WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Restoration : God With Us Publishing Date: 2018-12-23T05:00:44-08:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/restoration-god-with-us/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.000 We're going to talk about restorers, and I'm not trying to force a Christmas theme into 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:19.400 it, but we are restorers because God is with us, because God is the only one who can restore. 00:00:19.400 --> 00:00:25.800 We talked about this last week, two weeks ago, that we are called to be restorers. Why? 00:00:25.800 --> 00:00:33.120 Luke 4, 18 says, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim the 00:00:33.120 --> 00:00:42.960 good news, to heal the brokenhearted, to open prison doors. Guys, you should have been memorizing 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:46.400 this throughout the week, remember? Because he was supposed to get up and stand in front of the 00:00:46.400 --> 00:00:51.560 mirror or not stand in front of the mirror and repeat this. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:56.840 because he has anointed me to proclaim the good news, to heal the brokenhearted, to open prison 00:00:56.840 --> 00:01:07.200 doors, to recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:12.920 favor. And so the year of favor, as we discussed, is the year of Jubilee. And what Jesus was saying 00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:18.760 is, I come to now declare perpetual Jubilee, and Jubilee was always about restoration. And then we 00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:23.440 talked about Isaiah 58, where we said, he's a repairer of the breach and the restorer of 00:01:23.440 --> 00:01:29.400 the streets to dwell in. We are called to be restorers. But the reason we can be restorers 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:36.480 is because God is with us. And so if you look at Isaiah 7, Isaiah 7 verse 14, it talks about that. 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:41.520 It says, there was this king called Ahaz, and Isaiah goes up to Ahaz and says, hey, Ahaz, ask 00:01:41.520 --> 00:01:47.640 for a sign. And Ahaz says, no, I won't ask God for a sign. And that's when Isaiah says, ask the Lord, 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:52.880 your God, for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights. That's in verse 11. 00:01:52.880 --> 00:01:57.840 He says, no, no, I won't. And so then Isaiah says, well, here is a sign God is giving you. And he 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:03.760 says, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and we'll call him Immanuel. And the whole 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:09.680 idea of Immanuel is God with us. And so here's what we are saying, guys. We are saying, in him, 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:22.280 God is with us. In him, as in in Christ, God is with us. But it also follows then that in him, 00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:36.160 Colossians 3.3, God is with us. How is this different? First, in Christ, we know God was 00:02:36.320 --> 00:02:42.880 present, so we are saying, in him, God is with us. But it also says in Colossians 3.3, that we are 00:02:42.880 --> 00:02:52.160 hidden in Christ. So in him, God is with us. Get used to this. I had three amazing dreams last night, 00:02:52.160 --> 00:02:58.880 because I've been obsessed with this for so long, I'm beginning to dream it. I'm seeing dreams in 00:02:58.880 --> 00:03:06.040 which I'm responding to, in him, God is with me. And therefore, I'm in a position to rebuke things 00:03:06.040 --> 00:03:10.560 restore things, bring things to order, heal things. And in these three dreams, and there were 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:16.920 different people in the dreams, it is so easy in a dream to have the courage to go and say, I know 00:03:16.920 --> 00:03:22.480 this is incurable, but you can be healed. I know you have an addiction to cigarettes and alcohol, 00:03:22.480 --> 00:03:29.400 but you can be healed. Not because of anything that we have, but because of God in us and with us, 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:34.760 and we in him. That's the whole idea of what we want to do today. And it says a very simple way 00:03:34.760 --> 00:03:40.120 to do it. Needs a tiny bit of courage and foolishness. And in Christianity, both go together. 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:55.080 So, yeah. Yeah. So on one hand, in Christ, God was with us, because Christ walked here on earth as 00:03:55.080 --> 00:04:03.240 God. So in Christ, God was with us. But then Colossians 3.3 says, we are hidden in Christ. 00:04:03.560 --> 00:04:11.640 So in that sense, in him, God is with us again. It's both ways. We are in him and he is in us. 00:04:11.640 --> 00:04:18.280 Works out both ways. It's inseparable. Guys, here's the thing. We are servants of his. Therefore, 00:04:18.280 --> 00:04:24.360 there is no question that we will be restored if we follow the steps of restoration. He says about 00:04:24.360 --> 00:04:32.200 Israel at one stage, he puts it this way. He says, I have provided ways to redeem you, but should you 00:04:32.200 --> 00:04:37.080 not be redeemed and should you still stay as servants of others, I want you to know that you 00:04:37.080 --> 00:04:43.320 are my servant first Israel. I brought you out of Egypt. So I will redeem you. As in, it doesn't 00:04:43.320 --> 00:04:49.400 matter whose servant you presently may be. Maybe an addiction has mastered you. Maybe a sin has 00:04:49.400 --> 00:04:55.800 mastered you. Maybe a situation has mastered you. But God is saying, you must remember that whatever 00:04:55.800 --> 00:05:01.800 be your master now, I brought you out of Egypt. You are mine. You are my servant. I am responsible 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:07.720 for you. Therefore, I will redeem you if you follow the steps of restoration. You must be 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:16.200 absolutely confident of Christ when it comes to you being rescued. If you doubt for a second that you 00:05:16.200 --> 00:05:21.560 cannot be rescued, you're not casting aspersions on anyone but your master who is a rescuer. 