WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Running with Horses - Part 2 Publishing Date: 2024-06-16T06:00:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/running-with-horses-part-2/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:18.800 We sent this off in an email so it'll be 28 from 6 to 9 p.m. and it'll be at Emmanuel 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:25.200 Church on 40th and Main and then on the 29th it'll be from 9.30 to 4.30 and we'll have 00:00:25.200 --> 00:00:33.360 a barbecue at lunchtime and so I hope you can make it and the topic for the two days 00:00:33.360 --> 00:00:39.520 is Day of the Sun's Nations Foreign Inheritance. Day of the Sun's Nations Foreign Inheritance. 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:45.680 You got this email but I just thought I'll bring it to mind again, yeah? I think that's 00:00:45.680 --> 00:00:52.200 the only other announcement I had. Cool, let's go. So we were talking about running with 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:59.240 horses. We started that last week and this is part two. We said last week, Tony, just 00:01:02.400 --> 00:01:09.400 want to commend you on your passion, man. Running with horses, Jeremiah 12.5. It talks 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:16.680 about how if you have veered yourself out running with men, how will you run with the 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:30.880 horses? And so we said last week that when we talk about running with horses, it's not 00:01:30.880 --> 00:01:37.880 natural. Running with horses is not natural. Running with horses is not natural. Running 00:01:39.960 --> 00:01:46.960 with horses is not natural. Now we said everything about it is supernatural. Everything about 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:56.040 it is supernatural. That's what he said last week. We talked about it from 1 Kings 18.46 00:02:01.520 --> 00:02:07.200 where you see Elijah doing that when Ahab goes down once the rain begins. And we said 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:14.200 what is unnatural, what is unnatural is not to have an appetite for the impossible. Why? 00:02:14.200 --> 00:02:21.200 Because your God is supernatural. These were statements made last week that what is unnatural 00:02:26.920 --> 00:02:33.920 is not natural. What is unnatural is not natural. What is supernatural is not natural. What is 00:02:44.720 --> 00:02:47.880 not natural is not to have an appetite for the impossible. And we asked this question, 00:02:47.880 --> 00:02:52.880 do you and I, does this church have an appetite for the impossible? And the answer was not 00:02:52.880 --> 00:02:59.880 really. We asked the question, when was the last time we individually attempted something 00:03:00.880 --> 00:03:07.880 impossible that God had prompted or that we went asking God for? Can you give me something 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:14.720 to do that is so beyond me that I won't be able to do it? And we said we're not there. 00:03:14.720 --> 00:03:22.120 It's not our expectation. We don't expect the impossible. And so it kind of begins to 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:29.120 neuter a church. It's like beginning to dumb it down because as long as you lower your 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:36.960 expectations, faith is easy. It's the refuge of cowards. When Christians begin to lose 00:03:38.040 --> 00:03:42.480 their expectations, it's because one, it's the easiest way to then exert faith because 00:03:42.480 --> 00:03:49.480 if you lower your expectations, you don't need much faith. And we lower our expectations 00:03:50.600 --> 00:03:55.720 simply because we can't trust this God because we don't know him the way we need to and so 00:03:55.720 --> 00:04:02.720 we can't trust him. So why not lower our expectations? It's safer. And yet this God throughout the 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:10.240 pages in the Bible is supernatural, so why aren't we beginning to taste him that way? 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:17.800 Why is it that we settle for a mid-sized God? We have a mid-sized God. Any questions on 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:27.800 that before we move on? 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:39.720 Yeah. How do you distinguish between expecting the impossible and a closed door? And so where 00:04:45.960 --> 00:04:52.960 do we go to get our impossible assignments? We go to him and ask for it or we follow him 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:57.960 because we can kind of trace the steps and know where he's heading and then we don't 00:04:57.960 --> 00:05:03.760 back off. So it is important to get the impossible from him. So he's the one who then says to 00:05:03.760 --> 00:05:09.400 the 72, go and cast out demons, heal the sick. He's the one who sends them out. He says, 00:05:09.400 --> 00:05:14.440 I've given you authority. Look, chapter 10. He's the one who says to Peter, come, and 00:05:14.440 --> 00:05:19.880 the guy begins to walk on water, which he has no business doing. He's the one who says 00:05:19.880 --> 00:05:26.620 to Gideon, I need you to thin down 30,000 men to 300 men to go up against 200,000 men. 00:05:26.620 --> 00:05:32.020 So he's the one who appoints the assignment. But there must be an appetite for the impossible 00:05:32.020 --> 00:05:36.380 from a God who's supernatural. And then if the door is closed, you have the ability to 00:05:36.380 --> 00:05:43.380 persevere. Otherwise, you never know whether a door is really God or not. So once we have 00:05:45.660 --> 00:05:50.740 a desire for the impossible, it's like players, hockey players, soccer players who go up to 00:05:50.740 --> 00:05:54.980 their coach and say, coach, send me out. I know it's the last minute. I know this is 00:05:54.980 --> 00:06:01.980 the seventh game, which the Oilers won't see, but even though they won 8-1 yesterday. 00:06:04.060 --> 00:06:07.740 But it's like saying, put me out in the last minute. I know this is a critical game. Put 00:06:07.740 --> 00:06:14.740 me out there. It's asking for the impossible. There are guys who did that in the Bible. 00:06:17.900 --> 00:06:24.500 But it doesn't even come to the surface if I don't have a hunger for the supernatural 00:06:24.700 --> 00:06:31.700 and a desire for the impossible. Only then will you go and ask for it. I mean, just go 00:06:31.860 --> 00:06:38.860 to Hebrews 11, 32 or thereabouts. You'll see what the impossible looks like. I said this 00:06:39.020 --> 00:06:44.380 somewhere. We use faith for visas, money, visa, healing and job. That's what we use 00:06:44.380 --> 00:06:51.380 faith for. Now go to Hebrews chapter 11. And you'll see it's a very different set of things 00:06:52.380 --> 00:06:59.380 that they asked for. And this is perhaps what we mean by can we run with horses. Hebrews 00:07:00.140 --> 00:07:07.140 11, verse 32. What more shall I say? I do not have time to tell you about Gideon, Barak, 00:07:07.540 --> 00:07:14.540 Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets. And now listen to the list. Who through faith 00:07:15.220 --> 00:07:21.140 conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, who shut the mouths 00:07:21.140 --> 00:07:26.320 of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness 00:07:26.320 --> 00:07:30.960 was turned into strength, who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women 00:07:30.960 --> 00:07:35.220 received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released 00:07:35.220 --> 00:07:39.660 so that they may gain a better resurrection. Some faced years and flogging while others 00:07:39.660 --> 00:07:42.940 were chained and put in prison. There was stone. There was sword in two. They were put 00:07:42.940 --> 00:07:47.620 to death by the sword. But why did they step up to that? Because they knew that they were 00:07:47.620 --> 00:07:51.980 asking for the impossible. And what they would finish, even if they didn't get the outcome, 00:07:51.980 --> 00:07:58.980 would be completed by someone else. And so that's what this looks like, to go and ask 00:08:02.020 --> 00:08:05.660 for the impossible. And my hope is that as we talk