel. Look at Ezekiel's side of the story. It's kind of different from how you read 00:26:29.080 --> 00:26:36.080 it. And this is important guys. I'm telling you, for us as we go out, obedience to the 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:48.200 voice of Christ, obedience to the Spirit of God is far more important than perceived results. 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:54.520 Results will come. But obedience is far more important than perceived results. Please read 00:26:54.520 --> 00:26:58.280 Galatians, you know what, don't read it. I'll read it out loud. You can write it down if 00:26:58.280 --> 00:27:04.840 you want to. Galatians chapter 6 verse 9, this is what it says, and let us not grow 00:27:04.840 --> 00:27:11.840 weary of doing good for in due season we will reap. It doesn't stop there. If we do not 00:27:11.840 --> 00:27:18.840 give up. Next one. Do not forget the significance of one's soul. Because the moment we start 00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:26.160 talking about nations and cities and his kingdom and his rule advancing, it is so easy to lose 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:33.640 track of what he considers to be the most important thing in the world. And that is 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:40.200 the moment we start talking about the most important thing in the world. And that is 00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:47.200 to lose track of what he considers important, which is one's soul. Jesus died for all, but 00:27:48.120 --> 00:27:54.720 Jesus would also die if the rest of humanity neglected him and just one person said yes. 00:27:54.720 --> 00:28:01.720 He will still die. So we cannot ignore, because when the plan gets bigger and what he is giving 00:28:01.720 --> 00:28:08.720 us gets bigger, we can't ignore, forget the reality, the significance of just one person. 00:28:09.360 --> 00:28:15.880 Jesus demonstrated this. His great mission and then what does he do? He leaves the disciples 00:28:15.880 --> 00:28:20.480 to wherever, go get some food, because I've got a mission right here to meet with a woman 00:28:20.480 --> 00:28:25.120 who is by the well, who is going to come, and she is going to come to draw water. And 00:28:25.120 --> 00:28:32.200 with just this one lady, just this one woman, I am going to give her what I have, because 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:39.400 through her, an entire village is going to come to know about me. Do not forget the significance 00:28:39.400 --> 00:28:46.400 of one soul. Just the way he builds, just the way he does. And rebuilding requires the 00:28:51.880 --> 00:28:57.440 compassion of Jesus Christ. We've got to be moved with compassion. And that's the work 00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:02.160 that he does in our hearts. Because some of us may say, oh I am this compassionate, I 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:06.320 am a little more compassionate, maybe I am less compassionate. But the truth is, he changes 00:29:06.320 --> 00:29:13.320 our hearts when we say come change our hearts. And he makes it flesh. Number seven. I want 00:29:19.440 --> 00:29:26.440 us to give ourselves a new name. And this new name is serial soul. And we are going 00:29:27.440 --> 00:29:34.440 to be a serial sower. Sewing seeds, serial. Serial entrepreneurs, let's be serial sewers. 00:29:35.760 --> 00:29:40.360 People who sow seeds, Prashanth and Pavan are looking at each other because we talked about 00:29:40.360 --> 00:29:46.520 this yesterday. See people who, because again, when we read Matthew chapter 13, it's so easy 00:29:46.520 --> 00:29:52.640 for us again to read through that whole parable about seed and sower and land and the soil 00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:56.840 and different types of soil and all of that. And most often when we look at it, what we 00:29:56.840 --> 00:30:01.480 think about and how we understand it is like this. It is when God says something, if you 00:30:01.480 --> 00:30:06.640 have a good heart that is receptive, then everything that he sows will come and bear 00:30:06.640 --> 00:30:13.200 fruit. But that whole chapter is about the kingdom of God. And it's not just about God 00:30:13.200 --> 00:30:20.200 sowing seeds. What you also see is a guy who is going around sowing seeds wherever God 00:30:21.040 --> 00:30:26.800 says. He doesn't say, I'm not going to sow seeds here on this rock and on this hard ground 00:30:26.800 --> 00:30:32.240 because that's like, no. He sows there. And then he goes and he sees a fertile land, he 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:39.240 sows there. He sows everywhere God directs him to sow. That is the kingdom. Because sometimes 