WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Secret Place_1 Publishing Date: 2020-03-01T05:00:44-08:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/secret-place_1/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.280 Ready? Okay, guys, so we've been going down this trail of 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:16.800 waters made sweet and waters made bitter. And it's a very vast topic. But the intent of the topic is 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:25.600 that we be affected so much by the nature of God that our ability to relate to Him changes 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:32.720 because we see Him differently. And so here's where we were at and where we are going to. 00:00:32.720 --> 00:00:40.800 We have, we started with the idea that God does not, not idea, we were trying to establish the 00:00:40.800 --> 00:00:51.920 premise that God does not allow or permit evil. That's what we talked about, I think, two weeks 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:58.160 ago. God does not allow or permit evil because the moment you begin to think that this God who's 00:00:58.160 --> 00:01:05.600 who's a good father allows evil or permits evil into your life, then He is absolutely untrustable 00:01:05.600 --> 00:01:13.440 because you don't know what He's going to do next. And that's a common belief in every kind of church. 00:01:13.440 --> 00:01:18.800 It doesn't matter whether you're Pentecostal, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, everybody tries to 00:01:19.360 --> 00:01:26.320 explain away our personal experiences by saying God is sovereign. Sometimes He allows things that 00:01:26.320 --> 00:01:33.200 are evil to happen so that we may learn from it. Not true. That kind of father is a whimsical, 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:41.600 untrustable father. I was listening to a show on TV two days ago on a Christian channel where they 00:01:41.600 --> 00:01:48.240 have to include other religions. And on one of the TV shows came a man who is an imam from a 00:01:48.240 --> 00:01:55.840 mosque, grew up in Canada, speaks really well. And I listened to him speak and I thought to myself, 00:01:55.840 --> 00:02:01.360 he sounds like a pastor from most churches because his contention was the same. That God, 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:08.000 in his case Allah, allows evil so that we may learn from it because at the end of the day, 00:02:08.640 --> 00:02:13.840 He has different ways to bring out good. And one of the ways He does that is by bringing evil into 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:17.440 our lives. And the moment we go down that road, then this God is not a good father. 00:02:19.440 --> 00:02:24.240 So we started with that premise that God does not allow or permit evil. And then, 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:30.000 and by the way, this is a vast topic. We won't finish it today. It might take a few more weeks 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:33.520 or even a couple of months if necessary. But hopefully at the end of the day, it's like 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:39.360 piecing a puzzle together. You know, I used to work for Joan's dad ages ago when I was young. 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:44.000 And whenever you would go to his office on the dining table, there would be this puzzle. 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:51.600 It had like 4,000 pieces. And over six months, they would build it painstakingly. And every time 00:02:51.600 --> 00:02:57.280 I would look at it, I would shudder and go and work. But one day I saw it complete. The point is, 00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:02.400 these things take time to put together. So you can't take what you hear today and come to a 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:08.080 conclusion. You can only move towards a conclusion. And the conclusion is already established. 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:14.080 God is always good. He does not do evil. He's a good father. That is a conclusion we are working 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:19.120 towards. But how do, how, how we get there is what we're talking about. Because if we can 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:24.080 actually begin to see that he is really good, we'll stop entertaining thoughts that come out of our 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:30.880 experience. So here's the second thing we established that God does not allow or permit evil. Well, 00:03:30.880 --> 00:03:38.480 then one should ask the question, why is it that a God who has all power, why is it that this God 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:42.080 does not prevent evil? 00:03:47.920 --> 00:03:54.080 That was the question we asked last week. That sure, let's begin to accept the fact that this 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:58.800 God does not allow evil. Well, then, because he's so powerful and because he's a good father, 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:01.760 like any good father, why isn't he preventing evil? 00:04:06.160 --> 00:04:10.480 And so today we'll go one step further and ask the question, 00:04:14.640 --> 00:04:18.400 is God using his power 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:22.640 to prevent evil? 00:04:22.960 --> 00:04:28.320 Because this question is a question that humans ask and the intent of this question is to cast 00:04:28.320 --> 00:04:36.720 suspicion on his nature. This question is not to cast suspicion on his nature, but to get an answer. 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:46.000 A very famous man have written books about this, say, why do bad things happen to good people and 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:50.480 they are much better Christians than me. But when it comes to this question, 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:58.080 Christians than me, but when it comes to this area, they messed up and yet there are finer people than me. 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:05.280 So these are, we finished these two questions, we're in this question now, is God 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:11.120 using his power to prevent evil? That's what we have to find out because when you ask the second 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:16.080 question, it's a nasty question. Why is it that this God does not prevent evil? Your kids come 00:05:16.080 --> 00:05:21.200 and do that to you sometimes, eh? Your kids will come and say to you, why aren't you doing this? If 00:05:21.200 --> 00:05:28.320 you loved me, you would. And that question carries in it a sense of suspicion. You may have legitimate 00:05:28.320 --> 00:05:33.440 reasons to ask the second question. Please remember, I'm not dissing what has happened to you. 00:05:33.440 --> 00:05:38.960 Your experience and my experience, our faces don't tell our stories, but if people really heard our 00:05:38.960 --> 00:05:44.640 stories, would begin to weep because very few know what you and I have been through and it would almost 00:05:44.640 --> 00:05:51.040 seem like, where was God when it happened? Why didn't he prevent it? So it's a valid question in 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:57.600 its asking, but the way you ask it either casts suspicion or wants to find the reason. 