about running with the horses, that 00:08:05.660 --> 00:08:11.380 you will begin to venture into asking for the impossible. Not once in a blue moon, but 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:17.380 this is a ready attitude. Gideon's men were alert. The way they drank water showed an 00:08:17.380 --> 00:08:24.380 alertness to what is to come. So in every circumstance, in every circumstance, in every 00:08:31.820 --> 00:08:37.060 circumstance when you put what God has either taught you or when you put what you've seen 00:08:37.060 --> 00:08:44.060 in the Word, in every circumstance when you practice truth, God has revealed. When you 00:08:50.500 --> 00:08:56.100 practice truth, God has revealed a few things happening in every circumstance. Like all 00:08:56.100 --> 00:08:59.980 of us are going through some circumstance or the other right now. Nobody here is without 00:08:59.980 --> 00:09:05.580 a circumstance. Strange, eh? There's not a person in the church who is not at some point 00:09:05.660 --> 00:09:11.500 during every week dealing with a circumstance that can be overwhelming, can be overpowering, 00:09:11.500 --> 00:09:15.900 can affect you emotionally, physically, mentally, financially. Nobody. Everyone's going through 00:09:15.900 --> 00:09:22.700 it in this room. Such a common denominator. And so in every circumstance, when you practice 00:09:22.700 --> 00:09:26.620 the truth that God has already revealed to you, when you put it into practice, here are 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:33.620 the things that happen. One, the impossible will begin to look logical. The impossible 00:09:35.820 --> 00:09:42.580 will begin to look crazy, eh? The impossible will begin to look logical. You think someone 00:09:42.580 --> 00:09:48.260 laying hands on you, laying their pudgy, dirty hands on you, not even cleaned with sanitizer 00:09:48.260 --> 00:09:54.560 anymore, and you come up and they put their pudgy hands on you and you are dumb enough 00:09:54.560 --> 00:09:59.140 to think that if they put their hands on you and pray you're going to get healed. How dumb 00:09:59.140 --> 00:10:04.740 is that? And yet, as we begin to put into practice the Word that God has revealed to 00:10:04.740 --> 00:10:11.740 us, the impossible becomes logical. The impossible becomes logical. It's very logical for believers 00:10:14.540 --> 00:10:21.540 to expect that when you lay hands, one will be healed. I've expected it for 32 years 00:10:21.540 --> 00:10:28.540 now, and I've never been disappointed. And the same experience for many of you. 32 years, 00:10:28.540 --> 00:10:35.220 man. Every time I've been sick, I've asked someone to lay hands and they've prayed for 00:10:35.220 --> 00:10:40.380 me and I've been healed. And I've never had to ever go to the doctor or take medicines. 00:10:40.380 --> 00:10:46.980 Not because I'm against medicine. My sister and brother-in-law are doctors. They recommend 00:10:46.980 --> 00:10:51.580 medicine. I drive people to the hospital. But somehow, in this one area, the truth has 00:10:51.580 --> 00:10:58.580 gone deep enough. And it's different for different people. For you, it might be in 00:10:59.740 --> 00:11:03.660 the area of finances where you seem to have such a confidence in God because you're put 00:11:03.660 --> 00:11:10.660 to practice the Word of Truth. It's become logical for you to expect the impossible. 00:11:11.900 --> 00:11:18.900 For different people, it's different things. So, in every circumstance, when you practice 00:11:21.780 --> 00:11:28.780 the truth God has revealed, the impossible begins to become logical. Two, your area of 00:11:29.380 --> 00:11:36.380 faith expands. Your area of faith expands. As in, in the area that you now are so familiar 00:11:39.140 --> 00:11:43.180 with the truth of God where you're beginning to think it's logical even though it's impossible, 00:11:43.180 --> 00:11:48.580 your faith begins to expand. You are willing to take bigger risks. You're not easily phased 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:55.580 by circumstances. And thirdly, in those circumstances, you begin to respond like Jesus. You begin 00:11:57.660 --> 00:12:03.460 to respond. Your first response. Your first response. That usually tells you where someone's 00:12:03.460 --> 00:12:10.460 at. Your first response is like Jesus. And you begin to do the works. You begin to do 00:12:11.260 --> 00:12:15.500 the works. You begin to do the works of the kingdom. You begin to do the works of the 00:12:15.500 --> 00:12:22.500 king in any circumstance. These things happen when you put some truths that you've learned 00:12:26.780 --> 00:12:33.700 into practice. Some people can be super restful. You throw them into a situation and they just 00:12:33.700 --> 00:12:40.700 refuse to panic. How come? Any questions on this? This kind of Christianity is not easy. 00:12:50.260 --> 00:12:54.500 You can only do two things with this kind of Christianity. You can mock it and say, 00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:58.820 eh, doesn't work. That's the easiest way out because then you don't even have to try it. 00:12:58.820 --> 00:13:05.820 Or you'll have to take this up and train yourself, which is so difficult. One is more honest 00:13:09.980 --> 00:13:16.980 than the other. Any questions? Go ahead, Jill. 00:13:28.820 --> 00:13:35.820 Yeah, so Jill's question is when people come and pray for you and you get healed, what 00:13:41.260 --> 00:13:44.460 is it that makes it happen for you? What do you think is that one thing? Maybe you don't 00:13:44.460 --> 00:13:49.660 know. My thing is at some point when I first began Christianity, I was exposed to a whole 00:13:49.660 --> 00:13:55.420 lot of people who thought it was real and I didn't know better. And so I just began 00:13:55.420 --> 00:14:01.180 to like God as a healer and think he is one. And so in that area of my life, I seem quite 00:14:01.180 --> 00:14:06.380 sure about him. I may not have the same surety when it comes to provision. I may not have 00:14:06.380 --> 00:14:11.300 the same surety when it comes to guidance. But in that area, I seem to think, yeah, that's 00:14:11.300 --> 00:14:18.180 who he is. You become sure of a certain area of someone's life. And all of us have those 00:14:18.180 --> 00:14:23.700 areas that you know God a certain way in that area, better than most people. And part of 00:14:23.780 --> 00:14:27.940 it is because he revealed himself that way to you. It's not that you discovered it. He 00:14:27.940 --> 00:14:33.340 said, sure, you can know me, but let me show you one facet of mine that others don't know. 00:14:33.340 --> 00:14:37.000 Children have this. If you're a parent with three or more kids, there'll be kids who know 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:41.660 a certain part of you better than others. They know that you wake up at two in the night 00:14:41.660 --> 00:14:48.660 to go steal cake from the fridge and they're there. They know certain things about you. 00:14:49.420 --> 00:14:56.420 And the father deliberately reveals it to you. What was John's speciality? He was intimate 00:14:56.540 --> 00:15:03.540 with Jesus. You see it through all his writings. What is Peter's speciality? He knew how to 00:15:04.060 --> 00:15:09.980 walk in faith and blurt out faith before he walked in it, even if he failed. What was 00:15:09.980 --> 00:15:16.980 Paul's speciality? He loved the mind of Christ. He loved the mind of Christ. He loved the 00:15:18.660 --> 00:15:25.660 mind of Christ. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes it's not even important, but because the Bible 00:15:31.740 --> 00:15:36.900 says, is anyone sick among you? Go ask for the elders and let them pray for you and a 00:15:36.900 --> 00:15:43.900 prayer of faith will heal. And so sometimes you don't have that option. You can ask for 00:15:44.900 --> 00:15:50.620 prayer for yourself, but when that option is available, it makes me dependent upon you. 00:15:50.620 --> 00:15:57.620 And sometimes God will have me dependent upon you so that when you pray, I'll get healed. 