00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:45.840 we make these stories about when I listen to God, I want to be like this. No man, it's 00:30:45.840 --> 00:30:52.840 far more greater than that. It's about us being serial sowers. We have seed in our hands 00:30:52.840 --> 00:30:59.840 all the time and we sow seed wherever, whenever he asks us to. When we wake up, think of us 00:31:00.760 --> 00:31:07.760 like that. When you wake up, think of yourself like I've got seed in my hands that God has 00:31:08.320 --> 00:31:13.520 given me which brings life. And wherever I go today, I'm going to deposit, I'm going 00:31:13.520 --> 00:31:20.520 to sow this seed. Next. I'm going to sow this seed. I'm going to sow this seed. I'm going 00:31:22.840 --> 00:31:29.840 to sow this seed. Expect creative solutions to complex problems. When we walk with God, 00:31:31.520 --> 00:31:37.400 expect creative solutions to complex problems. Where does this come from? We won't read it, 00:31:37.400 --> 00:31:44.400 but 2 Kings chapter 2, 19 to 21. A bunch of guys come to Elijah, I think, and they come 00:31:46.080 --> 00:31:50.720 and say, you know what, this land is kind of good, but the water is bad and no fruits 00:31:50.720 --> 00:31:55.680 grow here. That's the problem of Jericho, I think. Here's the problem of Jericho. It's 00:31:55.680 --> 00:32:00.200 kind of good, but there's one huge problem here and the huge problem that we have here 00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:07.200 is the water is pretty bad. And along with that, we have fruits that won't bear, trees 00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:14.480 that won't bear fruits. And Elijah's response is, come with a bowl. Put salt in it. And 00:32:15.800 --> 00:32:19.640 I'm going to take the salt and I'm going to put this into the stream and that will heal 00:32:19.640 --> 00:32:26.640 the land. So solutions that God has for very complex problems are not the ways of the world. 00:32:28.560 --> 00:32:35.040 And we have to open our minds because our God is a creative God. He works in ways we 00:32:35.040 --> 00:32:42.040 don't think. That is the real meaning of your ways are higher. Where everything around us 00:32:42.120 --> 00:32:47.080 tells us this is exactly how it happens. Every city, every nation, every time it happened, 00:32:47.720 --> 00:32:54.120 like this, steps, five steps to making it right. A, B, C, D, E. And then God says one 00:32:54.120 --> 00:33:01.120 word and that one word is enough to do everything and more because that's who he is. 00:33:01.400 --> 00:33:08.400 Next one. Become conduits of justice. We talked about it a couple of weeks ago where we said, 00:33:09.120 --> 00:33:16.120 we have to be known, Acts 29, we have to be known for what we stand for. The Church of 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:26.920 Jesus Christ has to be known for what they stand for. Conduits of justice. Because oftentimes 00:33:29.920 --> 00:33:36.640 we are known for what we don't like. Mark is kind of a weird guy because whenever he 00:33:36.680 --> 00:33:41.520 comes into work he doesn't participate in this and that. It's kind of weird. It's kind 00:33:41.520 --> 00:33:47.400 of difficult to talk with him. Derrick is like that. He kind of steps away from all 00:33:47.400 --> 00:33:52.000 of these things. I don't really know why he does that. That's how most people tell about 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:57.520 us. But how they should talk about us is he doesn't participate in that but he stands 00:33:57.520 --> 00:34:04.520 up for this. It's a big difference. It is a big difference for the Church of Jesus Christ 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:12.240 to be known for what they stand for rather than just what they do not align with. In 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:21.840 all of this, Psalm 127, 1, unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build 00:34:23.240 --> 00:34:30.240 it. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. So father, with everything 00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:37.400 that we are talking about, everything that we want to do, we recognize that if we go 00:34:37.400 --> 00:34:44.400 down this path with our human strength and our human thinking, we will not do what you 00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:51.400 actually want us to do. So even right now as we hear your word which says, unless God 00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:59.400 builds, they labor in vain, we don't want to be people who labor in vain because we 00:34:59.960 --> 00:35:06.960 are not building as you want us to build or because you are not with us. God is with us 00:35:07.240 --> 00:35:14.240 all the time but we have to build