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:29.640 It doesn't matter what situation you're going through. You must be confident that you will be 00:05:29.640 --> 00:05:36.120 rescued. And then you have to follow the steps of rescue and restoration. If he says, I want to 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:42.760 rescue you by sending a helicopter, well then strap the blooming rope around you. If he says, 00:05:42.760 --> 00:05:49.880 walk on water, well walk on water and avoid the flood. Whatever he tells you to do, as Mary said, 00:05:49.880 --> 00:05:55.800 do, but be confident that you will be rescued because at the very heart of the word salvation, 00:05:56.600 --> 00:06:06.920 sozo is the simple meaning, rescuer. The very meaning of the word Jesus means rescuer. Joshua, rescuer. 00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:17.160 And therefore now God is saying, I want you to be rescuers too. But people will have to listen to 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:21.560 the method of rescue. If you choose not to be rescued that way, that's entirely a person's 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:28.120 choice. But you must for yourself know that there is no situation on the face of the earth, as long 00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:34.680 as you're alive here, that you cannot be rescued out of. Even you are rescued out of death, 00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:39.880 physical death, and then should you die, and you will die unless you're raptured. You will be 00:06:39.880 --> 00:06:44.120 rescued from that too because it's a micro fraction of a second. We are the ones who will be crying 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:45.720 for you. You will be happy. 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:53.080 This God is a God of rescue. 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:04.200 And so guys, we said this last time, 00:07:06.680 --> 00:07:13.640 desire to give back to people what sin has stolen from them. Desire to give back to people 00:07:13.640 --> 00:07:22.680 what sin has stolen from them. Demonstrate the restoration of the cross. At the end of the day, 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:32.200 what was Christ doing on the cross? Rescuing the world. Demonstrate the restoration that you and I 00:07:32.200 --> 00:07:37.640 can give to people from whom sin has stolen things. We have the ability to restore. 00:07:38.520 --> 00:07:43.800 You must believe this. You must start dreaming it. I'm so blessed that I'm dreaming it. I'm not 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:48.680 asking you to use that as a measure, but when you get obsessed with things, you dream about things. 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:56.600 If you don't dream, doesn't mean you're not obsessed with it. It just means you're not a dreamer. 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:01.320 I dream every night. 00:08:01.640 --> 00:08:02.680 I dream every night. 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:12.520 Since I was a kid, I can't remember a night I haven't dreamed. None of you appear in those dreams. 00:08:16.440 --> 00:08:25.160 So remember, we are proclaimers of Jubilee. We are proclaimers of Jubilee. Please don't forget that. 00:08:25.160 --> 00:08:33.480 We proclaim the year of Jubilee perpetually upon people. And like I said, the next one year, 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:37.080 you'll have so many encounters set up by God before the foundations of the earth. 00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:41.880 There's insurance lady, others, and in each situation, through relationship, 00:08:41.880 --> 00:08:46.360 we proclaim Jubilee. Not without relationship, through relationship. 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:54.680 Through relationship. Hey, if you don't build things through relationship, why should people believe you? 00:08:57.560 --> 00:09:03.320 Through relationship, proclaim the year of God's favor. And what does the year of God's favor look 00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:10.680 like? The good news. What else? Opening a blind eye. What else? Opening a prison door. What else? 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:17.080 Opening a blind eye. What else? Opening a prison door. What else? Healing of the brokenhearted. What else? 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:23.880 Opening of doors for those that are oppressed. What else? Restoration. What else? The spirit of joy 00:09:23.880 --> 00:09:30.280 instead of the spirit of heaviness. What else? Singing instead of mourning. What else? Oaks being 00:09:30.280 --> 00:09:37.080 raised in great strength. What else? Beauty instead of ashes. This is what restoration looks like. 00:09:37.080 --> 00:09:42.840 You think Christ is giving it to people himself? No. Throughout the world, whenever this happens, 00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:47.640 it is because Christ used someone to do it for someone. Do you realize that? 00:09:48.520 --> 00:09:54.200 Almost never is Christ giving anything to anyone directly except through people. 