00:15:57.980 --> 00:16:04.980 He loves me being dependent on you. And because the Bible says, go and ask. And so then I 00:16:06.020 --> 00:16:11.940 come and ask. Like it was last week, Heidi and Jeremy were praying here and my shoulders 00:16:12.020 --> 00:16:15.700 were hurting like crazy. And so I went and asked them to pray. It's not that I can't 00:16:15.700 --> 00:16:19.580 pray for myself, but I may be dependent upon them because sometimes that's what I need 00:16:19.580 --> 00:16:26.580 to do because the Bible prescribes it. No, it's me saying, hey, Heidi, Jeremy, I have 00:16:28.860 --> 00:16:33.100 the humility to come and ask you for prayer. I know God heals, but I want you to, because 00:16:33.100 --> 00:16:37.300 the Bible says, call for the elders and they lay hands on you and the prayer of faith will 00:16:37.460 --> 00:16:44.460 heal you. So that's what I felt prompted to go and ask. And it requires humility, at least 00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:48.460 on my part it did, because I'm the pastor, I have faith for healing, so why do I need 00:16:48.460 --> 00:16:55.460 you? That can send me down another path. And then Heidi texted me the next day saying, 00:16:55.700 --> 00:17:02.700 how's your shoulder? And I texted her back saying, can't believe how much it has improved. 00:17:07.300 --> 00:17:14.300 If you don't move into the experience, if you don't practice, if you don't practice 00:17:15.900 --> 00:17:22.900 the truth revealed, if you don't practice the truth revealed, it rusts. It rusts, as 00:17:26.660 --> 00:17:33.660 in you never unlock its power. Because when it comes to the Bible, hearing ain't enough. 00:17:38.300 --> 00:17:45.300 The truth. Sorry, it's got an extra E. Oh my God, you're being too finicky. There's 00:17:50.180 --> 00:17:57.180 another E there. If you don't practice the truth that is revealed to you, I thought you 00:17:57.180 --> 00:18:02.980 know how to fill the gaps. If you don't practice the truth that is revealed to you, it rusts. 00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:07.220 You never unlock its power, because hearing ain't enough, and I know I've spelt enough 00:18:07.220 --> 00:18:14.220 wrong, so don't pick on that, Karen. Hearing ain't enough, you must do. And if you don't 00:18:20.020 --> 00:18:25.660 and it's just locked in your head, then you even begin to pretend like you know the truth. 00:18:25.660 --> 00:18:29.900 You don't know the truth until it's put into practice. You do not know the truth until 00:18:29.900 --> 00:18:35.260 it's put into practice. The knowledge of the truth without actual practice of the truth 00:18:35.260 --> 00:18:42.260 is not real. And when we put the truth into practice, sometimes you don't get 100% results 00:18:43.060 --> 00:18:50.060 and that's okay. If you notice, when I said, Heidi texted me the next day, what was my 00:18:50.060 --> 00:18:57.060 response? I told Heidi, man, you have no idea how much it has improved, which means what? 00:19:00.300 --> 00:19:07.300 Which means it's not all gone. But that should never stop you from thinking this thing doesn't 00:19:07.820 --> 00:19:14.820 work, because I have and you have and we have heard enough testimonies where things went 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:22.460 instantly. But if you don't try it, we'll never get to the next level of maturity. You 00:19:26.340 --> 00:19:33.340 mature by trying out the truth, by practicing the truth, and you begin to see results. Questions? 00:19:33.340 --> 00:19:40.340 This one's perfect. This one's still, yeah, it's still aching. Alrighty, shall we move 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:59.460 on and put the attention somewhere else? It's all Heidi and Jeremy's fault, really. When 00:20:00.460 --> 00:20:06.140 you experiment with the word, you may not get 100% right, but you will grow into a greater 00:20:06.140 --> 00:20:11.060 maturity, which you wouldn't otherwise have. So here was a question we ended with last 00:20:11.060 --> 00:20:18.060 week. What do you do with disappointment? What do you do, what do you do with disappointment 00:20:18.060 --> 00:20:25.060 at how things didn't work out even though you prayed, with seeming failure, with resentment 00:20:36.660 --> 00:20:43.660 because God didn't fix things? Sometimes we get gun shy where you tried it once, it didn't 00:20:43.660 --> 00:20:50.660 work, and so you want to quit. What do you do with all that? It's real, eh? It's real. 00:20:53.180 --> 00:20:59.060 There's nobody in this room who hasn't been through it. You prayed and prayed that things 00:20:59.060 --> 00:21:02.620 would stay together and they broke apart. You prayed and prayed that someone would live 00:21:02.620 --> 00:21:08.620 and they died. You prayed and prayed that someone would change, but they didn't. You 00:21:08.620 --> 00:21:13.580 prayed and prayed. And then the other question we asked, which is such a mind-numbing question 00:21:13.580 --> 00:21:19.880 because there's no answer to that, is why couldn't God prevent it? That just eats your 00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:26.500 head sometimes. Well, he has all the power, why couldn't he have just stopped it? So these 00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:31.340 questions are natural. I don't know if they are legitimate, but they are natural. And 00:21:31.340 --> 00:21:38.340 so we have to figure a way around it. So here are some underlying principles. And I'm not 00:21:38.340 --> 00:21:43.340 going to give you answers like, oh, there's nothing we can do if people make up their 00:21:43.340 --> 00:21:47.340 minds at all. You know all that stuff. And it is true. If I'm praying for you to walk 00:21:47.340 --> 00:21:52.340 through that door, because I know behind that door is this amazing guy waiting there and 00:21:52.340 --> 00:21:58.340 he's going to marry you, and instead you insist on walking through this door, there's nothing 00:21:58.340 --> 00:22:02.340 I can do about it. I can pray, Father, let them choose the door on my left for that guy 00:22:02.340 --> 00:22:07.340 who's waiting there ready for her, and you just walk through that door, and you just 00:22:08.340 --> 00:22:12.340 insist on walking through this door, there's nothing I can do about it. Those are choices 00:22:12.340 --> 00:22:17.340 you make. God does not force your mind. He doesn't make you choose stuff. So those answers 00:22:17.340 --> 00:22:21.340 we'll deal with another time. And if you're leaving through this door, I just want to 00:22:21.340 --> 00:22:25.340 tell you there's nobody behind that door. It was just an example. My God, half the Trinity 00:22:25.340 --> 00:22:36.340 Western University students were about to get up. So those are not what we are talking 00:22:37.340 --> 00:22:43.340 about. We are talking about other principles that we can use. Let's go to Matthew 14, 10 00:22:43.340 --> 00:22:52.340 to 13. Matthew 14, 10 to 13. This is perhaps where we need to start. Matthew 14, 10 to 00:22:52.340 --> 00:23:07.340 13. Here's what it says. It says, The king was distressed, starting at nine. The king 00:23:07.340 --> 00:23:12.340 was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request 00:23:12.340 --> 00:23:19.340 be granted, and had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter, and 00:23:20.340 --> 00:23:26.340 given to the girl who carried it to her mother. John's disciples came and took his body and 00:23:26.340 --> 00:23:33.340 buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew 00:23:33.340 --> 00:23:39.340 by boat privately to a solitary place. When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew 00:23:39.340 --> 00:23:45.340 by boat privately to a solitary place. Guys, one of the things that must happen when something 00:23:45.340 --> 00:23:50.340 dies and does not live, or something that you so expected is breaking down, something 00:23:50.340 --> 00:23:54.340 is not working, is the first thing that you need to do that will protect you for years 00:23:54.340 --> 00:24:00.340 on end throughout your life, is the ability to go up the mountain and have an honest discussion 00:24:00.340 --> 00:24:07.340 with God. An honest discussion with God. Not a five minute prayer. A soul bearing, soul 00:24:07.340 --> 00:24:12.340 rending discussion with God. What does Jesus do the moment he hears that John the Baptist 00:24:12.340 --> 00:24:17.340 is dead? John the Baptist was his cousin. They probably played together before John 00:24:17.340 --> 