it as per he wants us to build. Then what we build will 00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:21.840 not be in vain. And when he guards the city, the watchman keeps awake. When he doesn't 00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:28.840 guard the city, they keep awake in vain. Let's read, I want to read a verse but read 00:35:32.360 --> 00:35:38.840 it in the message version just for our minds to hear it like that. I'll just read it out 00:35:38.840 --> 00:35:45.840 loud. I say chapter 58, 9-12 but we'll skip over the first few verses here. You can just 00:35:45.840 --> 00:35:52.840 listen to me. The last couple of verses is like this. I will always show you where you 00:35:53.840 --> 00:36:00.840 go or where to go. I will give you a full life in the emptiest of places, firm muscles, 00:36:01.840 --> 00:36:08.840 strong bones. You will be like a well watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs 00:36:08.840 --> 00:36:15.840 dry. You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew. Rebuild the foundations out 00:36:17.600 --> 00:36:24.600 of your past. Listen to this guys, can we aspire for this? You will be known, Acts 29, 00:36:24.600 --> 00:36:31.600 as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate. And here's the 00:36:31.840 --> 00:36:36.840 best part, and make communities livable again. You will be known, Acts 29, as those who can 00:36:36.840 --> 00:36:43.840 fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, and make communities livable again. 00:36:49.720 --> 00:36:56.720 So beautifully written. Let's think together. You will be known, Acts 29, as people who 00:36:57.040 --> 00:37:04.040 can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, and make communities livable 00:37:04.040 --> 00:37:11.040 again. So I want to go back to something I said earlier. The time to rebuild is now. 00:37:11.040 --> 00:37:18.040 It's not a few days out, a few months out, it's right now. This is the time to rebuild. 00:37:18.080 --> 00:37:24.080 This is the time to jump in on this train that he is headed in a direction, and he ain't 00:37:24.080 --> 00:37:31.080 stop. When Jacob talked about the revival, I remember him saying something along, something 00:37:31.080 --> 00:37:36.080 like this, not sure exactly the words he used, but he said something like, at certain 00:37:36.080 --> 00:37:43.080 points in history, God does certain things. And it's not like anyone can stop God other 00:37:43.080 --> 00:37:50.080 times, but when he is so specifically wanting to achieve something, no one can stop him. 00:37:50.120 --> 00:37:55.120 It's almost like the flood is coming. You can't stop, you can stand in the way, you 00:37:55.120 --> 00:38:00.120 can try to make it crack here and there. The flood is coming and you can't stop it. You 00:38:00.160 --> 00:38:04.160 can't stop it. The flood is coming and when the flood comes, everything is washed away. 00:38:04.160 --> 00:38:10.160 That's kind of the image that we need to have in our minds. I need to, we'll wrap up because 00:38:10.160 --> 00:38:17.160 it's one, but I want us to make this now for our cities. So for Vancouver, let's think. 00:38:17.160 --> 00:38:25.160 For the cities that God has put in your hearts, where you know that he has always given you 00:38:25.200 --> 00:38:31.840 dreams for certain nations, because nations are impacted through cities. Nations are impacted 00:38:31.840 --> 00:38:38.080 through cities. Canada is impacted through a Vernon and a Vancouver and a Montreal and 00:38:38.080 --> 00:38:45.080 an Ottawa. That's how Canada is affected. Nations are impacted and transformed through 00:38:45.120 --> 00:38:49.080 cities. That's why we're talking about rebuilding cities, but the idea is not to just rebuild 00:38:49.080 --> 00:38:53.560 cities. The idea is to rebuild nations and the idea is to fill the earth with the glory 00:38:53.560 --> 00:39:00.560 of God. So here is what Nehemiah did in the Old Testament. He did this. When he found 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:11.000 out that the walls of Jerusalem was broken down, what he did is he went around examining 00:39:11.720 --> 00:39:18.720 the walls. He wasn't really, I'm coming back to Jerusalem from the palace because I was 00:39:24.200 --> 00:39:29.320 feeling God say, let's go. There is a rebuild happening. Let's participate in that. Everything 00:39:29.320 --> 00:39:36.320 all get on? Okay. That there is a rebuilding happening. That's so I'm out here. I'm doing 00:39:37.880 --> 00:39:44.880 it. No. He comes out of Jerusalem with this focus, with this thing of, I'm going to examine 00:39:45.320 --> 00:39:49.640 what's happening. I'm going to see what God is showing and then I'm going to build how 00:39:49.640 --> 00:39:56.480 he wants me to build. So for us in Vancouver, we