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:06.080 And so is God using his power to prevent evil things? Let's go to Psalm 91. 00:06:06.080 --> 00:06:09.120 Psalm 91. 00:06:11.280 --> 00:06:17.520 Even before I read it, I want to say that the answer is a resounding yes. He does so much to 00:06:17.520 --> 00:06:26.960 prevent evil. Psalm 91. In an age where people are scared to breathe, Psalm 91 is refreshing. 00:06:26.960 --> 00:06:34.960 Psalm 91. I'm going to read it from the NIRV, not because it changes anything, but because NIRV is a 00:06:34.960 --> 00:06:41.520 far simpler version for people like you and I. Psalm 91. I'm reading. 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:51.840 The person who read it, he was a very good reader. 00:06:51.840 --> 00:06:52.720 I'm reading. 00:06:55.360 --> 00:07:04.160 The person who rests in the shadow of the most high God will be kept safe by the mighty one. 00:07:04.960 --> 00:07:12.720 I will say about the Lord, he is my place of safety. He's like a fort to me. He's my God. I trust in him. 00:07:13.840 --> 00:07:19.840 Are you guys reading the same version or NIRV? Same version? Okay. Otherwise I can go to the NIRV. 00:07:20.400 --> 00:07:26.720 Now listen to verse three onwards. He will certainly save you from hidden traps 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:35.280 and from deadly sickness. He will cover you with his wings. Under the feathers of his wings, 00:07:35.280 --> 00:07:44.400 you will find safety. I love the next one. He is faithful. He will keep you safe like a shield or a tower. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:47.840 You won't have to be afraid of the terrors that come during the night. 00:07:49.200 --> 00:07:52.000 You won't have to fear the arrows that come at you during the day. 00:07:53.520 --> 00:07:56.560 You won't have to be afraid of the sickness that attacks in the darkness. 00:07:57.760 --> 00:08:00.400 You won't have to fear the plague that destroys at noon. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:06.800 A thousand may fall dead at your side. Ten thousand may fall near your right hand, 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:12.640 but no harm will come to you. You will see with your own eyes how God punishes sinful people. 00:08:12.640 --> 00:08:17.840 The Lord is the one who keeps you safe, so let the Most High God be like a home to you. 00:08:18.400 --> 00:08:22.800 Then no harm will come to you. No terrible plague will come near your tent. 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:28.640 The Lord will command his angels to take good care of you. They will lift you up in their hands. 00:08:28.640 --> 00:08:33.680 Then you won't trip over a stone. You will walk all over lions and cobras. 00:08:33.680 --> 00:08:39.920 You will crush mighty lions and poisonous snakes. The Lord says, I will save the one who loves me. 00:08:40.400 --> 00:08:44.080 I will save the one who loves me. I will keep him safe because he trusts in me. 00:08:44.640 --> 00:08:48.800 He will call out to me and I will answer him. I will be with him in times of trouble. 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:53.440 I will save him and honor him. I will give him a long life and I will save him. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:09:03.760 What in this psalm seems to relate to any of us that God is not into absolute loving protection? 00:09:05.520 --> 00:09:09.360 The question needs to be asked, is God using his power to prevent evil? 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:16.160 I want to say to you the answer is a resounding yes. That he is using his power to protect you from evil. 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:20.400 He is always using his power to protect you from evil. 00:09:20.400 --> 00:09:23.600 If for a moment our spiritual lives would open to realities around us, 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:27.920 if we could do the minority report thing where you see a crime 00:09:27.920 --> 00:09:31.600 or something that is going to happen before it happens, it would freak you out. 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:36.240 But since we can't do that, only Tom Cruise can do that, let's not even go there. 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:45.840 Psalm 91 says that he that dwells in the secret place of the Lord is safe in the shadow of the Almighty. 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:49.680 The shadow of the Almighty is basically this idea of God's wings. 00:09:49.680 --> 00:09:53.120 When I was a kid, my dad used to raise chickens. 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:57.200 Strange, eh? No, I didn't grow up on a farm, it was just chickens. 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:04.080 One of the things that I'd be fascinated watching is how once the chicks were born, 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:08.640 my favorite thing was to go chasing them and watch them disappear under the wings of the mother hen. 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:14.000 And then you'd have to wait a while before they'd come up, come back again so you could chase them again. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:16.800 But they'd go scurrying under the wings of this mother hen. 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:22.160 And there it was almost as if they were oblivious to the fact that I was around. 00:10:24.800 --> 00:10:26.240 Because they could not see me anymore. 00:10:27.760 --> 00:10:33.280 The strange thing with hiding under the shadow of the Almighty is you become oblivious to the threats around you. 00:10:33.280 --> 00:10:36.160 It's not that the threats appear, you do not see them anymore. 00:10:38.640 --> 00:10:42.400 There's an odd twist there, eh? It's not that his wings are mighty. 00:10:42.400 --> 00:10:48.720 It is just that under the warmth and the safety of that place, you do not, you're not aware of what else is happening around you. 00:10:50.560 --> 00:10:57.520 And so when you look at Psalm 91, you see that this idea of wings is very common to God. 00:10:57.520 --> 00:11:02.960 Go to Psalm 17 verse 8, Psalm 17 verse 8, Psalm 17 verse 8. 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:08.320 Psalm 17 verse 8. I love this line man, look at what it says. 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:11.680 God uses such odd words, these are words coming from him. 00:11:12.400 --> 00:11:17.520 Keep me as the apple of your eye, hide me in the shadow of your wings, keep me as the apple of your eye. 00:11:17.520 --> 00:11:22.240 Keep me as the apple of your eye, watch this. The moment I come and do this his eyelid shuts. 00:11:24.400 --> 00:11:29.200 Won't let me get anywhere near his iris or pupil. Keep me as the apple of your eye. 00:11:29.920 --> 00:11:36.800 Hide me under the shadow of your wings. Where do you think these words came from? 00:11:36.800 --> 00:11:40.560 David was inspired by God, he wrote these words prophetically. 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:50.000 Guys, we inhabit that which we believe. This is not positive thinking, it is just a fact of life. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:51.440 You inhabit what you believe. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:54.960 Keep me as the apple of the eye, of your eye, hide me under the shadow of your wings. 00:11:54.960 --> 00:12:00.480 Let's go to Isaiah 2, 4 or 4, 2, I'm not too sure. Isaiah 2, 4. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:13.360 No, Isaiah 4, 2. Yeah, Isaiah 4 verse 5, Isaiah 4 verse 5, Isaiah 4 verse 5. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:18.880 Yeah, Isaiah 4 verse 5, Isaiah 4 verse 5, Isaiah 4 verse 5. 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:26.000 Here's this idea again of God hovering over and protecting. Isaiah 4 verse 5, 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:30.640 then the Lord will create over all Mount Zion. Mount Zion is the dwelling place of God. 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:36.560 What is the dwelling place of God now? A people. A people called what? A people who are called by 00:12:36.560 --> 00:12:42.640 his name. And here's what it says, Isaiah 4 verse 5, then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion 00:12:42.640 --> 00:12:48.400 and over those who assemble there. A cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night. 00:12:48.400 --> 00:12:52.800 Over all the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day 00:12:52.800 --> 00:13:00.080 and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and the rain. Go to Isaiah 51, 18. Isaiah 51, 18. 00:13:00.800 --> 00:13:02.480 Isaiah 51, 18. 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:06.480 Isaiah 51, 18. 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:19.280 Isaiah 51, nope, that's not the one. Where is it? Isaiah 51, it's about, oh yeah, Isaiah 51, 16. 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:28.400 Isaiah 51, 16. I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand. 00:13:28.400 --> 00:13:34.320 I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, who say to Zion, 00:13:34.400 --> 00:13:38.880 you are my people. Let me read that again. I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with 00:13:38.880 --> 00:13:43.840 the shadow of my hand. I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:50.480 and say to Acts 29, you are my people. Let's look at another one. We already did Psalm 91, 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:56.480 verse 3 to 10. Guys, the point is, begin to read this and let it begin to settle in your heart, 00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:03.040 eh? Because this is a God who's highly protective. Highly protective. And we'll talk about how do we 00:14:03.040 --> 00:14:09.920 get into this place of protection? How do I rest under the shadow of his wings? So the question is, 00:14:09.920 --> 00:14:27.120 how do I rest under the shadow of his wings? How do I rest under the shadow of his wings? 00:14:27.680 --> 00:14:32.960 And the answer is very simple, actually. Anyone want to take a stab at it? How do I rest under 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:47.360 the shadow of his wings? Okay. Knowing its character. The word. I would suggest that we 00:14:47.360 --> 00:15:01.520 go to the very first verse by dwelling in the secret place of the Most High. And in that is 00:15:01.520 --> 00:15:12.400 included everything that all of you called out. Because the psalm starts this way. He that dwells 00:15:12.400 --> 00:15:18.400 in the secret place of the Most High shall rest in the shadow of the Almighty. How do we rest in 00:15:18.400 --> 00:15:24.000 the shadow of the Almighty? How do we rest in the shadow of his wings? By learning how to dwell or 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:30.320 reside or begin to live or live out of the secret place of the Most High. And so we'll begin the 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:44.720 process of finding out, so how does this work? Any questions? You know, if you've gotten from here to 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:50.880 here, you're already ahead of the game. If you've gotten from God does not allow or permit evil to, 00:15:50.880 --> 00:15:55.760 why is it that God does not prevent evil? You've already made progress. And from that, if you can 00:15:55.760 --> 00:16:03.600 go here, gosh, your God is suddenly becoming the Christian God. Because this God ain't Christian. 00:16:06.400 --> 00:16:12.640 This God is like any other God. Like I said, when I watched him speak on TV, he believed, 00:16:12.640 --> 00:16:17.200 he didn't believe in Jesus Christ, he believed in Allah. And I suddenly began to think, man, 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:22.640 put a robe on this guy, a white robe instead of a brown robe or a black robe, and he would sound 00:16:22.640 --> 00:16:37.280 like any decent pastor. You can see why it is so difficult to trust God if the first or second 00:16:37.280 --> 00:16:45.520 statement are part of our life. How do you trust a father who could perhaps allow, permit, whatever 00:16:45.520 --> 00:16:51.200 semantic word you want to use? How could you ever trust him because he's so unpredictable? Because 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:57.920 you don't know when he may turn nasty. Even though there might be some great sovereign purpose behind 00:16:57.920 --> 00:17:02.880 it, which you won't find out for the next 40 years. Terrible way to live, man. 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:12.400 And like I said two weeks ago, I have to take you back to some of the lines spoken two weeks ago. 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:17.840 If you think that this is Jacob's fancy notion, that he is creating a God with his own hands 00:17:17.840 --> 00:17:23.360 molding a golden calf that is perhaps more palatable for us humans, then I say to you, 00:17:23.360 --> 00:17:29.520 don't look at what I'm molding with my hands, look at Jesus Christ and show me in the four Gospels 00:17:29.520 --> 00:17:38.320 and the life of Jesus Christ, where he behaved like this. And in looking at him, you will find 00:17:38.320 --> 00:17:43.280 only that he was forsaken so that we may not be forsaken. 00:17:43.280 --> 00:17:46.640 That he was handed over so that we may not be handed over. 00:17:48.560 --> 00:17:55.600 That he was tormented by satanic forces so that we may find ways of overcoming satanic forces. 00:17:55.600 --> 00:18:01.600 That Psalm 91 was written by Moses, who was a type of Jesus but lived in the old covenant. 00:18:01.600 --> 00:18:06.640 So the first thing that we need to understand as we deal with the idea of is God using his 00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:13.520 power to prevent evil, is this, you must understand the context that you were born into. Guys, 00:18:13.520 --> 00:18:21.760 you have been born during wartime. You do not think so. I rarely used to think so. 00:18:21.760 --> 00:18:25.920 I rarely used to think so. I rarely used to think so. I rarely used to think so. 00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:36.320 But you need to understand that all of us have been born in a time of war. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:44.720 Even as I say it, it doesn't register because we do not see it that way, right? We do not see that 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:55.200 there are just two sides. One is Christ and thousands and thousands of angels and the Kingdom 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:59.680 of God. And then there is another kingdom called the satanic kingdom with thousands and thousands 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:06.720 of fallen angels. And that every inch of land and every life from the moment it enters the earth 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:13.280 is being contested for. We do not think like this. We have always been born since the fall in times 00:19:13.280 --> 00:19:18.720 of war. Your children are being born in times of war. And if Canada was in a time of war, 00:19:19.360 --> 00:19:21.120 your response would be very different, eh? 00:19:25.360 --> 00:19:26.400 We don't think like that. 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:36.000 We were born in times of war. Innocence and ignorance is not bliss. It's dulling and confusing. 00:19:37.840 --> 00:19:43.360 Ignorance and innocence is not bliss. It's dulling and confusing. It is dulling. If you 00:19:43.360 --> 00:19:48.480 don't realize the times we are born in, it is dulling. And my God, isn't there a dullness 00:19:48.480 --> 00:20:08.240 and a confusion about this? I've mentioned this before, but it's worth having a look at again. 00:20:09.280 --> 00:20:15.360 During this time of war, you need to see the kinds of things that happen to people. 00:20:15.360 --> 00:20:23.360 And then begin to see and put in context this whole idea of does God prevent evil? And what 00:20:23.360 --> 00:20:28.640 forms does evil take? Guys, most of the things that happen to you have fall, most of the things 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:36.480 that are evil that happen to you fall into these categories. We talked about this ages ago. One, 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:45.680 trials that have been inherited. As in, you didn't do anything to deserve it. 00:20:49.280 --> 00:20:56.960 Maybe my dad messed up and I am left holding the bag. Maybe my spouse messed up, I'm left holding 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:04.000 the bag. Maybe my doctor messed up and I'm left holding the bag. Maybe my wife messed up and I'm 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:10.080 left holding the bag. Maybe my doctor messed up, I'm left holding the bag. Maybe my relatives 00:21:10.080 --> 00:21:14.960 messed up. I'm not trying to put the blame on somebody else, but so many of us have suffered 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:22.240 because of the trials that we have inherited. So many of us have suffered. We do not like talking 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:27.680 ill of the dead, but my God, if they could actually look into our heads, they would know how much we 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:32.880 blame them. I hate funerals because nothing honest is ever said. 00:21:40.800 --> 00:21:44.880 Pardon? Sorry, say that again. 00:21:48.320 --> 00:21:55.040 Oh, Don, you're the first one, man. This is Don first using the mic to ask a question. Go ahead, Don. 00:21:58.400 --> 00:22:05.200 Oh, no, no, I heard it. I just wanted him to use the mic. 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:16.960 Okay, guys, we're just going to skip this whole question thing. 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:25.600 You have to hold the green button down. It is on. 00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:33.040 Hello? Yes. Hey, Jacob. Hey. What if you're born again? 00:22:34.800 --> 00:22:40.720 As in I didn't understand how it connect the question. So you say that the things that you 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:46.320 inherit, right? But what if you're born again? Yeah. So let's assume my dad was a gambler, 00:22:47.120 --> 00:22:53.040 and he gambled all the wealth away. I'm born again, but I'm still paying off his debts. 00:22:53.600 --> 00:23:00.000 It's a trial that's inherited. It's physical. Sometimes it's even spiritual where stuff, 00:23:00.800 --> 00:23:07.120 let's assume my dad was a Freemason or let's assume my dad was a practitioner of a cult. Now 00:23:07.120 --> 00:23:11.200 I'm born again, but I may have to go through certain things that have to break of me 00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:21.280 because he was a magician who dabbled in sorcery. So there are trials that I inherited. Two. 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:34.080 Sometimes as simple as that, sometimes more complicated than that. It depends on 00:23:34.080 --> 00:23:42.080 the degree to which people have dabbled in things. There's a teaching online that you can 00:23:42.080 --> 00:23:48.080 listen to where we talked about every blooming thing that needs to be broken off. It was called 00:23:48.080 --> 00:23:54.720 Trojan Horses because most things now come disguised and packaged well. So you never know 00:23:54.720 --> 00:24:00.240 what you're doing until you realize that, ah shucks, this looks really attractive, but this is deep 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:05.520 mystical or Eastern or Western roots that aren't healthy. Two. 00:24:08.800 --> 00:24:19.440 There is testing to prove metal. I won't even get halfway through this at this rate. 00:24:20.080 --> 00:24:24.720 No meaning at the rate I'm going, not the rate you're asking questions. Testing to prove metal. 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:30.000 As in there are times when things are tough because God is testing you and God's tests 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.800 are not destructive. God's tests do not cause you to fail. Let me explain God's test to you. 00:24:34.800 --> 00:24:42.480 Genesis chapter 16 or 21 and God tested Abraham. Abraham, take his son, go up the mountain and 00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:48.800 sacrifice him. There was never any question of it going through, but God tests. God tests. 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:56.160 But his test is never destructive. His test never destroys. His test doesn't leave you damaged or 00:24:56.160 --> 00:25:01.920 does not do you any harm. You may fail his test, but it doesn't mean that you're damaged, destroyed, 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:11.680 second class. But God tests. Third. These are categories of when we... 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:19.280 Okay, Emily asked what are these categories about and so here's my response. 00:25:21.360 --> 00:25:25.520 We'll have to, I think the church will have to sign disclaimers before we do this. 00:25:26.560 --> 00:25:34.320 So these are, what is this category about? There are so many things that happen in our lives that 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:44.720 we feel is not a God thing and they fall under these categories. We sometimes just lump everything 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:50.000 as evil that may be coming from God when often it ain't man. Not often it ain't. It never is. 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:58.880 Sorry. Free will and to prove our substance. That... 