00:24:24.340 disappeared into the desert. John was precious to Jesus. He spoke of him as the ultimate 00:24:24.340 --> 00:24:28.340 man on the face of the earth. He said there is no greater man than John, and now he hears 00:24:28.340 --> 00:24:32.340 of his death. What does he do? He's with his disciples, but he withdraws and he goes up 00:24:32.340 --> 00:24:36.340 the mountain. It is critical that I do it. When I go up the mountain, it's not to go 00:24:36.340 --> 00:24:42.340 down on my knees and pray for rain or pray a beautiful prayer. It is to be gut-wrenching 00:24:42.340 --> 00:24:50.340 in your prayer. Oh God, you let me down, but this I know that you do not fail. How we do 00:24:50.340 --> 00:25:05.340 this is to put adoration on one side, confession of who he is on the other side, and in this 00:25:05.340 --> 00:25:16.340 gap, you have honest heart conversations. We have to learn this. If you don't learn 00:25:16.340 --> 00:25:23.340 this, we will end up being religious Christians who, within our hearts, resent God, but with 00:25:23.340 --> 00:25:33.340 our mouth, give him lip service. This requires time though. To go up and say, Oh God, I bless 00:25:33.340 --> 00:25:39.340 your name because you are worthy to be blessed, but why did you let me down? Why weren't you 00:25:39.340 --> 00:25:46.340 there? Why could you not stop it? I feel like you ripped my heart out. I feel like you failed 00:25:46.340 --> 00:25:53.340 me. I feel disappointed. These are my feelings, but this I know that you, oh God, are true. 00:25:53.340 --> 00:25:58.340 You, oh God, are faithful. How do I know this? Because I've read long enough, I've lived 00:25:58.340 --> 00:26:04.340 long enough, I've experienced it differently. This I know. You are caught between these 00:26:04.340 --> 00:26:08.340 two tensions. The one adoring him saying, I come to you, that you allow me to talk to 00:26:08.340 --> 00:26:12.340 you like this is a big deal. I can't talk like this to my dad, to my teacher, to my 00:26:12.340 --> 00:26:16.340 principal, to the prime minister. I can't talk to the pastor like this. I can't even 00:26:16.340 --> 00:26:21.340 talk to my dog like this. It will bite me, but I get to talk to you like this. It's caught 00:26:21.340 --> 00:26:27.340 between adoration and the confession of who he is, and in between, you start rending your 00:26:27.340 --> 00:26:32.340 heart, and you begin to speak like David, as David spoke to the Lord. Every psalm you 00:26:32.340 --> 00:26:38.340 read is the result of David's cry to the Lord, and those cries are real. A man who does 00:26:38.340 --> 00:26:42.340 not know, or a woman who does not know how to cry that, and wants to withdraw and sit 00:26:42.340 --> 00:26:53.340 and say, oh God is terrible, don't fool yourself. I want to tell you that it's very disingenuous. 00:26:53.340 --> 00:27:04.340 This God can handle your complaints. Start there. That's what Jesus went and did. That's 00:27:04.340 --> 00:27:10.340 what David would do. That's what Moses would do. That's what Jeremiah would do. He got 00:27:10.340 --> 00:27:19.340 the privilege of writing a whole lot of chapters like that, man. Any questions before we go 00:27:19.340 --> 00:27:28.340 on? This is real. It's biblical. Any questions before we go on? I must meet the one who can 00:27:28.340 --> 00:27:35.340 heal my brokenness. I must take time to climb the mountain, and it's not a five minute prayer. 00:27:35.340 --> 00:27:43.340 Ours is a five minute prayer. Oh God, I wanted this. You let me down, and I praise your name. 00:27:43.340 --> 00:27:58.340 It should be so heartfelt. Yeah, complaining becomes sin when I forget who you are. I can 00:27:58.340 --> 00:28:02.340 come and complain, Jill you did this, Jill you did that, Jill you did this, but the moment 00:28:02.340 --> 00:28:10.340 I go from Jill you did this to Jill, you're just so short that I can't talk to you kind 00:28:10.340 --> 00:28:17.340 of a thing. Now I'm going into a place where it's not true anymore. Complaining goes into 00:28:17.340 --> 00:28:24.340 lies. Complaining goes into an evil place when you begin to lose focus of who he actually 00:28:24.340 --> 00:28:31.340 is. That's when complaining goes out of the window. Till then, it's kosher. And he loves 00:28:31.340 --> 00:28:36.340 it. In Isaiah 42 he says, hey, come and reason with me. Come and contend with me. Tell me 00:28:36.340 --> 00:28:51.340 what your argument is. Who does that, man? That's where we start. Take time, eh? When 00:28:51.340 --> 00:28:56.340 you have a problem like this, you need to take time. Do not go praying. Praying is very 00:28:56.340 --> 00:29:09.340 Christian. And if you do this, then on the mountain you will recognize his presence invariably 00:29:09.340 --> 00:29:15.340 and his voice. He'll speak to you somehow. You don't need to figure out how. And once 00:29:15.340 --> 00:29:31.340 that happens, you are ready to run with horses. Any questions on that? You've got to try this. 00:29:31.340 --> 00:29:37.340 Take your present circumstance. And don't try to solve it in one shot. Psalm 42 continues 00:29:37.340 --> 00:29:47.340 into Psalm 43. Find someone else to climb the mountain with you. Take someone along. 00:29:47.340 --> 00:29:54.340 Sometimes all I need is someone's help to get going just to begin the hearing. Take someone 00:29:54.340 --> 00:30:19.340 with you. Someone who can climb. Any questions? If it... Yeah. You can model it because can 00:30:19.340 --> 00:30:26.340 we model doing this for other people? Yeah. Man, how did Moses, how did Joshua learn? 00:30:26.340 --> 00:30:32.340 He saw Moses modeling it. How did Isaac learn? He saw Abraham modeling it. How did the disciples 00:30:32.340 --> 00:30:36.340 learn? They would wake up in the morning and Jesus would have disappeared. Why? Because 00:30:36.340 --> 00:30:43.340 he's gone up some mountain to pray. How did Timothy learn it? Paul says he learned it 00:30:43.340 --> 00:30:51.340 through imitating me. I've said this to you before in Bahrain when I first would go to 00:30:51.340 --> 00:30:59.340 this little U.S. chapel. There'd be a guy called Sid Spain. You get there early and 00:30:59.340 --> 00:31:02.340 Sid Spain would be talking to somebody and then you get in there and you realize there's 00:31:02.340 --> 00:31:07.340 no one in the room. And he's been talking to God but it sounds so intimate and so real. 00:31:07.340 --> 00:31:11.340 You think, oh shucks, he must be talking to a real person. That's when I first thought 00:31:11.340 --> 00:31:18.340 him as a... Gosh, this is a strange relationship to have with an invisible God. One of the 00:31:18.340 --> 00:31:25.340 things we should do publicly is model your relationship with God. It's critical that 00:31:25.340 --> 00:31:29.340 we model our relationship with God because nobody knows God as Father. There are people 00:31:29.340 --> 00:31:34.340 sitting here who haven't approached him as Father. But to be able to model him as the 00:31:34.340 --> 00:31:40.340 Father and talk to him as one would talk to the Father, that's different. Do things publicly. 00:31:40.340 --> 00:31:45.340 In the areas that you're good at, where you suck, don't do anything yet. 00:32:04.340 --> 00:32:07.340 Megan, is that a question or is that your hair? 00:32:10.340 --> 00:32:28.340 Second, here are some verses that tell you God's intent. Here are some verses that tell 00:32:28.340 --> 00:32:48.340 you God's 24-7 intent when it comes to the impossible. These verses govern what he does. 00:32:48.340 --> 00:32:58.340 The first one is Revelation 21 verse 5. It simply says, behold, I'm making all things 00:32:58.340 --> 00:33:06.340 new. Every miracle, every sign, every wonder, every impossible thing that you attempt, especially 00:33:06.340 --> 00:33:10.340 when it's for the sake of someone else or when it is something you want to do for the 00:33:10.340 --> 00:33:15.340 sake of someone else, every one of them should be towards one simple end. It's the same end 00:33:15.340 --> 00:33:22.340 as Christ. I want to make things new. Is someone's body broken? I want to make things new. Does 00:33:22.340 --> 00:33:31.340 someone have a problem with different areas of your life? I want to make something new. 00:33:31.340 --> 00:33:39.340 Remember this thing forever. God never ceases from wanting to make things new. Never. He's 00:33:39.340 --> 00:33:44.340 always trying to make things new. He won't force our will, but he will do everything 00:33:44.340 --> 00:33:51.340 to bring you to that point where you can choose. He wants to make things new, with you and 00:33:51.340 --> 00:34:00.340 through you. You can't let go of this, see? This is where the earth begins to shape our 00:34:00.340 --> 00:34:06.340 thinking, where we compromise and settle for decay is okay, middle of the road is okay. 00:34:06.340 --> 00:34:10.340 He's always wanting to make things new. It will never be consummated till the end when 00:34:10.340 --> 00:34:15.340 he arrives and then everything in a second is made new, but he's always in the process. 