cannot rebuild Vancouver unless we carry 00:39:56.480 --> 00:40:03.480 God's heart and we examine what is actually happening. It's not happening. Otherwise 00:40:03.480 --> 00:40:10.300 all of this becomes words and it stops there. We've got to examine what is happening in 00:40:10.300 --> 00:40:17.300 our cities. That's how it starts. So do this for yourselves. So let's say you're in a city 00:40:19.760 --> 00:40:24.480 where you live. What are the things that God is putting in your heart for the cities that 00:40:24.480 --> 00:40:29.720 we come from, for where we live? What are the things that are peculiar that are so innate 00:40:29.720 --> 00:40:36.600 in the way you are that God puts in your heart? And how can you gather people around you and 00:40:36.600 --> 00:40:43.020 then you go about doing what he asks you to do? That's how it works. So within Acts 29, 00:40:43.020 --> 00:40:47.560 what I believe is that our house churches and our hubs and our different groups, they're 00:40:47.560 --> 00:40:54.560 all going to go out and explore the way God wants us to explore in a nice way. That's 00:40:54.560 --> 00:40:59.600 how it works. Not one person, not two people, but all of these communities. That's the reason 00:40:59.600 --> 00:41:06.600 why we are put together. Because the house church that meets in this place, all of a 00:41:06.800 --> 00:41:11.640 sudden they are attentive to the spirit of God and how God wants to operate and all of 00:41:11.800 --> 00:41:18.400 a sudden God says, for Vancouver, here is my agenda through you. And then we work together 00:41:18.400 --> 00:41:23.320 as a family, as a community of believers, and we go in the direction that God has set 00:41:23.320 --> 00:41:29.560 for us and we'll see things that he wants to accomplish. So that's how we put this into 00:41:29.560 --> 00:41:36.560 practice. Vancouver, examining. I read something, I don't know if you guys know this, I know 00:41:37.360 --> 00:41:43.920 we know this, but it's good to put it in these words about Vancouver as an example. We talk 00:41:43.920 --> 00:41:50.920 about empty homes. But there are more empty stomachs in Vancouver than empty homes. But 00:41:53.000 --> 00:42:00.000 we hear and read more about empty homes. Is that right or wrong? 100% right. You read 00:42:01.000 --> 00:42:07.160 about Vancouver in the light of housing prices are inflating, it's difficult to buy a house, 00:42:07.160 --> 00:42:14.000 and empty homes, foreign buyers, that's the media. But there are more empty stomachs in 00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:21.000 Vancouver than empty homes. Examining the walls of the city, examining what is happening 00:42:22.200 --> 00:42:28.800 in the city and communities within, taking on things that God is giving to go out and 00:42:29.040 --> 00:42:36.040 transform. Not just, not rebuild, but rebuild the way he wants to rebuild. And these are 00:42:38.280 --> 00:42:45.280 not events, they are spirit directed lifestyles that we take on. I want to stop with last 00:42:46.280 --> 00:42:51.840 two verses because in all of this, because God is intentional and because God is who 00:42:52.160 --> 00:42:59.160 God is. I want you to listen to this. Matthew 16, 18, I will build my church and the gates 00:43:01.320 --> 00:43:08.120 of hell will not prevail or overcome. So when God gives us assignments to do and when God 00:43:08.120 --> 00:43:14.880 leads us a certain path, he says, I will build it and the gates of hell will not prevail 00:43:14.880 --> 00:43:20.880 or overcome. Genesis chapter 22, 17, I will bless you and your children will possess the 00:43:21.920 --> 00:43:28.480 gates of the enemy. This is the God we serve. He doesn't just send us and say, God do it. 00:43:28.480 --> 00:43:34.840 He comes with us and his promises will keep us and his nature is with us. His word will 00:43:34.840 --> 00:43:41.840 sustain us. And it all comes together when we say yes, Abba, we'll go. Not alone, but 00:43:43.280 --> 00:43:50.280 together. I'll stop there. See, five minutes only. 105. So, I want to say, I want to say 00:43:51.840 --> 00:43:58.840 this. Diana, do you want to come up and pray? When Diana comes up to pray, please don't 00:44:02.480 --> 00:44:08.480 think that this is done. When she comes up to pray, listen to what she's praying. First 00:44:08.480 --> 00:44:13.600 hear it and then there is going to be slides up here for us to pray together. It's a crafted 00:44:13.600 --> 00:44:18.560 prayer that she has written down. I think I'll let Diana speak to it, but please be 00:44:18.560 --> 00:44:25.560 attentive. Please pray together. 