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:10.880 No, Sheldon, we'll see how it works. I feel bad for you, man. You're a willing, 00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:18.080 you're a willing servant, but there are... Yeah. I'll just repeat it. Maybe that'll be better. 00:26:18.800 --> 00:26:21.760 Yeah. Everyone said yeah. 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:34.800 And then the third one. Incitement towards evil. 00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:42.480 Incitement towards evil. Where is the story of incitement towards evil? And so it says in 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:52.800 the first chronicles, Satan incited David to take a census. Incited David. As in provoked him to do 00:26:52.800 --> 00:27:00.080 something that would eventually end up with him breaking a rule so that he could be meted out 00:27:00.080 --> 00:27:07.920 just as that would harm his life. Where the enemy has an ability through people to provoke you to 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:14.880 do evil. Another example. Hey, why don't you curse this God and die rather than keep saying 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:21.440 that even though he slayed me, yet I will bless him. Sometimes incitement comes from once close to you. 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:29.280 And the intent is not to just incite you. The intent is can I incite you enough, Jacob, 00:27:29.280 --> 00:27:35.280 so that you take a step that will cause you harm. And then the very one who incites says, 00:27:35.280 --> 00:27:43.760 but you just did this and therefore you deserve this. Fourth. Temptation to sin. 00:27:52.320 --> 00:27:56.880 Yeah. The person who's inciting is not usually the one who's gloating at the end. 00:27:56.880 --> 00:28:01.920 Sometimes even that happens. Like I was, someone was telling me about this story of a 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:11.440 guy in a industrial office who told this Christian, hey, why don't you take these parts from the 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:14.960 air conditioner that are lying around, put it together to make your own air conditioner. 00:28:15.520 --> 00:28:18.960 And so over a period of time, he put it together, made his own air conditioner. 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:23.040 Soon as it was done, the guy sends another note saying, don't you know it's company policy not 00:28:23.040 --> 00:28:30.240 to take any parts from the office and make your own air conditioner. And so sometimes it's a setup, 00:28:30.320 --> 00:28:33.440 man. This world sets you up really good. 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:58.240 I would disagree because in David's case, it was Satan inciting David and David knew the rules. 00:28:58.240 --> 00:29:04.080 David knew he was not to take a census of anyone because God had clearly said, you do not win by 00:29:04.080 --> 00:29:09.360 the might of chariots or horses. You win by my might. David went and did what the kings of the 00:29:09.360 --> 00:29:14.240 other nations are doing. So, yeah, go ahead. 00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:43.200 Okay. We shall answer this question over the next 14 weeks. I'm not avoiding the question because it has to be dealt with. 00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:53.920 The question is, what about Job? Didn't God allow the devil to like ravage Job? So how do you put that in place? 00:29:54.560 --> 00:29:59.280 Even today, as we go over what we're going over, you will begin to see how this plays out. 00:30:00.320 --> 00:30:05.440 One of the intents of putting this down on the thing is to show you the presence of evil 00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:13.680 and that there are ways today to stand where Job stood and overcome it instead of being taken over by it. 00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:23.360 At the end of the day, Job is an example. It's strange how Job is only portrayed as an 00:30:23.360 --> 00:30:29.600 example of a righteous man who persevered. They don't talk of him as the one who suffered greatly. 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:34.400 They talk of him as the one who persevered greatly. And what was his perseverance? 00:30:34.400 --> 00:30:41.440 That I am righteous. You are a righteous God. Why, oh God? And then after 38 chapters of wise, 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:49.040 in four chapters of wise, God silences everything. So none of these questions are 00:30:49.840 --> 00:30:56.400 not valid. You have a right, I have a right to ask these questions. But one must approach the 00:30:56.400 --> 00:31:03.280 asking of this question not to cast suspicion but to get answers. That's the difference. 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:10.640 Our questioning is usually, well, if you're a good father and you have the power, why didn't you prevent it? 00:31:11.360 --> 00:31:17.600 And that, while God gives us the freedom to do that, I'm saying there's a better way to go about it, 00:31:17.600 --> 00:31:23.040 where you get answers. And we will have to deal with Job. You can't avoid it. 00:31:33.600 --> 00:31:40.560 Yeah, I mean if you insulated your child like you want God to insulate you, 00:31:40.720 --> 00:31:47.120 your child would die of a common cold. I'm sorry, maybe that's not a good reference at this time. 00:31:50.960 --> 00:31:57.200 Your child would die of, your child would not die, forget the child. Let's just move on. Sorry, 00:31:57.200 --> 00:32:03.920 it was just a bad example. But the point is, if we insulated our children like you want God to insulate 00:32:03.920 --> 00:32:09.200 you, your children would have allergies to everything. 00:32:12.240 --> 00:32:16.720 Yeah, ah, why didn't you come up with this about a minute ago? 00:32:19.760 --> 00:32:21.520 Your children would not grow up the way they should. 00:32:23.600 --> 00:32:28.880 Okay, the next one. Temptation to sin or compromise. 00:32:28.880 --> 00:32:34.720 All these carry costs, eh? Next one. Persecution. 00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:39.520 Persecution. 00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:52.320 Which is something that happens to Christians in many other countries. Discipline. 00:32:53.280 --> 00:32:53.840 Discipline. 00:32:56.640 --> 00:33:06.160 This is from God. To instruct, to stop from greater harm, 00:33:10.320 --> 00:33:13.520 to make more fruitful. These are the three reasons you're disciplined. 00:33:14.160 --> 00:33:19.440 These are the three reasons you're disciplined. God disciplines us to instruct us, 00:33:19.600 --> 00:33:25.680 God disciplines us to stop from causing ourselves greater harm, and God disciplines us 00:33:25.840 --> 00:33:31.200 so that we may be branches that produce more fruit. These are the three ways of discipline. 00:33:31.440 --> 00:33:34.160 When we think discipline, we immediately think really bad things. 00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:39.360 But these are the three ways of discipline. And discipline is unto God. 00:33:39.520 --> 00:33:44.480 But these are the three ways of discipline. And discipline is unpleasant if you don't learn, 00:33:45.120 --> 00:33:51.600 if I don't learn quickly. And then the last one is outright satanic attacks. 