00:09:57.000 --> 00:10:03.160 How does joy come? It comes through an expression of words that are sent into your heart, either 00:10:03.160 --> 00:10:09.720 through a book, a poem, a song, a TV program or words. How does comfort come? Either through a 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:17.080 touch, a smile, an expression of words, some action. How does heaviness go away? Either through a 00:10:17.080 --> 00:10:23.000 rebuke by a word or an introduction of joy through some other means. There is not a single situation 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:28.600 on the face of the earth that God is doing except through people, sometimes believers and sometimes 00:10:29.160 --> 00:10:35.400 people who don't know God. When a poet writes a beautiful poem that people read and it lifts 00:10:35.400 --> 00:10:40.360 their heart up, it doesn't matter that the poet is not a Christian but what he writes is from God 00:10:41.640 --> 00:10:45.880 because everything that he writes about, about the sunrise, about the beautiful forest trees 00:10:45.880 --> 00:10:53.960 is coming from God. God can choose to do it directly but he chooses not to do it directly. 00:10:53.960 --> 00:10:55.160 How much more us? 00:11:02.360 --> 00:11:07.560 I didn't say no. I said he chooses to do it mostly through people. It's his favorite way of doing 00:11:07.560 --> 00:11:12.840 things guys. The battle was never between God and the devil. The battle was always between man and 00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:20.120 the devil. Therefore the battle will be won by man, not by God. It'll be won by God in man. 00:11:23.960 --> 00:11:31.960 Act 1038. Again, God could have done this without Jesus. He didn't need to send Jesus down to the 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:37.080 earth to accomplish these things. You think God can't heal someone with a stroke of lightning? 00:11:40.280 --> 00:11:43.960 Like benevolent lightning that just gives you a slight shock 00:11:45.240 --> 00:11:47.800 and it gets your atrial fibrillation. 00:11:47.880 --> 00:11:50.360 But he chooses not to. Act 1038. 00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:59.480 And God anointed not Jesus the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, the Jacob of 00:12:00.680 --> 00:12:08.920 Vancouver, not Nazareth. So God anointed Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus of Nazareth. 00:12:08.920 --> 00:12:19.160 The Jacob of Vancouver, not Nazareth. So God anointed Jesus of Nazareth or Jacob of Vancouver 00:12:19.160 --> 00:12:24.600 or Rodrigo of Brazil or Sheldon of Hong Kong since he's going there shortly. So 00:12:27.400 --> 00:12:30.200 God anointed, just so I'm just prophesying early. 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:34.520 And if you notice, I left Jane out. 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:42.920 Act 1038. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth or Jacob of Vancouver with the Holy Spirit 00:12:42.920 --> 00:12:49.560 and with power and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the 00:12:49.560 --> 00:12:54.840 devil because God was with him. Let me read it one more time. Act 1038. How God anointed Jesus of 00:12:54.840 --> 00:13:01.400 Nazareth or you with the Holy Spirit and power and how he went around doing good and healing 00:13:01.400 --> 00:13:06.040 all who were under the power of the devil because God was with him. So here's a question. What's the 00:13:06.040 --> 00:13:15.880 target? The target is all who were being oppressed or harassed by the devil. 00:13:15.880 --> 00:13:24.920 No. That's a target. That's your target too. 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:31.960 Anyone being harassed or oppressed by the devil is your target. 00:13:32.920 --> 00:13:35.480 Why? Because you're a restorer. Why? Because God is with you. 00:13:35.880 --> 00:13:42.040 Second, you know in Isaiah 8-10, God is saying this. He says, 00:13:42.040 --> 00:13:48.120 devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted. Propose your plan, but it will not stand. You 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:53.800 know why? For God is with us. Israel is saying this. Hey, you guys go ahead. They're saying to 00:13:53.800 --> 00:13:59.080 the enemy, you devise your strategy. It will be thwarted. You come up with your plans. It won't 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:04.040 succeed. You know why? Because God is with us. Have a few people who are with you. 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:10.280 With us. Have a fierceness about this. When people are harassed and oppressed by the devil, say, 00:14:10.280 --> 00:14:14.680 say with confidence and your confidence will grow. We'll talk about that. Say with confidence. 00:14:14.680 --> 00:14:19.720 You devise your strategy. God will thwart it. You come up with your plans and try to destroy. 00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:26.360 I'm telling you something. God is with us. This is no ordinary God. This is not some domesticated cat. 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:37.720 This is a lion. There's a wildness about this aslan. His fears say, God with us is a different kind of 00:14:37.720 --> 00:14:46.040 God with us. It's not just about comfort. Restoration requires that things that are in bondage, 00:14:46.040 --> 00:14:48.440 that are broken, that are decaying be undone. 00:14:48.440 --> 00:15:01.480 There's another scripture that I use often almost every morning, Deuteronomy 33 verse 27. 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:07.240 Depending on the version you read, it says this. God shouts destroy, but you thrust out the enemy. 00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:11.640 God shouts destroy, but he ain't trusting out the enemy. 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:15.480 When God shouts destroy, you go thrust out the enemy. 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:23.000 You go thrust out the enemy. God is the one shouting destroy. He's given the command. 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:27.000 Who is he waiting for? You. To do what? To thrust out the enemy. 00:15:35.800 --> 00:15:39.400 What's your response? If that is your target, what is your response? 