00:34:15.340 --> 00:34:23.340 Why does he save people so that he can make them new? Why does he heal people so that 00:34:23.340 --> 00:34:27.340 he can make their bodies new? Why does he provide for people? All those names we sang, 00:34:27.340 --> 00:34:36.340 Jehovah-Nissi, Jaira, Shalom, Rapha. Why? In the area where things need to be made new, 00:34:36.340 --> 00:34:43.340 have the guts to try it. Some things we don't even need to ask God, because Mark 16, 16-18 00:34:43.340 --> 00:34:56.340 says this, Luke 7-22 says it. Isaiah 61 says it. We don't need to ask in those cases. And 00:34:56.340 --> 00:35:04.340 as long as you're not the centerpiece, it's okay being foolish. So first one is Revelation 00:35:04.340 --> 00:35:16.340 21 verse 5. The next one is Hebrews 13 verse 8. Hebrews 13 verse 8, which is what? Jesus 00:35:16.340 --> 00:35:24.340 Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. I have to believe that Christ is still the 00:35:24.340 --> 00:35:36.340 same. That he's not locked up within the Bible. That he's not locked up in the Bible. First 00:35:36.340 --> 00:35:40.340 time I saw someone getting healed, I realized a shucks that Jesus isn't locked up in the 00:35:40.340 --> 00:35:52.340 Bible. He still does the same thing. Time to show. Show and tell, guys. And so that's 00:35:52.340 --> 00:35:58.340 the second verse. He has not changed. And so keep attempting things where he's already 00:35:58.340 --> 00:36:04.340 given us permission for. John 14-12. Because we've got to think like this. It's very hard 00:36:04.340 --> 00:36:08.340 to think like this because we are scared. At least I'm scared. Do you think that when 00:36:08.340 --> 00:36:14.340 a person comes to you with a sickness that you have to ask God whether it's God's desire 00:36:14.340 --> 00:36:26.340 to make the person better? Are there clauses and catches to Yahweh Rapha? Why isn't it 00:36:26.340 --> 00:36:32.340 happening? Ask that question after you pray. But not before. Because there are enough ways 00:36:32.340 --> 00:36:41.340 to discourage us anyways. Why bring our own list to the game? But certain things are given 00:36:41.340 --> 00:36:48.340 to us. We must try. What, 80 of us here? Let 80 of us try it and only 20 succeed. You know 00:36:48.340 --> 00:36:59.340 what that'll do to us? It'll blow our minds and our socks. So scared to try it. Why are 00:36:59.340 --> 00:37:07.340 we scared? Because we think it'll reflect badly on ourselves. And because we don't think 00:37:07.340 --> 00:37:13.340 God can pull it off. Because we haven't seen it. All legitimate reasons. One has to overcome 00:37:13.340 --> 00:37:19.340 it bit by bit by bit by bit. And you only overcome things by trying them again and again 00:37:19.340 --> 00:37:41.340 and again and again. That went down like a tuna sandwich. And then let me add two other 00:37:41.340 --> 00:37:51.340 scriptures to it. Isaiah 61. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. Spirit of the Lord is 00:37:51.340 --> 00:37:59.340 upon me. To do what? Open the eyes of the blind. Preach the good news to the poor. Heal 00:37:59.340 --> 00:38:05.340 the broken hearted. Set the prisoner free. Bring people into liberty. To turn mourning 00:38:05.340 --> 00:38:13.340 into dancing. Heaviness into praise. Ashes into beauty. The Spirit of the Lord is upon 00:38:13.340 --> 00:38:25.340 me. Either he is or he is not. Either he is or he is not. Is he? Occasionally say a yes 00:38:25.340 --> 00:38:37.340 or a no. I won't be put off by that. Is he? Is he? Is he? Or was Isaiah 61 1-5 only meant 00:38:37.340 --> 00:39:03.340 for Jesus and nobody else? How do we step into the impossible? By losing my fear of 00:39:03.340 --> 00:39:27.340 failing and making God look weak, promise breaker, pathetic, unreliable, and bad. 00:39:33.340 --> 00:39:39.340 Think of this for a second. Luke chapter 10. He called 72 to him and he sent them out 00:39:39.340 --> 00:39:46.340 two by two saying, I give you authority to go and do the things like casting out demons, 00:39:46.340 --> 00:39:54.340 healing the sick. You think they didn't have this problem? You think they weren't afraid? 00:39:54.340 --> 00:40:00.340 He wasn't going with them. They didn't understand the power of the Spirit because they didn't 00:40:00.340 --> 00:40:09.340 have the Holy Spirit living in them. They didn't have the Holy Spirit living in them. 00:40:09.340 --> 00:40:13.340 But he sends them out two by two and then they go and try it. You think they were successful 00:40:13.340 --> 00:40:21.340 everywhere? Perhaps. I don't know. But go out two by two. Don't try this even alone. Go 00:40:21.340 --> 00:40:27.340 two by two. It somehow does something very helpful when there are two of you that go 00:40:27.340 --> 00:40:32.340 and do this because one covers the other's deficiencies. One sees what the other is not 00:40:32.340 --> 00:40:40.340 seeing. Find a partner in this big church who is better than you. Isn't it great when 00:40:40.340 --> 00:40:46.340 two people look for ones better than them and they find each other? And don't tell 00:40:46.340 --> 00:40:56.340 them that I think you're better than me. And go with them. The tension is how much should 00:40:56.340 --> 00:41:02.340 one train before going? And the other is how much should we not send out people to 00:41:02.340 --> 00:41:06.340 go and do these things when they have got zero clue of what they're doing? You can't 00:41:06.340 --> 00:41:13.340 drive darkness out of someone when you have darkness in you. Doesn't work. Whose words 00:41:13.340 --> 00:41:22.340 are these? Jesus' words, not mine. So yes, those are the places where sometimes you have 00:41:22.340 --> 00:41:42.340 to be cautious. But otherwise, two by two. Try it. Yeah, I can't. The great thing about 00:41:42.340 --> 00:41:49.340 this is I don't have to defend God or defend what I can't understand. Refuse to 00:41:49.340 --> 00:41:53.340 apologize when things don't work. You know, I think it's because of this. You don't 00:41:53.340 --> 00:42:00.340 know. If you know, tell us. But if you don't know, don't hazard a guess. If you are sick 00:42:00.340 --> 00:42:04.340 and you're praying for people and they're recovering, thank God they're recovering. 00:42:04.340 --> 00:42:09.340 Go find someone who can pray for you. If your dad is dying and you go pray for other dads 00:42:09.340 --> 00:42:16.340 and they're recovering, praise God. Some people have their dads alive while yours died. I'm 00:42:16.340 --> 00:42:22.340 not being dismissive. That happened to me. It sucks, but I also know what happens on 00:42:22.340 --> 00:42:29.340 the other side. These guys, when they went out two by two, they did not have the Holy 00:42:29.340 --> 00:42:33.340 Spirit residing in them. They did not know the scriptures well. Why? Because they were 00:42:33.340 --> 00:42:42.340 blooming fishermen who didn't go to school. Their rabbi didn't even go with them. And 00:42:42.340 --> 00:42:45.340 then they go out and they come back rejoicing saying, this happened, this happened, this 00:42:45.340 --> 00:43:07.340 happened. We will hear that if we do. Yep. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Brilliant. You still need 00:43:07.340 --> 00:43:14.340 to be sent. You still need to be sent. He sent the 72 out saying, I give you authority. 00:43:14.340 --> 00:43:19.340 And now he wants the body to send you out saying, hey, go in the authority that Christ 00:43:19.340 --> 00:43:26.340 has and go do this. But where? Where do you go? That's another thing. Find a place that 00:43:26.340 --> 00:43:31.340 you want to go and come and talk about it. There's no more learning that we can do that 00:43:31.340 --> 00:43:42.340 will make us better. We are up to here in terms of teaching. But yes, some of us in 00:43:42.340 --> 00:44:02.340 some areas. All of us in some areas. Not some of us in some areas. All of us in some areas. 