00:33:52.400 --> 00:34:02.960 Outright satanic attacks. These are all veiled, eh? These are veiled satanic attacks. 00:34:03.360 --> 00:34:10.560 But this one is outright. And may I suggest to you that because we have a tendency not to give the 00:34:10.560 --> 00:34:16.960 devil too much credit and not to make much of the devil, that we've literally made him like not 00:34:16.960 --> 00:34:23.440 important when one of his main jobs day and night, night and day, is to shoot fiery arrows. We talked 00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:28.400 about this last week. We talked about what has made bitter. I went through a list of what the enemy does. 00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:34.160 This then, why am I putting down this list? I just want us to be aware of the context we live in. 00:34:34.160 --> 00:34:44.640 We have been born in a time of war. And this is what is actively happening on a daily basis. 00:34:44.640 --> 00:34:51.840 It's brilliant that you and I are either not aware of it because we have learned how to overcome it, 00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:56.320 but if you're not aware of it because we're just sitting here, you're not aware of it because we 00:34:56.320 --> 00:35:00.320 have learned how to overcome it, but if you're not aware of it because we're just not aware of 00:35:00.320 --> 00:35:04.160 what we're dealing with, then ignorance is not bliss because time will eventually catch up. 00:35:07.200 --> 00:35:07.760 Any questions? 00:35:11.920 --> 00:35:21.600 Discipline. Initially, it'll be, hey Nick, you need to change in this area so I'm going to send 00:35:22.080 --> 00:35:26.720 you a message. You read it in the Bible. It ain't working. Hey Nick, let me send Jacob to you. He'll 00:35:26.720 --> 00:35:32.640 help correct you. So I come with instruction for you and you don't listen. And so God says, 00:35:33.280 --> 00:35:40.240 nuts Nick, if you keep going down this path, it may be harmful. So let me raise up some 00:35:41.040 --> 00:35:46.720 obstacles so that you don't go down this crazy road. Nuts. Nick is still not listening. Hey Nick, 00:35:46.720 --> 00:35:52.640 and so he has to amp up the volume so that you're here. So you can avoid a whole lot of 00:35:52.640 --> 00:36:00.400 unpleasantness by just listening the first time. No parent enjoys discipline. My dad used to buy 00:36:00.400 --> 00:36:09.120 me ice cream after every discipline. You can imagine why I put on weight. I needed a lot of discipline. 00:36:11.600 --> 00:36:13.760 Sugarcane juice or ice cream. Go ahead. 00:36:17.680 --> 00:36:18.400 As a father. 00:36:20.800 --> 00:36:28.080 Yeah. The crazy thing is you good fathers got your fatherness from another father who was the first 00:36:28.080 --> 00:36:34.000 father because you weren't born fathers. None of you guys came down from heaven as fathers. 00:36:35.920 --> 00:36:43.040 All the good fatherness you have in you is the result of it being lent to you by someone who 00:36:43.040 --> 00:36:46.080 was it forever. He didn't even discover it. He was it. 00:36:51.840 --> 00:36:56.080 If he didn't do discipline and testing, he wouldn't be a good father to you. 00:37:00.160 --> 00:37:04.000 Why is it that I don't ask Prashant to play the piano? Cause I've heard him and it's bad. 00:37:05.920 --> 00:37:11.520 Why is it that I ask Sheldon? Cause he's proven his metal. There are tests to pass. 00:37:11.520 --> 00:37:12.240 Okay. 00:37:17.680 --> 00:37:24.400 As parents, you refuse to insulate your children from the above. You actively participate in this 00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:32.800 process. And why is it that God should insulate you from all of this? Why should he insulate you 00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:40.080 from incitement towards evil? If he insulates you from the inside, why should he insulate you from 00:37:40.480 --> 00:37:46.160 if he insulates you from being incited towards evil, how will you ever combat evil? 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:56.160 The strange thing is with incitement and with temptation, here's what it says in second 00:37:56.160 --> 00:38:02.080 Corinthians, that I will always give you a way out. Always. There has never been a time in my life 00:38:02.080 --> 00:38:09.200 where I was incited to evil or where I was tempted that I did not always have. Just by the sheer 00:38:09.200 --> 00:38:15.200 presence of Christ in my life, the power to overcome it, leave alone options to overcome it. 00:38:16.480 --> 00:38:21.920 Just think of that. Not only do I have Christ living in me, which means that I do not need to 00:38:21.920 --> 00:38:27.840 succumb to any temptation just because Christ lives in me. But that aside, he also provides 00:38:27.840 --> 00:38:31.200 me options saying, hey Jacob, you can still get out of this. 00:38:31.200 --> 00:38:34.720 You as parents don't do it and yet your children don't turn around and say, 00:38:35.360 --> 00:38:40.320 why aren't you preventing evil? Man, if they didn't, you need to understand this. There's 00:38:40.320 --> 00:38:46.160 nothing that you can do to change this. You are born in a time of war. You must come to grips with 00:38:46.160 --> 00:38:54.080 that. To not live in that is to live in what is not real. You have been born in a time of war. 00:38:54.160 --> 00:38:57.760 Please, I'm not exaggerating when you just have to look at Old Testament and New Testament, 00:38:57.760 --> 00:39:03.680 Book of Acts and Gospels and Kings and Chronicles and you will see one thing very clearly that every 00:39:03.680 --> 00:39:13.440 inch of land is contested and every life is contested. Every inch of land. If you are here 00:39:13.440 --> 00:39:19.040 and you do not know Christ or if you are not aware of Christ, you will be in a state of 00:39:19.920 --> 00:39:24.800 every inch of land. If you are here and you do not know Christ or if you are here and you 00:39:24.800 --> 00:39:28.800 don't have a relationship with Christ or if you are here and you have a relationship with Christ 00:39:28.800 --> 00:39:33.920 but you're not walking with Christ, how do you think that works? Sure, it's your own free will 00:39:33.920 --> 00:39:38.400 but remember your own free will becomes your greatest enemy because it can be hijacked or 00:39:38.400 --> 00:39:46.480 it can be given to the lordship of someone. Christ never hijacks it but there is one who hijacks it. 00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:56.400 And if we don't understand the context we are born into, then we will not understand why evil exists 00:39:57.840 --> 00:40:03.280 and we will not understand why God will not insulate you from it because if he insulates 00:40:03.280 --> 00:40:10.000 you from it, you'll be shot the moment you step out of your house. That's what happens in wartime. 00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:11.040 Any questions? 00:40:14.320 --> 00:40:22.880 It's good news man. It ain't bad news. I'm glad I know the things that I know so I can deal with it. 00:40:22.880 --> 00:40:27.760 We'll do just one more section. The sections I had for you are circumstances at training ground. 