00:15:40.920 --> 00:15:42.600 Your response is 00:15:43.320 --> 00:15:44.360 your response is 00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:52.440 you went around doing good, 00:15:55.720 --> 00:16:07.320 healing all. You went around doing good, healing all. That's your response. So we know the target. 00:16:08.680 --> 00:16:11.960 What's your response? You went around doing good, healing all. 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:22.760 This is your response. Are you sent? Yes. How do we know? John 20 verse 20 and 21. 00:16:22.760 --> 00:16:26.840 And Jesus called them and said, as I have been sent, so I send you. 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:29.720 And then he breathed upon them and they received the Holy Spirit. 00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:48.040 That's your response. But who is your source? How come you do this? Because God is with you. 00:16:49.640 --> 00:16:54.920 Source is established. You're not doing this on your own strength. You are getting more and more 00:16:54.920 --> 00:17:03.000 convinced that God is with you. It's not that you doubt that, but you sometimes don't realize it. 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:11.320 Get obsessed with it. That God is with me and God is with me means I will be rescued if I follow 00:17:11.320 --> 00:17:17.800 the steps that he gives me for rescue. If I don't follow the steps and try to do it any other way, 00:17:17.800 --> 00:17:21.800 then Isaiah 30 applies where it says, you shall live by the light of your own fire. 00:17:22.280 --> 00:17:29.320 And that won't keep you warm. But there is always rescue for every child and every servant of God 00:17:29.320 --> 00:17:34.360 because he is the master. And he says, I brought you out of Egypt. You are my servant first. 00:17:34.360 --> 00:17:40.840 And nobody else will have mastery over you. This is a surety that you and I should have about being 00:17:40.840 --> 00:17:46.680 rescued. Otherwise, we'll have to come up with some kind of theology that allows him to abandon 00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:53.080 us and still keep us happy. Source, God is with you. Agency, I mean, source is God, but through 00:17:53.080 --> 00:17:59.080 what agency does he make this happen? Agency, you are anointed with the Holy Spirit 00:18:03.800 --> 00:18:10.760 and power. And you are anointed with the Holy Spirit. 00:18:10.760 --> 00:18:17.320 And power. That's the agency at work. Your target is those that are harassed and oppressed by the 00:18:17.320 --> 00:18:23.640 devil. Your response is, I go around doing good, healing those that are oppressed by the devil. 00:18:23.640 --> 00:18:28.520 And oppression is not just sickness or disease. It can be misery. It can be sadness. It can be all 00:18:28.520 --> 00:18:34.360 those things mentioned in Isaiah 61. It can be brokenheartedness. It can be decay. It can be 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:40.920 being trapped. It can be being free and yet trapped. It can be all those things. But 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:47.400 that's our response because we are sent to do exactly this. Who is the source? Where does your 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:52.840 strength come from? It comes from God. Through what agency does it come? Not through prayer or 00:18:52.840 --> 00:18:58.920 fasting that helps, but it ain't the agency. The agency is the Holy Spirit. It's the Holy Spirit. 00:18:58.920 --> 00:19:04.520 Prayer or fasting that helps, but it ain't the agency. The agency is the Holy Spirit. 00:19:04.520 --> 00:19:09.880 And what has he done? He has commissioned you, selected you, separated you, anointed you with 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:18.040 what? With himself and incoming himself. He now bestows power upon me. Do I for a second doubt 00:19:18.040 --> 00:19:23.960 that as I stand here, walk, as I leave this place, as I sleep, that I am anointed? No, I don't doubt 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:29.960 that. I am anointed by God, not because I'm a pastor, but because I am a child of God. 00:19:33.320 --> 00:19:41.320 I am anointed. By whom? By the Holy Spirit. How do I know? Because he is upon me. Who says so? That 00:19:41.320 --> 00:19:48.760 God. It just is that I'm not aware of it always. I'm not convinced of it. This ain't the Old 00:19:48.760 --> 00:19:53.720 Testament where I have to sing songs like David sang when he says, cast me not away from your 00:19:53.720 --> 00:19:58.360 presence, O Lord, take not your spirit from me. He ain't going to take his spirit from me. 00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:04.120 He takes his spirit from me. I lie dead because my spirit and his spirit have become one. 00:20:06.760 --> 00:20:12.120 We'll talk about how we can be responsible so that there is an unbridled flow of God through you, 00:20:12.120 --> 00:20:16.680 touching the world, so that by the time you die, you have resurrected so many lives. 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:26.680 Any questions? 00:20:30.840 --> 00:20:35.160 Guys, if you are persuaded of this, then you will begin to proclaim it. Persuasion 00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:43.560 and proclamation. Persuasion and proclamation are key to unleashing or releasing the life of God from 00:20:43.560 --> 00:20:50.360 within you, around you. Persuasion, being persuaded of it. How can you be persuaded of it? Persuasion 00:20:50.360 --> 00:20:58.280 must be preceded by... sorry, proclamation must be preceded by persuasion. Persuasion must be 00:20:58.280 --> 00:21:04.920 preceded by you living and knowing the word. If I don't know the word, I can't be persuaded. Once 00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:13.480 I'm persuaded, I must proclaim because whatever I believe, I will confess. I will confess. 00:21:15.800 --> 00:21:20.200 Jesus's ministry was that way too. There were words of Jesus and there were works of Jesus. 00:21:20.520 --> 00:21:26.840 Words of Jesus, works of Jesus. Always went together. Words of Jesus, works of Jesus. 