00:44:48.560 --> 00:44:55.560 Hello. Derek asked me to craft a prayer for the cities and that's all he said. And my 00:45:00.920 --> 00:45:06.560 response, because it came on Friday night, was I don't know if I'll have time. Can I 00:45:06.560 --> 00:45:12.160 let you know in the morning? Like it was, I don't know if I can do this. Because my 00:45:12.160 --> 00:45:19.160 weekend has been really busy. But in the morning I was woken up and God gave me something 00:45:19.920 --> 00:45:26.640 to, he wanted us to pray. So this is kind of like asking for God's directives. Like 00:45:26.640 --> 00:45:33.640 this is not something I came up with. This is what God wanted for us. So I sent what 00:45:36.120 --> 00:45:41.800 God had shown me and had written down to Derek and he advised me on a change I should make 00:45:41.960 --> 00:45:47.160 and I did and I agreed with it. And then in order to keep it more interesting for you 00:45:47.160 --> 00:45:51.000 we decided we would involve you in a prayer as well. So part of this will be you listening 00:45:51.000 --> 00:45:57.240 to me speak. Part of it will be the mic being passed around so you can actually read what's 00:45:57.240 --> 00:46:02.120 up here. And there are several different sections of the prayer because we're talking to specific 00:46:02.120 --> 00:46:08.000 groups of people. And it's a prayer but it's also talking to the people, calling the people 00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:15.000 in for Christ. So here goes. God, thank you for your presence in our lives and for your 00:46:17.320 --> 00:46:23.520 great love for us. What you have given us is beyond our comprehension and certainly 00:46:23.520 --> 00:46:30.520 nothing we have earned. And we long for others to be connected with you too. So Father, thank 00:46:31.360 --> 00:46:36.160 you for sharing your heart for the city with us, for continuing to deepen our understanding 00:46:36.160 --> 00:46:41.600 of your love for the lost, which each of us was until we heard your heart's cry of 00:46:41.600 --> 00:46:48.600 love and your come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. 00:46:48.600 --> 00:46:54.800 And we responded by choosing to surrender our disbelief and our baggage of sin, guilt, 00:46:54.800 --> 00:47:00.680 rebellion, hurt, despair, self-determination and everything else that was keeping us from 00:47:00.680 --> 00:47:07.680 you and found ourselves in life-giving relationships with you, our rock and redeemer. And we acknowledge 00:47:09.560 --> 00:47:15.660 that there is nothing we did to earn any of this except listen, believe and then surrender 00:47:15.660 --> 00:47:22.000 and admit that we need you. So Father, we pray specifically for our city, the one we 00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:27.000 live in, whether that be one in our local greater Vancouver area or one in other parts 00:47:27.000 --> 00:47:33.640 of the world that listeners are in. We begin like David did in Psalm 103 reminding ourselves 00:47:33.640 --> 00:47:40.640 of who you are, God. You forgive sins instead of treating us as our sins deserve. And you 00:47:40.640 --> 00:47:47.640 separate us from all our sins. You heal our diseases. You redeem us from hell. You crown 00:47:47.640 --> 00:47:54.520 us with love and mercy. You renew our lives. You put victims back on their feet. You show 00:47:54.520 --> 00:48:01.520 us your plans. You are slow to anger and rich in love. You don't nag and hold grudges. 00:48:02.440 --> 00:48:09.440 You are like a parent and are for those who fear you. You know us inside and out. We come 00:48:09.560 --> 00:48:16.560 and go but your love is forever and you make things right. God, you are our king and we 00:48:17.080 --> 00:48:23.120 bless you. Thank you, Lord, for your great love and mercy. Thank you for including us 00:48:23.200 --> 00:48:28.360 in your plans of rescue and redemption in life and for your spirit who un-dwells us 00:48:28.360 --> 00:48:34.400 with the same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead. And knowing these things, 00:48:34.400 --> 00:48:41.400 we pray for the cities that we call home and for the people in the cities. God, I thank 00:48:41.840 --> 00:48:48.280 you for the people you have your eyes on and are chasing after. For those who are actively 00:48:48.280 --> 00:48:53.080 seeking you and for those who are actively hiding from you. For those who are currently 00:48:53.080 --> 00:48:58.680 disinterested and unaware. And for those who are actively doing battle against you and 00:48:58.680 --> 00:49:03.640 your kingdom. God, we acknowledge that there is not one of these individuals that you have 00:49:03.640 --> 00:49:10.100 not already paid the price for. Even the vilest offenders. And we ask, Lord, that you soften 00:49:10.100 --> 00:49:14.840 their hearts and prepare them to hear and accept the news that you love them and the 00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:22.000 invitation that you offer to them to become your children. And if you can put the things 00:49:23.320 --> 00:49:29.760 on here. The mic is going to be passed around. I'm just going to randomly pass it to somebody. 