00:40:27.760 --> 00:40:30.320 We'll cover that. Step back into the spirit man. 00:40:30.320 --> 00:40:35.840 Step back into the spirit man. Step back into the spirit man. Step back into the spirit man. 00:40:35.840 --> 00:40:39.520 Circumstances at training ground. We'll cover that. Step back into the spirit man. 00:40:40.160 --> 00:40:43.680 The secret place of the most high. We'll do that next time. Where your treasure is. 00:40:44.720 --> 00:40:48.240 Deep calls are the deep. It's strange. I just want to touch on that 00:40:48.240 --> 00:40:50.800 because it's a very small point. Psalm 91 verse 2. 00:40:54.080 --> 00:40:59.200 So the first verse is being said as he the first verse is a statement. 00:40:59.200 --> 00:41:02.400 He that dwells in the secret place of the most high will abide in the shadow of 00:41:03.360 --> 00:41:06.480 the almighty. Now look at the sudden change that happens. 00:41:07.120 --> 00:41:12.080 Having made that statement, Moses, I'm assuming is a writer, goes immediately into I will say. 00:41:13.440 --> 00:41:19.280 There is this idea of needing to speak the word because you actually believe it. 00:41:20.400 --> 00:41:23.520 Or if you don't believe it, start speaking it till you believe it. Whichever 00:41:24.080 --> 00:41:29.200 however it cuts. But it is strange how he makes a statement about God and then instead of leaving 00:41:29.200 --> 00:41:33.840 at it even though he is a writer, he immediately, I mean these are revelatory prophetic psalms. 00:41:34.800 --> 00:41:39.520 You're talking about he will not let angels, he will let angels carry you. You will tread 00:41:39.520 --> 00:41:44.720 over the serpent and the lion. Who's he talking about? He's talking about one who is going to 00:41:44.720 --> 00:41:50.320 come after him. Who they say is a type of Moses. And having prophetically spoken it, he is now 00:41:50.320 --> 00:41:54.560 saying having heard it through a revelation that he that dwelleth in the secret place of the most 00:41:54.560 --> 00:41:59.280 high will abide under the shadow of the almighty. Instead of leaving it there, Moses, the writer 00:41:59.280 --> 00:42:06.000 begins to say I will say of the Lord that he is my refuge and my fortress. There is a need to 00:42:06.000 --> 00:42:11.600 respond with words, with a voice to that which is spoken that you know is a revelation. 00:42:14.400 --> 00:42:19.360 And the strange thing is that's what it says in revelations in Psalm 91 verse 2. Now go to the last 00:42:19.920 --> 00:42:26.320 three verses of the psalm. Suddenly the speaker now changes. It was Moses who was speaking. Moses 00:42:26.320 --> 00:42:30.480 who was getting revelations from God and now he begins to hear the voice of God because in the last 00:42:30.480 --> 00:42:36.480 three verses, verses 12 to 14, you find that God begins to speak and in his speaking he says four 00:42:36.480 --> 00:42:45.360 things. Honor you, protect you, demonstrate my salvation. God begins to speak. So go towards the end 00:42:46.320 --> 00:42:52.960 of Psalm 91 and the speaker changes. Deep calling to deep. Your voice calls out to him. His voice 00:42:52.960 --> 00:43:01.440 begins to return in conversation. This is what prayer is. Psalm 91 verse 10 to 14. 00:43:03.680 --> 00:43:09.040 And here's what it says. After Moses has made the statements, now God begins to speak. Because he 00:43:09.120 --> 00:43:15.760 loves me says the Lord. I will rescue him. I will protect him for he acknowledges my name. How did 00:43:15.760 --> 00:43:21.120 Moses acknowledge his name? How did Moses acknowledge his name? Not by writing down this prophetic 00:43:21.120 --> 00:43:26.320 psalm but by agreeing with the prophetic psalm. How did he agree with God? By putting into his 00:43:26.320 --> 00:43:33.120 words what he heard. I will say of the Lord he is my refuge and my fortress. In him I will trust. 00:43:33.120 --> 00:43:38.800 And now God in the last three verses turns around and says but because you have acknowledged me. 00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:47.280 Deep calling to deep. Guys I will never tire of saying it that this must be done by you. 00:43:55.040 --> 00:43:58.480 This is one of those things you can imitate me in and you will be imitating Christ. 00:43:58.480 --> 00:44:11.760 It is life altering. I say it with absolute humility but with tremendous passion. 00:44:14.960 --> 00:44:19.680 I'm fascinated by this man who hears a revelation from God and then begins to agree with it by 00:44:19.680 --> 00:44:23.680 speaking it out. And then after he speaks it out God later on says you acknowledged me. 00:44:24.560 --> 00:44:28.400 You didn't write down what I gave as a revelation. You acknowledged me in the revelation. 00:44:28.480 --> 00:44:36.080 Then he goes on to say because he loves me says the Lord I will rescue him. I will protect him 00:44:36.080 --> 00:44:40.240 for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me and I will answer him. I will be with him in 00:44:40.240 --> 00:44:44.720 trouble. I will deliver him. Why? Because Moses said listen God I want you to know that having 00:44:44.720 --> 00:44:48.640 revealed what you have revealed. You are my refuge and my fortress and you I will put my trust. And 00:44:48.640 --> 00:44:53.280 then he says I will protect him. I will honor him. I will deliver him and with long life I will 00:44:53.280 --> 00:44:58.080 satisfy him and show him my salvation. It's crazy man how these things work. 00:45:02.160 --> 00:45:07.840 I just want to touch on circumstances being training ground for us and then we'll stop. 00:45:09.120 --> 00:45:12.960 And then I'll continue on the 15th. 00:45:15.680 --> 00:45:20.800 Maybe I'll have what's his name also go down this road. What's his name? 00:45:21.280 --> 00:45:23.280 Jiwan. 00:45:31.280 --> 00:45:39.920 So every believer guys this is again going back to the thing that you parents do with your children. 00:45:39.920 --> 00:45:46.960 God will not insulate you from having to deal with the fact that there is a live active enemy 00:45:46.960 --> 00:45:51.200 because you have been born into a time of war that will not conclude till Christ comes back. 00:45:52.800 --> 00:45:58.800 And he will not insulate you from that. You will not be bubble boys and bubble girls wrapped up in 00:45:58.800 --> 00:46:09.840 a plastic thing. So every believer has a small sphere of influence that God plans for you to 00:46:09.840 --> 00:46:16.720 rule and reign over. So every believer every person who is born again I mean every person 00:46:16.720 --> 00:46:22.800 to begin with was supposed to be made in the image of God and was supposed to deputize on 00:46:22.800 --> 00:46:28.560 his behalf and steward things on his behalf here on earth. Every human being. But they don't know 00:46:28.560 --> 00:46:34.080 it and we know it. So every believer has a sphere of influence that you are supposed to rule and 00:46:34.080 --> 00:46:42.240 reign over. And God will train you for it. He will train you for it with all the evil that is around 00:46:42.240 --> 00:46:47.760 because that will not end till he comes back and death will be the last enemy that is defeated. 