00:21:26.840 --> 00:21:31.320 The leper was healed. Why? Because Jesus said, I am willing. 00:21:34.600 --> 00:21:41.720 The lame man walked. Why? Because Jesus said, arise. The centurion knew that Jesus had only to 00:21:41.720 --> 00:21:50.120 speak a word. When Jesus said go, demons went. Words of Jesus, works of Jesus. 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:58.120 This is not complicated. As your persuasion grows in your heart that God is with you, 00:21:58.120 --> 00:22:03.960 you will go into situations not looking for an outcome but looking to release life. 00:22:05.400 --> 00:22:11.000 The outcome you may see, you may not see. Sometimes immediately, sometimes later. But 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:26.120 release life. He's asking, so how do you live the word? John 15, 7 puts it this way. If you abide in 00:22:26.120 --> 00:22:34.280 me and my words abide in you, then ask anything and it shall be done for you. So what does it mean? 00:22:34.280 --> 00:22:39.720 If you abide in me, as in Jacob, if you begin to live in me and my words, the words that I've spoken 00:22:39.720 --> 00:22:46.520 begin to live in you. That's how he puts it. The message puts it this way. If you are at home in me 00:22:46.520 --> 00:22:53.960 and my words are at home in you. So on one hand, it is you now walking with Christ and Christ's words 00:22:53.960 --> 00:23:05.000 becoming flesh in you. Once that happens, you are persuaded. Once you are persuaded, it is impossible 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:10.840 to stay quiet. It is not possible. Your lack of proclamation will always betray your lack of 00:23:10.840 --> 00:23:20.360 persuasion. And the words you speak will reveal your heart. Who said it? Jesus. Out of the abundance 00:23:20.360 --> 00:23:26.760 of your mouth, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. You will know. It doesn't matter 00:23:26.760 --> 00:23:31.560 how much you swear your allegiance to Christ. When I hear you, when you're not in church, I will know 00:23:31.560 --> 00:23:51.640 what you believe. How is proclamation activated? By doing what Jesus tells you to do, man. Matthew 00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:58.440 chapter 10. I love this. Read it in the message. Matthew chapter 10. If you want to see what 00:23:58.520 --> 00:24:05.720 restorers do and how easily restorers can go into work, turn to Matthew 10. 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:19.160 Matthew 10 verse 5 to 10. In the message, it reads really well. It makes it so simple. Matthew 10 00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:29.240 verse 5 to 10 in the message. I love the way he calls us harvest hands. Jesus sent his 12 00:24:29.800 --> 00:24:37.240 harvest hands out with discharge. Don't begin by traveling to some far off place to convert 00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:43.000 unbelievers. And don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to lost, 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:47.960 confused people right here in your neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here, meaning that 00:24:47.960 --> 00:24:53.480 my rule has started. Bring health to the sick, raise the dead, touch the untouchables, kick out 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:58.520 the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously. Don't think you have to put on 00:24:58.520 --> 00:25:03.400 a fundraising campaign before you start. You don't need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment. 00:25:03.400 --> 00:25:09.400 And all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light. Beautiful, eh? Let me read 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:16.040 that again. Matthew 10 verse 5 to 10 from the message. Jesus sent out his 12 harvest hands 00:25:16.040 --> 00:25:21.960 out with discharge. Don't begin by traveling to some far off place to convert unbelievers. Don't 00:25:21.960 --> 00:25:27.880 try to be dramatic by tackling some big public enemy. I threw in the big. Verse 6. Go to the lost, 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:32.680 confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health 00:25:32.680 --> 00:25:37.880 to the sick, raise the dead, touch the untouchables, kick out the demons. You have been treated 00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:42.040 generously, so live generously. Don't think you have to put on a fundraising campaign before you 00:25:42.040 --> 00:25:46.360 start. You don't need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment. And all you need to keep going is 00:25:46.360 --> 00:25:55.560 three meals a day. Travel light. Simply. So how do you begin this process? The first thing it says 00:25:55.560 --> 00:26:02.840 is go preach. Preach what? That the king is here. What will happen then? You will be forced to show 00:26:02.840 --> 00:26:14.520 evidence that the king is here. You will be forced to show evidence that the king is here. The works 00:26:14.520 --> 00:26:20.840 happen when the words are spoken. When the words happen, the words that you speak carry weight. The 00:26:20.840 --> 00:26:27.400 works happen when words are spoken. And when the works happen, your words carry weight. The works 00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:33.640 happen when the words are spoken. And when the works happen, your words carry weight. One last time. 00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:40.360 The works happen when the words are spoken. And when the works happen, your words carry weight. 00:26:43.560 --> 00:26:46.520 This is why Jesus in Luke chapter 10 verse 9 says, go 00:26:48.760 --> 00:26:52.840 heal the sick. And when you heal the sick, you can tell them that the kingdom is here. 00:26:52.840 --> 00:27:03.400 Luke 10, 9. So here is a simple way to go about this guys. It's really simple. I was astonished 00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:17.960 at the simplicity of it. 00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:35.400 Jesus expects us to make the same proclamation or announcement. And what is that announcement? 