00:44:02.340 --> 00:44:11.340 Here's another thing that we need to understand. If you go to 2 Chronicles 16.9, he is at 00:44:11.340 --> 00:44:31.340 present looking for, looking to show himself mighty. He's at present looking to show himself 00:44:31.340 --> 00:44:51.340 mighty. He's also looking for someone to do that through, what's his qualification? Is 00:44:51.340 --> 00:45:09.340 your heart loyal or steadfast towards me? So what he's trying to say there is, listen, 00:45:09.340 --> 00:45:13.340 I'm the all powerful one. I'm the all sufficient one. I'm the one who overflows. I'm looking 00:45:13.340 --> 00:45:18.340 for somebody to work for. I'm looking for somebody to work for. Not work with me. He's 00:45:18.340 --> 00:45:24.340 saying, I want to work for you. If you go, I'll work for you. It's literally that's 00:45:24.340 --> 00:45:30.340 what he's saying. If you go, I'll work for you. If you go, I'll work for you. I am looking 00:45:30.340 --> 00:45:35.340 for someone. My eyes are roaming to and fro across this room looking for someone whose 00:45:35.340 --> 00:45:40.340 heart is steadfast and loyal towards me so that I can be all sufficient, all powerful 00:45:40.340 --> 00:45:45.340 and overflowing. I want to work for you as you go and do things. Not work with you. Work 00:45:45.340 --> 00:45:49.340 for you. I'm the one looking. I'm the one doing all the work. I'll do the work for 00:45:49.340 --> 00:45:59.340 you. I'll do the work for you. For Christ to work through me, I must make sure that I'm 00:45:59.340 --> 00:46:04.340 bankrupt in terms of my name and my ability. The bankruptcy of one's own name and one's 00:46:04.340 --> 00:46:10.340 own ability is critical. My name can do nothing. My ability, my experience can do nothing because 00:46:10.340 --> 00:46:15.340 John 519 says, apart from him, I can do nothing. In my bankruptcy, he says, now can you give 00:46:15.340 --> 00:46:28.340 me a steadfast start because if you do, I'll work for you. Go ahead, Chawa. How does the 00:46:28.340 --> 00:46:33.340 sensing work? So Chawa comes and says, hey, Jacob, I'm that brilliant scholar from Sodor 00:46:33.340 --> 00:46:40.340 in UBC and I have some really intelligent guys who seem to have a problem in this area. 00:46:40.340 --> 00:46:48.340 Could you guys have me and James go to UBC and could you as a church just send us out 00:46:48.340 --> 00:46:54.340 because over a period of the next six months, we want to present Christ and the Father and 00:46:54.340 --> 00:46:58.340 Christ is all powerful, all sufficient and overflowing. Can you help us? Can you teach 00:46:58.340 --> 00:47:06.340 us? Can you send us? Suddenly, sending has two other elements to it. Help, teach or train 00:47:06.340 --> 00:47:19.340 and send. Because nobody from this place can get into Sodor except you. That's what it 00:47:19.340 --> 00:47:25.340 looks like. Guys, your character matters. The spiritual environment that you can be 00:47:25.340 --> 00:47:33.340 sent into, the spiritual environment around you can either have you invited into things 00:47:33.340 --> 00:47:40.340 or prevented from things because of your character. Some areas, if I don't change, I'll never 00:47:40.340 --> 00:47:48.340 be invited into certain areas that God wants me in. Sometimes you wonder why demons don't 00:47:48.340 --> 00:47:53.340 go when you cast them out. Sometimes you try to cast out a demon from me and if I'm one 00:47:53.340 --> 00:47:57.340 who is rebellious, you may have all the authority in Christ and you cast a demon out from me. 00:47:57.340 --> 00:48:03.340 It won't leave. Why? Because my very attitude is one of rebellion. Every time it goes out, 00:48:03.340 --> 00:48:10.340 it has the ability to hook into my belt buckle and stay. What do you need to do then? Repent. 00:48:10.340 --> 00:48:15.340 Of what? Of rebellion. What does that look like? Humbling oneself and saying, I will not 00:48:15.340 --> 00:48:25.340 continue this way. Then see the results. So many times the things that are blocked in 00:48:25.340 --> 00:48:32.340 my life and that I'm not invited to is because of not character flaws but pet character 00:48:32.340 --> 00:48:37.340 pythons that you, blooming, keep stroking. It's like a hibernating bear you keep at home 00:48:37.340 --> 00:48:41.340 and you will refuse to let it go because to let it go, you wouldn't know what to do. You've 00:48:42.340 --> 00:48:49.340 cultivated it for so long that that character has become you. All of us have it, man. The 00:48:52.340 --> 00:48:59.340 only ones that don't see it is the one who has it. 00:49:12.340 --> 00:49:19.340 Every time you are sent in the name of Jesus Christ into a place by the body of Christ, 00:49:19.340 --> 00:49:24.340 there is a degree of authority, there is a degree of immunity, there is a degree of recognition 00:49:24.340 --> 00:49:30.340 that comes to you from heaven that is not available any other way. It's like a vacuum 00:49:30.340 --> 00:49:35.340 salesman who turns up at your door, and I know you've heard this before, and says, I've got a 00:49:35.340 --> 00:49:40.340 vacuum to sell you, and you ask who, and you say the Universal Vacuum Association, which 00:49:40.340 --> 00:49:45.340 doesn't exist. But you say Hoover or Dyson, and they let you in. It's the same method. 00:49:45.340 --> 00:49:50.340 Who is to know when we send you that you're doing things the right way? Who is to know 00:49:50.340 --> 00:49:55.340 when we send you that they can call and find out whether Diana is kosher or not? Who is 00:49:55.340 --> 00:50:00.340 to know whether when we send you that you haven't found a new theory or a new theology 00:50:00.340 --> 00:50:05.340 that you begin to introduce into your ways of functioning with people? 00:50:08.340 --> 00:50:13.340 That's why sending is important. We do not receive into any of our lives those that don't come with 00:50:13.340 --> 00:50:18.340 some kind of validation from somewhere else. And the reason we struggle with it is 00:50:21.340 --> 00:50:26.340 validation requires some degree of training. You won't let me operate on you. 00:50:26.340 --> 00:50:31.340 I have operated on frogs, sharks, and cockroaches. 00:50:31.340 --> 00:50:36.340 I did zoology for my undergrad. But for some strange reason, that's not enough to 00:50:36.340 --> 00:50:41.340 let you trust me. 00:50:41.340 --> 00:50:46.340 Why are you laughing? 00:50:46.340 --> 00:50:51.340 So, it's a catch. 00:50:51.340 --> 00:50:56.340 Because God wants all of us to go. It is guaranteed. 00:50:56.340 --> 00:51:01.340 He wants all of us to go. And so why not do this? 00:51:01.340 --> 00:51:06.340 And where someone needs to be sent, come and say, this is the area I want to. 00:51:06.340 --> 00:51:11.340 Help me, teach me, send me. And then when the help and the teach comes, 00:51:11.340 --> 00:51:16.340 be willing to receive and rise up in it so that you may be sent. 00:51:16.340 --> 00:51:21.340 What does Christ do? He does Isaiah 61. 00:51:21.340 --> 00:51:26.340 And if you fail, so what? Come back and say, I failed. 00:51:26.340 --> 00:51:31.340 Mark came some days ago and he asked, 00:51:31.340 --> 00:51:36.340 can I be sent to a certain thing to do certain things? And so he said yes. He went out. 00:51:36.340 --> 00:51:41.340 Not much came out of it. So the guy had the guts to go out and 00:51:41.340 --> 00:51:46.340 do what he did. And he will go again. 00:51:46.340 --> 00:51:51.340 And he will end up getting one Billy Graham there 00:51:51.340 --> 00:51:56.340 or just an ordinary Graham somewhere else. 00:52:03.340 --> 00:52:08.340 Go ahead, Jun. 00:52:08.340 --> 00:52:13.340 Yeah. 00:52:13.340 --> 00:52:18.340 Yeah. 00:52:23.340 --> 00:52:28.340 Yeah. 00:52:28.340 --> 00:52:33.340 Yeah. 00:52:33.340 --> 00:52:38.340 Yeah. 00:52:38.340 --> 00:52:43.340 So there are two ways. One, Mark 16, 00:52:43.340 --> 00:52:48.340 16 to 18, which is 00:52:48.340 --> 00:52:53.340 what every believer 00:52:53.340 --> 00:52:58.340 should expect. 