00:49:29.760 --> 00:49:35.960 How many of you love to read? A few of you love to read. Okay, you guys are going to 00:49:35.960 --> 00:49:40.240 be doing, be reading. So Karen, I'm going to pass the mic to you first and then you 00:49:40.240 --> 00:49:46.600 can hand it to whoever you want to from there for the next one. So each one of these where 00:49:46.600 --> 00:49:53.600 it says we call out to those who, we speak to those who, that's the start of a new section. 00:49:55.780 --> 00:50:01.400 We call out to those who need rescuing from anyone or from anything. Be it from physical 00:50:01.400 --> 00:50:08.400 danger or abuse to mental turmoil, fear, addictions, or simply from lives of mediocrity or unending 00:50:09.280 --> 00:50:16.280 sameness and responsibility or any other bondage. Know that rescue has come. Jesus the Christ 00:50:16.520 --> 00:50:22.800 has paid the price for your freedom and redemption. Come out. We call you into his presence and 00:50:22.800 --> 00:50:29.800 freedom. Amen. We speak to those who believe lies about God. Either that he doesn't exist, 00:50:30.280 --> 00:50:37.280 he does, that the Bible is not trustworthy, it is, or that you don't need him, you do. 00:50:41.720 --> 00:50:48.720 We speak open ears, eyes, and spirits so that you can see new truths and new realities including 00:50:51.360 --> 00:50:58.360 the realities that God does exist and that you are lost without Christ and he loves you. 00:50:59.800 --> 00:51:06.800 Amen. We speak to those who don't recognize a need for God and we call you to a discontent 00:51:17.520 --> 00:51:24.520 with your plenty into an awareness of your lack. And we break any mindset that promises 00:51:25.400 --> 00:51:31.560 that the answer to your discontent is more stuff, more activity, and more anything that 00:51:31.560 --> 00:51:38.560 is not God. Amen. We call you into a hunger for God and we speak to your heart and mind 00:51:38.600 --> 00:51:45.600 and spirit. Be drawn to the things of God. Amen. We speak to those who know God but are 00:51:47.320 --> 00:51:53.840 floundering and remind you that God is alive and is active. We speak to your heart, spirit, 00:51:53.840 --> 00:52:00.840 and eyes and say be open in the name of Jesus, start walking. Amen. We speak to all those 00:52:08.640 --> 00:52:15.640 in the city who have not yet heard and responded as well as to those who need a reminder, Jesus 00:52:15.640 --> 00:52:22.280 loves you. He wants a personal relationship with you. Talk to him. And Father, I ask that 00:52:22.280 --> 00:52:28.800 you would direct us to be the ones, to be these ones so that they can never say that 00:52:28.800 --> 00:52:35.800 no one told them the good news. Amen. We speak to each other, to us that already know you 00:52:43.680 --> 00:52:49.940 and want more of you. Step up. Trust that the Holy Spirit living in you is indeed the 00:52:49.940 --> 00:52:56.260 spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. That same resurrection spirit is still and always 00:52:56.260 --> 00:53:03.260 will able to bring life from the dead things and is fully able to use your words and my 00:53:04.100 --> 00:53:10.860 words, our words, to bring about great changes for the kingdom. Speak with your mouth, believe 00:53:10.860 --> 00:53:17.860 in your heart, and others will believe and be delivered from death to life. Amen. Amen. 00:53:19.940 --> 00:53:26.940 And together from our position of being seated at the right hand of God with Christ the risen 00:53:32.820 --> 00:53:39.820 Lord even as we walk on the streets of our city and knowing that the Holy Spirit who 00:53:39.820 --> 00:53:46.820 brought everything out of nothing and raised Christ from the dead indwells us and empowers 00:53:46.900 --> 00:53:53.900 us to do greater things. We speak to the enemy and declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. This 00:53:54.860 --> 00:54:01.860 city belongs to him. He will reign and we, his church, will prevail. The church is God's 00:54:03.380 --> 00:54:10.380 and is built on the rock. The gates of hell shall not prevail. This promise is sure. God 00:54:10.780 --> 00:54:17.780 does not lie. So Almighty God, our Father, we ask that you would empower us to do both 00:54:18.900 --> 00:54:25.900 the easy things and the impossible ones and use us to reach those you are calling in the 00:54:26.100 --> 00:54:33.100 cities we are in. And we ask that those you call would respond, that none would be left 00:54:33.380 --> 00:54:40.180 behind, and that you would equip and prepare us for the harvest so that it would be gathered 00:54:40.180 --> 00:54:47.180 in with no one overlooked or lost. And we thank you for each one. Amen.