00:27:35.480 --> 00:27:53.560 The king is here. The king is here. And this is what he can do. 00:27:56.040 --> 00:28:03.320 This is very difficult. You know this. But here's what is saying. Here is what you are saying. 00:28:03.320 --> 00:28:06.040 The king is here. And then you're telling them what he can do. 00:28:08.040 --> 00:28:14.760 But to do that, there are a few things that you will have to do. One, you'll have to 00:28:15.800 --> 00:28:25.320 believe what he says. You'll have to boast. You'll have to be foolish. 00:28:25.560 --> 00:28:36.200 And the fourth one, you'll have to behave like God lives in you. 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:45.080 Okay, so let's go over that. This is the main thrust of what we want to say here. 00:28:45.080 --> 00:28:50.600 If God is with you, then it is required that you announce for the rest of your days here on earth 00:28:50.600 --> 00:28:55.800 this simple proclamation. Hey, Jesus is here. And by the way, here is what Jesus can do. 00:28:57.640 --> 00:29:03.560 But to do that, you must one, believe what he has done and what he can do. You must believe it. 00:29:04.600 --> 00:29:10.360 I can't help you with that because it is your call whether you believe it or not. Whether you 00:29:10.360 --> 00:29:15.480 mix it with a little water or milk or sugar, it's up to you. But if you want to drink it straight 00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:23.960 and strong, just believe what he says he can do. And if you believe it, then you must boast about 00:29:23.960 --> 00:29:30.360 it. You know what? Boasting is bragging. My dad is this. No, no, you think your dad is this. My dad 00:29:30.360 --> 00:29:36.920 is this. It's boasting. It's bragging on somebody. Why? Because the child is convinced that his dad 00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:47.880 is actually that. Boast. Pardon? No, there is no scripture that says that boast. But the scripture 00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:57.000 says if you boast, boast in the Lord. Yeah? If you boast, boast in the Lord. So what are you saying? 00:29:57.000 --> 00:30:02.920 Hey, guess what? Jesus can heal. Oh, you got a problem. Jesus can solve that. Oh, you got issues. 00:30:02.920 --> 00:30:07.800 Jesus can take care of that. Oh, you're being attacked by demons. Jesus can take care of that. 00:30:07.800 --> 00:30:13.400 Oh, you know, Jesus can even raise the dead. Jesus can make you happy. Really? Jesus can make you 00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:19.720 happy? Yeah. Jesus can provide you a job. The answer to everything is Jesus can do it. 00:30:23.720 --> 00:30:25.880 After you make your boast, now you're in trouble. 00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:32.360 Because now you've gone ahead and still told them what Jesus can do. 00:30:34.440 --> 00:30:41.560 Pardon? Now the pressure is on. And that then leads us to the third step, which is be foolish. 00:30:42.680 --> 00:30:47.400 What are we saying when we say be foolish? Be foolish to go ahead and do what you need to do. 00:30:47.400 --> 00:30:53.960 Be foolish when nothing happens. Be foolish when something happens. Be foolish. Because you ain't 00:30:53.960 --> 00:30:56.920 in command of the outcome. You're only in command of what Jesus does. 00:31:00.280 --> 00:31:05.240 I decided some days ago that it doesn't matter what situation I'm going to be in, 00:31:05.240 --> 00:31:10.280 I'm going to say, hey, Jesus can do this. I mean, I would, it's like my dad can do it. 00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:15.960 You got a problem? My dad can do it. That might sound a little loud. So just stick to Jesus. 00:31:17.560 --> 00:31:22.520 Jesus can do this. Whatever your situation. Why? Because I'm convinced without a shadow of a doubt 00:31:22.520 --> 00:31:31.720 that he is a rescuer. The difference between me and someone who does not know Jesus is not in the 00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:36.440 love he has for him or me. Jesus loves them as much as he loves me. The difference is I get to 00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:42.600 reciprocate that love and I get to experience that love. That is the quality that the redeemed possess, 00:31:42.600 --> 00:31:47.880 that they get to reciprocate love and they get to experience love. But it is not that someone is 00:31:47.880 --> 00:31:54.920 loved less in the world than someone in the kingdom. We are loved equally. Therefore, he is 00:31:54.920 --> 00:32:01.880 a rescuer. But how will they know he is a rescuer if someone doesn't tell them that he is a rescuer? 00:32:01.880 --> 00:32:08.040 But how will someone tell them that he is a rescuer if someone is not sent to tell them that he's a 00:32:08.040 --> 00:32:15.560 rescuer? Romans 10. And therefore I'm saying to you, but we are all sent. We are servant hands, 00:32:15.560 --> 00:32:22.440 harvest hands. And we know the truth. Now boast on it, as in boast in the Lord. 00:32:26.600 --> 00:32:32.680 Jesus went so far as to say that when they see the works that you do, they will believe in me. 00:32:32.680 --> 00:32:39.720 Look at what he's saying. That is hard. Look at what he's saying. He's saying, 00:32:39.720 --> 00:32:45.320 you go ahead and do greater things than I am doing and at least the things I'm doing. And when you 00:32:45.320 --> 00:33:01.080 do it, they will say, our shucks gone. John 14 talks about that. So everybody here can do this. 00:33:01.080 --> 00:33:06.440 The only thing I can't determine for you is this. If you believe that Jesus does not always heal, 00:33:06.440 --> 00:33:13.960 then that's what you will be able to boast about. If you believe he does heal, then you will be able. 00:33:13.960 --> 00:33:20.440 What do you believe? I'm telling you this. Doesn't matter where we are at with our beliefs. We all 00:33:20.440 --> 00:33:25.720 believe good things in this church right now. There are good things that you believe and do not 00:33:25.720 --> 00:33:29.480 believe out of your experience. Believe out of the truth of the word. You cannot believe out of your 00:33:29.480 --> 00:33:35.320 experience. Your experience does not count. If your experience is what determines who God is, 00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:40.680 then I'm frightened of your God because your experience will color him and my experience will 00:33:40.680 --> 00:33:45.960 color him. If it is not your experience that determines God, but it's the truth in the word 00:33:45.960 --> 00:33:49.640 that determines God, then what do you believe to the extent that you believe? Because there is 00:33:49.640 --> 00:33:54.360 nobody in this church right now who does not believe good things about God. Start boasting. 