00:52:58.340 --> 00:53:03.340 Yeah. 00:53:03.340 --> 00:53:08.340 The question was, what if I'm on a bus and the church hasn't sent me, what do I do? 00:53:08.340 --> 00:53:13.340 The strange thing is the actual answer to the question is when you're on a bus, 00:53:13.340 --> 00:53:18.340 whether the church sends you or doesn't send you, you don't do anything anyways. 00:53:18.340 --> 00:53:23.340 That's the truth. Let's face up to that. When was the last time you asked a question, 00:53:23.340 --> 00:53:28.340 so that's the first thing. We do not have the guts to do these things 00:53:28.340 --> 00:53:33.340 because we haven't seen much success. I see lame people on the road and sometimes 00:53:33.340 --> 00:53:38.340 I want to stop my car and my immediate thing is the car behind me may hit me, so just keep going. 00:53:38.340 --> 00:53:43.340 I come up with all kinds of reasons to avoid the impossible. I'm not saying you should do that with every 00:53:43.340 --> 00:53:48.340 person that's limping. I'm just saying that why not start with Kamal? 00:53:48.340 --> 00:53:53.340 Our bone is grinding against bone. He needs a surgery. They asked him. 00:53:53.340 --> 00:53:58.340 They said the surgery will be in nine months. What do you do about Kamal? 00:53:58.340 --> 00:54:03.340 We are scared to try it with Kamal. 00:54:03.340 --> 00:54:08.340 Why? Because he may turn up next Sunday and he might still be limping. Then where does all this teaching go? 00:54:08.340 --> 00:54:13.340 Today Kamal ain't going home. There'll be 20 people on him. 00:54:13.340 --> 00:54:18.340 So one, Mark 16, 16-18 applies to every believer. 00:54:18.340 --> 00:54:23.340 Two, Luke 10 where Jesus says I give you authority 00:54:23.340 --> 00:54:28.340 now and I'm sending you to these 00:54:28.340 --> 00:54:33.340 specific towns which I will visit later but you go ahead of me. 00:54:33.340 --> 00:54:38.340 He sends them out two by two. Here it might be just you 00:54:39.340 --> 00:54:44.340 and an opportunity presents itself and you practice the truth in that opportunity. 00:54:44.340 --> 00:54:49.340 In Luke 10 it is going to specific places sent two by two. 00:54:49.340 --> 00:54:54.340 So both are different. Both are active 24-7. Here 00:54:54.340 --> 00:54:59.340 you do the best you can. Here you train 00:54:59.340 --> 00:55:04.340 to be like Jesus because he taught them before 00:55:04.340 --> 00:55:09.340 he sent them. He taught them before he sent them. Both are to our benefit. 00:55:09.340 --> 00:55:14.340 Both are to our benefit. 00:55:14.340 --> 00:55:19.340 So try both, not one or the other. 00:55:19.340 --> 00:55:24.340 May you come back with stories. When you went and wrote that letter to that 00:55:24.340 --> 00:55:29.340 lady who was under house arrest, I forgot her name. 00:55:29.340 --> 00:55:34.340 Yeah, that lady, you did that on your own. 00:55:34.340 --> 00:55:39.340 Only you could have done that. 00:55:39.340 --> 00:55:44.340 Each of us are working in places that nobody else in the church can access. 00:55:44.340 --> 00:55:49.340 Whose fool are you? 00:55:49.340 --> 00:55:54.340 Goes back to the fear thing. 00:55:54.340 --> 00:55:59.340 Whose fool are you? 00:55:59.340 --> 00:56:04.340 This is a very old story so most of the guys who have been here 00:56:04.340 --> 00:56:09.340 five years or more or three years or more know this story but there's a guy in the UK who walks around 00:56:09.340 --> 00:56:14.340 with an A-board, wearing an A-board on him. So when you're approaching him, 00:56:14.340 --> 00:56:19.340 he's got the words on the front of the A-board saying, I'm a fool for Jesus. 00:56:19.340 --> 00:56:24.340 And people laugh at him, eh? What a fool. And then when you look at the back of the board, 00:56:24.340 --> 00:56:29.340 there's another writing that says, whose fool are you? Here's somebody's fool, man. 00:56:29.340 --> 00:56:34.340 Here's somebody's fool. 00:56:34.340 --> 00:56:39.340 Whose fool for Jesus? Whose fool are you? 00:56:39.340 --> 00:56:44.340 Here's somebody's fool. 00:56:44.340 --> 00:56:49.340 Why I state that right now? 00:56:49.340 --> 00:56:54.340 Because 00:56:54.340 --> 00:56:59.340 fear 00:56:59.340 --> 00:57:04.340 contaminates 00:57:04.340 --> 00:57:09.340 or prevents me 00:57:09.340 --> 00:57:14.340 from doing half things 00:57:14.340 --> 00:57:19.340 God prompts. 00:57:30.340 --> 00:57:35.340 Fear prevents me from doing half the things that God prompts. 00:57:42.340 --> 00:57:47.340 I think we'll end there and ask for that fear to be removed. 00:57:47.340 --> 00:57:52.340 And then whatever else we'll have to do, we'll do later. 00:57:59.340 --> 00:58:04.340 Before 00:58:04.340 --> 00:58:09.340 we pray for that, 00:58:09.340 --> 00:58:14.340 just remember this too, guys. 00:58:14.340 --> 00:58:19.340 Anything 00:58:19.340 --> 00:58:24.340 that competes, we'll talk about it next week but I want you to take this home and think about it 00:58:24.340 --> 00:58:29.340 perhaps. Anything that competes for your attention 00:58:29.340 --> 00:58:34.340 will compete for your 00:58:34.340 --> 00:58:39.340 affection. 00:58:39.340 --> 00:58:44.340 When you go up the mountain, 00:58:44.340 --> 00:58:49.340 as we must do, you will find things competing for your attention. 00:58:49.340 --> 00:58:54.340 It will compete for your attention. It will compete for your affection. 00:58:54.340 --> 00:58:59.340 And the intent is divert attention 00:58:59.340 --> 00:59:04.340 and you dilute affection. 00:59:04.340 --> 00:59:09.340 Just remember that. 00:59:09.340 --> 00:59:14.340 Many of us will go home and try to be, some of us don't even know how to be honest with God. 00:59:14.340 --> 00:59:19.340 But every time you try to do these things, 00:59:19.340 --> 00:59:24.340 things will compete for your attention. 00:59:24.340 --> 00:59:29.340 Anything that competes for your attention, 00:59:29.340 --> 00:59:34.340 will compete for your affection. 00:59:34.340 --> 00:59:39.340 It's why your wife gets highly irritated when your attention is diverted. 00:59:39.340 --> 00:59:44.340 When your attention is diverted, affection is diluted. 00:59:44.340 --> 00:59:49.340 That's why she can't understand. You think you're listening to her but you're not. 00:59:49.340 --> 00:59:54.340 Let's go back to the fear thing. 00:59:54.340 --> 00:59:59.340 We pray for the fear thing to go away. 00:59:59.340 --> 01:00:04.340 Because it's my fear that prevents me from attempting half the things God wants me to do. 01:00:04.340 --> 01:00:09.340 Three or four months after I became a believer, 01:00:09.340 --> 01:00:14.340 I was at an airport and I had a New Testament in my pocket 01:00:14.340 --> 01:00:19.340 and I felt I should go give it to this guy who was flying to London. 01:00:19.340 --> 01:00:24.340 I was waiting for someone to arrive and so I didn't have the guts to go up and give it to him. 01:00:24.340 --> 01:00:29.340 It's a Muslim country. I was a little scared and then I saw his baggage tag 01:00:29.340 --> 01:00:34.340 and I saw his name. So I took his name and I wrote it down on the first page of the Bible. 01:00:34.340 --> 01:00:39.340 I said, this book will change your life. Please read it on your flight. 01:00:39.340 --> 01:00:44.340 I told him what to read. I wrote it on the first page and I'm holding it. I still don't have the guts to go up to him. 01:00:44.340 --> 01:00:49.340 But I know God is saying, listen, all you have to do is just go give it to him and you'll be okay. 01:00:49.340 --> 01:00:54.340 That's all I'm asking you to do. I remember going up to him and giving him the Bible and he said, nope, I don't want it. 01:00:54.340 --> 01:00:59.340 Now I'm thinking, what happens next? All the guts are gathered together to go up to him and give it to him 01:00:59.340 --> 01:01:04.340 and he says, I don't want it. And then once you start the process, God can supply you the words you need 01:01:04.340 --> 01:01:09.340 at different times. And my words were, but it's got your name on it. 01:01:09.340 --> 01:01:14.340 And so he says, what do you mean? And I said, look inside the first page and he checks, 01:01:14.340 --> 01:01:19.340 opens the first page and he sees his name on it. I said, okay, and he takes it. 01:01:19.340 --> 01:01:24.340 I don't know what will happen. For me, it was like, oh, shucks. 01:01:24.340 --> 01:01:29.340 I mean, and so 01:01:29.340 --> 01:01:34.340 I wish those childlike days would return. 