00:33:54.360 --> 00:34:00.840 That is the fearful place where you begin to say, my God can do this. I am determined throughout 00:34:00.840 --> 00:34:05.640 the rest of the year in whatever situation I find myself with strangers, with people that have 00:34:05.640 --> 00:34:10.280 relationships with, with people that I'm building relationships with, that I will not wait for an 00:34:10.280 --> 00:34:16.760 opportunity someday in the future, but I will tell them now because I am, he said, and I will 00:34:16.760 --> 00:34:22.040 grab an opportunity and say, oh yeah, my God can help you. Not my God, Jesus can help you because 00:34:22.040 --> 00:34:27.560 he's helped many that I know and he's helped me. And there begins the story. Whether they accept it 00:34:27.560 --> 00:34:32.280 or reject it is something that I'll have to live with, but my boast will not be silent because if 00:34:32.280 --> 00:34:40.600 I don't cry out then the stones will, not the ones who are stones, stones will cry out. Man, 00:34:40.600 --> 00:34:50.200 you're really going with this marijuana ban thing, eh? Sheldon. So the stones will cry out. 00:34:51.640 --> 00:34:59.720 The stones will cry out. And then after I boast, now comes the next step. Oh, so you think your 00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:06.200 Jesus can heal? Well, then heal me. And now comes a big step. You think your Jesus can change my 00:35:06.200 --> 00:35:10.760 situation? Well, then change my situation. Then comes a big step. And that is when you have to 00:35:10.760 --> 00:35:15.880 be non-Christianies or Christianies, depending on who you're relating to, and you've got to be 00:35:15.880 --> 00:35:21.800 foolish. And the foolishness is in two areas. One, what you're going to do because you're stepping 00:35:21.800 --> 00:35:28.760 out on a limb. Two, what if nothing happens? One is in your command, one isn't. 00:35:32.040 --> 00:35:39.080 There are two reasons why we don't see miracles. One, we never pray for them. Two, 00:35:42.040 --> 00:35:46.600 people in this part of the world have many other places to go to before they seek a miracle. 00:35:46.600 --> 00:35:52.600 When you don't have money, there are banks, there are lines of credit, there's your credit card, 00:35:52.600 --> 00:35:58.200 there are friends, there are loan sharks, or there's money under your mattress. So there are 00:35:58.200 --> 00:36:03.640 different places you go to for money. But in a world where there are no such opportunities, 00:36:03.640 --> 00:36:09.400 the simple will turn to God and cry out. And they'll open their fish, open their fridge, 00:36:09.400 --> 00:36:13.960 and there's a fish called Simon in their fridge. And they eat Simon and they open their fridge the 00:36:13.960 --> 00:36:21.080 next day and the Simon is there again. So that's one reason why miracles happen. The second reason 00:36:21.080 --> 00:36:26.280 why miracles happen often in other parts of the world, and please don't think it's in the other 00:36:26.280 --> 00:36:31.640 parts of the world, the miracles, signs, wonders will start happening in your life when it has 00:36:31.640 --> 00:36:36.760 become your constant boast and it's become your constant method of foolishness. You will see it. 00:36:36.760 --> 00:36:43.240 Attempt to think 10 times and you will see results 5 times. Attempt to think 100 times 00:36:43.240 --> 00:36:48.280 and guess how many times you're seeing the results now. 50 if everything stays the same. 00:36:48.280 --> 00:36:55.800 You know what it'll do when you see 50 miracles? You'll start calling yourself pastor. 00:37:01.400 --> 00:37:08.680 And then finally behave like God because otherwise we will end up in the same boat as those that Jesus 00:37:08.680 --> 00:37:13.640 said. Lord we did miracles in your name. We spoke in tongues in your name. We healed. We cast out 00:37:13.640 --> 00:37:20.040 demons. And what did Jesus say? I don't even know you because there is something called behavior. 00:37:20.040 --> 00:37:24.200 Because remember the works that the Holy Spirit does like miracles, signs, wonders, 00:37:24.200 --> 00:37:28.520 word of knowledge are all a disclosure of the activity of the Holy Spirit. 00:37:30.600 --> 00:37:37.080 But your behavior is the work of the Holy Spirit in you. And if the fourth one doesn't add up then 00:37:37.080 --> 00:37:41.960 people will get what they want but they will never follow the one you have just presented to them 00:37:41.960 --> 00:37:50.440 because your behavior doesn't match up. That's really all I wanted to say guys. 00:37:53.560 --> 00:37:59.000 The more responsible you are the more authority you have. The more responsible you are the more 00:37:59.000 --> 00:38:03.640 authority you have. The anointing is upon you. The Spirit of God is upon you. But authority 00:38:04.200 --> 00:38:12.840 is basically the ability to be responsible with the power that is upon you. Authority is the 00:38:12.840 --> 00:38:19.720 ability to be responsible for and with the power of God in the person or the Holy Spirit upon you. 00:38:20.280 --> 00:38:27.240 Authority is the ability to be responsible to steward the power of God present in your life 00:38:28.120 --> 00:38:35.800 by the person of the Holy Spirit. And the more I'm responsible the more I leverage my authority. 00:38:36.440 --> 00:38:43.880 The more it is legitimized. The more I leverage it. And so the more responsible you are the more you 00:38:43.880 --> 00:38:54.200 can responsibly exercise or release the power of God. And that is a constant thing we are walking 00:38:54.200 --> 00:39:01.080 towards. We're constantly moving towards that. Any questions guys? Because I'll conclude. 00:39:05.160 --> 00:39:09.960 The more responsible you are before him the greater the authority behind the proclamation 00:39:09.960 --> 00:39:15.720 and the unbridled flow of the Holy Spirit. So I'm not trying to add this up and make this sound 00:39:15.720 --> 00:39:21.640 like a Christmas message. That's like saying Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Christmas, God has 00:39:21.640 --> 00:39:28.280 come to save His people. He has come to set the captives free. He has come to forgive sinners. 00:39:28.280 --> 00:39:33.320 He has come to heal the sick. He has comepper raise the dead. He has come to drive out demons. 00:39:33.320 --> 00:39:38.360 He has come to pour out the spirit. He has come to intervene. He has come to restore. Christmas, 00:39:39.160 --> 00:39:44.200 God has come to save His people. God has come to set the captives free. God has come to forgive 00:39:44.200 --> 00:39:49.320 sinners. God has come to heal the sick. God has come to raise the dead. God has come to drive 00:39:49.320 --> 00:39:54.080 out demons. God has come to pour out the spirit. God has come to intervene. God has come to 00:39:54.080 --> 00:40:01.520 restore. Just think of that again, eh? Christmas? God has come to save his people. God has come 00:40:01.520 --> 00:40:05.800 to set the captives free. God has come to forgive sinners. God has come to heal the 00:40:05.800 --> 00:40:10.080 sick. God has come to raise the dead. God has come to drive out demons. God has come 00:40:10.080 --> 00:40:18.840 to pour out his spirit. God has come to intervene. God has come to restore. 00:40:18.840 --> 00:40:28.760 Through whom? Us. By the agency of the spirit. We cannot back down from this. John 1, 4 put 00:40:28.760 --> 00:40:41.160 it this way. And he was the light of man and he was life. And that light has come into 00:40:41.160 --> 00:40:52.080 the world. And the darkness cannot, has not overcome it. The darkness has not overcome 00:40:52.080 --> 00:41:03.480 it. It cannot. The light in me, the life in me of God, no darkness can overcome. No darkness 00:41:03.480 --> 00:41:17.160 can overcome. Now when we start doing this, and I pray God that we do it, any questions 00:41:17.160 --> 00:41:26.680 guys? Any questions? I'm done. Any questions? Is this difficult? Yes. Which part? The boasting 00:41:26.680 --> 00:41:31.080 because you know after boasting you'll have to be foolish. That's the difficult part. 00:41:31.080 --> 00:41:38.480 The believing is completely up to you. There's nothing anybody can do to force you to believe. 00:41:38.480 --> 00:41:46.000 Even Jesus can't force you to believe. No one can force you to believe. You believe 00:41:46.000 --> 00:41:53.920 what you think you want to believe. But if it ain't the truth, it ain't going to help. 00:41:54.760 --> 00:42:10.720 gravity, try it. Come to my place. It's on the 20th floor. But let me know. So what you 00:42:10.720 --> 00:42:19.840 believe no one can determine. Boast. Boast man. Boast. Your boasting gets louder when 00:42:19.840 --> 00:42:36.400 your belief is solid. Be foolish. When I go for these pastors retreats, I know that 00:42:36.400 --> 00:42:43.240 most pastors can't play ping pong because ping pong is not a common Canadian thing. 00:42:43.240 --> 00:42:49.800 So when I go for these pastors retreats, there's a table tennis board at the retreat center. 00:42:50.760 --> 00:42:55.480 So I'll start boasting. Hey, anybody wants to play ping pong? Because this is one game 00:42:55.480 --> 00:43:02.280 I can beat them all at. And so I'm so confident and persuaded of my belief that I'm good at 00:43:02.280 --> 00:43:08.640 ping pong that I'll challenge anyone man. And so I'll start boasting. I'll start needling 00:43:08.640 --> 00:43:14.680 them, forcing them to play me because this is one game I can beat most pastors at. And 00:43:14.680 --> 00:43:23.480 so my boast is so strong because I believe I'm good at it. And then next thing is, okay, 00:43:23.480 --> 00:43:30.960 now that you boasted, show them be foolish. And then there was this guy called Ryan who 00:43:30.960 --> 00:43:40.320 became the pastor at Ebenezer Baptist. I didn't know he was really good. I played seven games 00:43:40.320 --> 00:43:45.480 and I got beaten in all seven. But that's the outcome. Be foolish. There's nothing you 00:43:45.480 --> 00:43:54.120 can do about it. Be foolish and finally behave like God lives in you. After you get beat, 00:43:54.120 --> 00:43:58.320 even though you want to throttle him, walk away with your hands in your pockets and say 00:43:58.320 --> 00:44:05.120 nice things as good game. Walk away. 00:44:05.120 --> 00:44:14.680 All righty. Let's just pray. Father, this is easy. I know it can be done by us. I just 00:44:14.680 --> 00:44:20.360 pray that we take these four things. What do we believe? Am I willing to boast about 00:44:20.360 --> 00:44:26.040 it? As in Jesus can do this. Jesus can do this. Am I willing to boast about it? If I 00:44:26.040 --> 00:44:31.160 boast it, I will be put in a place where I will have to be foolish. When I'm foolish, 00:44:31.160 --> 00:44:37.320 you always show off because foolishness provokes you. Foolishness provokes you. Foolishness 00:44:37.320 --> 00:44:45.200 provokes you. Joshua was foolish. Noah was foolish. David was foolish. Paul was foolish. 00:44:45.200 --> 00:44:54.240 Peter was foolish. Foolishness provokes you. And then Father, people will know the rescuer, 00:44:54.240 --> 00:45:02.360 not just hear about the rescuer. Now that you have seen what my God can do, repent, 00:45:02.360 --> 00:45:03.200 change your heart.