01:01:34.340 --> 01:01:39.340 Let the fear go away 01:01:39.340 --> 01:01:44.340 and go up the mountain and have really strong conversations. 01:01:44.340 --> 01:01:49.340 The next morning I got a call from my sister and found out that 01:01:49.340 --> 01:01:54.340 my mom had a stroke in the morning and so she's 01:01:54.340 --> 01:01:59.340 her left side, right side began to droop, her right hand was not 01:01:59.340 --> 01:02:04.340 lifting and it was this situation where 01:02:04.340 --> 01:02:09.340 what do you do? How are you supposed to react to it? And then you realize, go up the mountain. 01:02:09.340 --> 01:02:14.340 Have an honest conversation with God. Go tell him how you 01:02:14.340 --> 01:02:19.340 really feel. And so you go up the mountain and you begin to talk to him. 01:02:19.340 --> 01:02:24.340 You tell him about what you want, how you're feeling scared, 01:02:24.340 --> 01:02:29.340 that yes, she's 84 and I'm almost 60, but it still matters. 01:02:29.340 --> 01:02:34.340 I don't know how to pray. Feel like going to decrees and healings and no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 01:02:34.340 --> 01:02:39.340 But can I just calm myself down and not go into hyperpenicostalism yet? 01:02:39.340 --> 01:02:44.340 Can I be honest before I go into that? Because that's how I instantly react. 01:02:44.340 --> 01:02:49.340 Why not just be father and son first? 01:02:49.340 --> 01:02:54.340 And the father and son thing happens when you go up the mountain. The problem though going up the mountain 01:02:54.340 --> 01:02:59.340 is you can come back looking terribly peaceful and annoy others. 01:02:59.340 --> 01:03:04.340 But that's okay. And so 01:03:04.340 --> 01:03:09.340 once you go up the mountain and you come to a place of peace where you know what you find on the mountain. 01:03:09.340 --> 01:03:14.340 You're not looking for answers. You're looking for two things. The goodness of God 01:03:14.340 --> 01:03:19.340 and His presence with you. Those are the two blooming things you're looking for. The goodness of God 01:03:19.340 --> 01:03:24.340 and His presence. What do you mean by His presence? Some kind of aura around you? No, by presence I mean 01:03:24.340 --> 01:03:29.340 His nature. Man, what's the use of having the presence of God if you don't 01:03:29.340 --> 01:03:34.340 know His nature? What's the use of entering a building where you feel the presence of God 01:03:34.340 --> 01:03:39.340 but you don't know that He's kind and compassionate? The two things that you want 01:03:39.340 --> 01:03:44.340 to always walk in, to be constantly aware of is one, the goodness of God and two, 01:03:44.340 --> 01:03:49.340 the presence of His nature which then allows you 01:03:49.340 --> 01:03:54.340 to step into any circumstance so that He can be Jaira, Rafa, Nisi, 01:03:54.340 --> 01:03:59.340 Shalom, whatever He wants to be because His nature exudes from His presence. 01:03:59.340 --> 01:04:04.340 That is what you find up in the mountain. And you come down with that, now you can 01:04:04.340 --> 01:04:09.340 deal with the demoniac who His father brought saying, here is my son, nobody 01:04:09.340 --> 01:04:14.340 else could do something for him. But you've come down from the mountain and now you 01:04:14.340 --> 01:04:19.340 begin to deal with it. The valley becomes a place where you become a benefit 01:04:19.340 --> 01:04:24.340 because you spend time actually having discussions that are honest. 01:04:24.340 --> 01:04:29.340 Lord, I feel really bad that Amma is alone. 01:04:29.340 --> 01:04:34.340 She's in a hospital all by herself and she must be scared and she must be 01:04:34.340 --> 01:04:39.340 thinking, what are these tubes in my mouth? Father, I know that one day she'll die but can you not 01:04:39.340 --> 01:04:44.340 have all this stuff happening? I'd really like her to, when she dies, die in peace, not a tube 01:04:44.340 --> 01:04:49.340 stuck up her nose. Can you do something about it? I'd love to decree but first I want to see how you 01:04:49.340 --> 01:04:54.340 see. I want your nature to take over. I want to have an understanding of the goodness and the 01:04:54.340 --> 01:04:59.340 nature of God and from there I can walk. Then you're not being 01:04:59.340 --> 01:05:04.340 Baptist or Pentecostal, you're being a son of the living God because people will die. 01:05:04.340 --> 01:05:09.340 Then you can handle the questions that someone else asks, 01:05:09.340 --> 01:05:14.340 that your relatives ask. 01:05:14.340 --> 01:05:19.340 That's how we work this, guys. 01:05:19.340 --> 01:05:24.340 Go up the mountain when your heart is being ripped. Go up the mountain, Mark, 01:05:24.340 --> 01:05:29.340 with the things that you have waited patiently for years. 01:05:29.340 --> 01:05:34.340 Go up the mountain, Dilna, with whatever you carry. 01:05:34.340 --> 01:05:39.340 I'm just picking guys who are close to 50. 01:05:39.340 --> 01:05:44.340 Sorry, Mark. 01:05:44.340 --> 01:05:49.340 Okay, let's pray for that fear thing. 01:05:49.340 --> 01:05:54.340 Oh, so I might be gone this week. I'll try. I don't know if I'll be back on Sunday. 01:05:54.340 --> 01:05:59.340 I'm leaving tomorrow. I might be back on Sunday or a few days after Sunday. 01:05:59.340 --> 01:06:04.340 I'll keep you informed. Father, 01:06:04.340 --> 01:06:09.340 we want to talk about fear. 01:06:09.340 --> 01:06:14.340 So we're actually going to take time quietly between you and 01:06:14.340 --> 01:06:19.340 each of us just to talk about something honest about our fear. 01:06:19.340 --> 01:06:24.340 And then I'll pray aloud, Father. 01:06:24.340 --> 01:06:29.340 So many times fear prevents me 01:06:29.340 --> 01:06:34.340 from doing what you're prompting me to do. I want to talk about that before 01:06:34.340 --> 01:06:39.340 praying. 01:06:49.340 --> 01:06:54.340 . 01:06:54.340 --> 01:06:59.340 . 01:06:59.340 --> 01:07:04.340 . 01:07:04.340 --> 01:07:09.340 . 01:07:09.340 --> 01:07:14.340 . 01:07:14.340 --> 01:07:19.340 . 01:07:19.340 --> 01:07:24.340 . 01:07:24.340 --> 01:07:29.340 . 01:07:29.340 --> 01:07:34.340 . 01:07:34.340 --> 01:07:39.340 . 01:07:39.340 --> 01:07:44.340 . 01:07:44.340 --> 01:07:49.340 . 01:07:49.340 --> 01:07:54.340 . 01:07:54.340 --> 01:07:59.340 . 01:07:59.340 --> 01:08:04.340 . 01:08:04.340 --> 01:08:09.340 . 01:08:09.340 --> 01:08:14.340 . 01:08:14.340 --> 01:08:19.340 . 01:08:19.340 --> 01:08:24.340 . 01:08:24.340 --> 01:08:29.340 . 01:08:29.340 --> 01:08:34.340 . 01:08:34.340 --> 01:08:39.340 . 01:08:39.340 --> 01:08:44.340 . 01:08:44.340 --> 01:08:49.340 . 01:08:49.340 --> 01:08:54.340 . 01:08:54.340 --> 01:08:59.340 . 01:08:59.340 --> 01:09:04.340 . 01:09:04.340 --> 01:09:09.340 Sometimes it's just because I do not expect anything good to happen. 01:09:09.340 --> 01:09:14.340 Do not expect you to do anything. 01:09:14.340 --> 01:09:19.340 . 01:09:19.340 --> 01:09:24.340 . 01:09:24.340 --> 01:09:29.340 . 01:09:29.340 --> 01:09:34.340 . 01:09:34.340 --> 01:09:39.340 . 01:09:39.340 --> 01:09:44.340 . 01:09:44.340 --> 01:09:49.340 . 01:09:49.340 --> 01:09:54.340 . 01:09:54.340 --> 01:09:59.340 . 01:09:59.340 --> 01:10:04.340 . 01:10:04.340 --> 01:10:09.340 . 01:10:09.340 --> 01:10:14.340 . 01:10:14.340 --> 01:10:19.340 . 01:10:19.340 --> 01:10:24.340 . 01:10:24.340 --> 01:10:29.340 . 01:10:29.340 --> 01:10:34.340 . 01:10:34.340 --> 01:10:39.340 . 01:10:39.340 --> 01:10:44.340 . 01:10:44.340 --> 01:10:49.340 . 01:10:49.340 --> 01:10:54.340 . 01:10:54.340 --> 01:10:59.340 . 01:10:59.340 --> 01:11:04.340 . 01:11:04.340 --> 01:11:09.340 . 01:11:09.340 --> 01:11:14.340 . 01:11:14.340 --> 01:11:19.340 . 01:11:19.340 --> 01:11:24.340 . 01:11:24.340 --> 01:11:29.340 . 01:11:29.340 --> 01:11:34.340 . 01:11:34.340 --> 01:11:39.340 . 01:11:39.340 --> 01:11:44.340 . 01:11:44.340 --> 01:11:49.340 . 01:11:49.340 --> 01:11:54.340 . 01:11:54.340 --> 01:11:59.340 . 01:11:59.340 --> 01:12:04.340 . 01:12:04.340 --> 01:12:09.340 . 01:12:09.340 --> 01:12:14.340 . 01:12:14.340 --> 01:12:19.340 . 01:12:19.340 --> 01:12:24.340 . 01:12:24.340 --> 01:12:29.340 . 01:12:29.340 --> 01:12:34.340 . 01:12:34.340 --> 01:12:39.340 . 01:12:39.340 --> 01:12:44.340 . 01:12:44.340 --> 01:12:49.340 . 01:12:49.340 --> 01:12:54.340 . 01:12:54.340 --> 01:12:59.340 . 01:12:59.340 --> 01:13:04.340 . 01:13:04.340 --> 01:13:09.340 .