00:46:49.920 --> 00:46:53.440 And what are these spheres of influence? They're usually these spheres of influence 00:46:54.400 --> 00:47:03.840 and they are home, work, church. And by church I mean not a service. This thing called the body of 00:47:03.840 --> 00:47:08.320 Christ. These are the three spheres of influence. Every believer has it. Doesn't matter whether it's 00:47:08.320 --> 00:47:18.400 Aaron who may be 12 or Sheldon who may be 20. At the end of the day everyone has a sphere of influence 00:47:18.400 --> 00:47:24.320 and God intended it that way. How do we know God intended it that way? Because his intent for Adam 00:47:24.320 --> 00:47:33.040 was that one day he would replenish the earth. And yet what does God do? He takes the entire earth 00:47:33.040 --> 00:47:41.360 and takes a tiny corner called Eden and says start here. This is your sphere of influence. 00:47:43.440 --> 00:47:44.720 And he does that with everybody. 00:47:46.960 --> 00:47:53.200 And then he uses circumstances to train us. The three spheres I've written showed you. 00:47:53.200 --> 00:47:57.200 The sphere of influence, your sphere of influence is where 00:47:58.560 --> 00:48:06.720 your sphere of influence is where you learn your measure 00:48:09.760 --> 00:48:17.760 of rule. Your sphere of influence is where you learn your present measure of rule, 00:48:17.760 --> 00:48:25.560 your present measure of rule. Your sphere of influence is where you learn your 00:48:25.560 --> 00:48:30.520 present measure of rule. This goes back to Matthew 25, the parable of the talents. 00:48:30.520 --> 00:48:34.040 Well done good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over five, let me 00:48:34.040 --> 00:48:39.760 give you ten. They had a sphere of influence. They were rewarded the same. 00:48:39.760 --> 00:48:43.640 The one who had one got two, the one who had three got six, the one who had five 00:48:43.640 --> 00:48:56.840 got ten. The multiplication was the same. And God won't take away all the things 00:48:56.840 --> 00:49:00.840 that are happening around you in the midst of it. Man what would be the point 00:49:00.840 --> 00:49:05.440 if Daniel opened the door of his room and prayed five times a day in the 00:49:05.440 --> 00:49:18.520 Vatican. He had to do it in Babylon man. Do it in Rome, what's a big deal? The Pope 00:49:18.520 --> 00:49:29.920 does it anyways five times a day. So he won't take away the opposition because 00:49:29.920 --> 00:49:36.720 at the end of the day his hope is that you will learn your present measure of 00:49:36.720 --> 00:49:40.720 rule. And what do you mean learn your present measure of rule? What do you 00:49:40.720 --> 00:49:52.360 mean by that? How to receive from God what his promises are. How to overcome 00:49:52.560 --> 00:50:12.880 evil. How to stand. How to exert faith. How to multiply what's in your hand. How 00:50:12.880 --> 00:50:25.640 faithful under pressure. This is how you increase in your measure. You think that 00:50:25.640 --> 00:50:32.360 any of us will get anywhere without this? You think a degree will get you this? You 00:50:32.360 --> 00:50:42.960 think being someone's son will get you this? Not in the kingdom of God. Do you 00:50:42.960 --> 00:50:50.640 know how many ministries are ruined because the sons don't pay the cost and 00:50:50.640 --> 00:50:55.520 so they're handed over things that they never had the character to handle. Go 00:50:55.520 --> 00:51:09.800 ahead. What a mess. How do we learn to increase? How do you learn your present 00:51:09.800 --> 00:51:15.000 measure of rule in the three spheres that you are given? Because all of us have 00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:21.200 these spheres even if you don't have a spouse you still have this sphere. How do 00:51:21.280 --> 00:51:28.720 you get to learn your measure of rule? Here's how. How to receive from God. What 00:51:28.720 --> 00:51:33.800 do I need for homework church? How do I handle my baby? How do I handle my spouse? 00:51:33.800 --> 00:51:37.920 Now that I've come into this new land how do I handle the future? How do I handle 00:51:37.920 --> 00:51:42.200 Acts 29? What do I do as Acts 29 begins to grow? How do I handle New York? How do 00:51:42.200 --> 00:51:47.040 I handle this? How do I handle that? Next, what are the promises that God has given 00:51:47.040 --> 00:51:54.280 me? It's the first thing you do when you get your job. When they give you a job 00:51:54.280 --> 00:52:00.880 and they sign the paper what's it called? It's called a contract but you have been 00:52:00.880 --> 00:52:07.720 on probation so I can understand. Job offer or contract. The first thing you 00:52:07.720 --> 00:52:10.920 do when you get a contract is you look at the promises that the company is 00:52:10.920 --> 00:52:15.120 giving you. How much leave? How much money for the leave? You look over all that but 00:52:15.120 --> 00:52:20.400 not when it comes to the kingdom. What are the promises? How do I overcome evil? 00:52:20.400 --> 00:52:25.200 Because it's a reality. How do I stand in the day of evil? How do I exert faith? How 00:52:25.200 --> 00:52:31.640 do I multiply what's in my hand? How do I walk faithfully under pressure? Man, you 00:52:31.640 --> 00:52:44.880 should, your heart should thrill at this. How do you, where am I? How do you multiply 00:52:44.880 --> 00:52:51.680 what's in your hand? One of the things God asks, see what is in your hand? He 00:52:51.680 --> 00:52:55.760 asks that of Moses. What's in your hand? A rod. Throw it down. Turns into a 00:52:55.760 --> 00:52:59.200 serpent. Pick it up. Turns back into a rod. What's in your hand? Just a tiny bit 00:52:59.200 --> 00:53:05.080 of oil. Well, give it to me. Make me a cake of cake and we'll see what happens 00:53:05.080 --> 00:53:11.440 with that. What's in your hand? How do you multiply it? And then the last one is 00:53:11.440 --> 00:53:16.400 faithfulness under pressure. Your heart should thrill at this because we serve 00:53:16.400 --> 00:53:21.440 at the pleasure of just one who is the king of the universe. We serve at his 00:53:21.440 --> 00:53:25.920 pleasure and to serve at his pleasure. I don't want to, I don't want to spend the 00:53:25.920 --> 00:53:34.000 next 40 years sweeping the foyer. Sure, David said I would rather be a janitor 00:53:34.000 --> 00:53:38.800 in the foyer of your temple than be elsewhere but David didn't mean I want 00:53:38.800 --> 00:53:48.760 to be that for the next 40 years. David wanted to increase in God. One of my 00:53:48.760 --> 00:53:56.200 favorite lines in Psalm 119 is, Oh God, enlarge my heart that I might run after 00:53:56.200 --> 00:54:01.040 you. He's begging God, I have loved you all I can, I can't love you anymore so 00:54:01.040 --> 00:54:04.560 would you enlarge my heart so I could love you more? 00:54:08.840 --> 00:54:18.040 This is how you increase by thinking right, by worshipping and as you do this 00:54:18.040 --> 00:54:22.000 guys, God will start expanding your sphere and give you a greater measure, 00:54:22.000 --> 00:54:27.440 greater influence, greater anointing, greater power. Anointing doesn't come 00:54:27.440 --> 00:54:33.600 because you went up and someone laid hands on you. Anointing and power and 00:54:33.600 --> 00:54:39.720 influence and measure comes because in these things you are being faithful and 00:54:39.720 --> 00:54:44.360 God says let me now increase your measure and in the process of increasing 00:54:44.360 --> 00:54:47.760 your measure let me give you a greater sphere and in the process of giving you 00:54:47.760 --> 00:54:54.360 a greater sphere you will now need from me greater anointing and power and then 00:54:54.360 --> 00:54:58.880 he expands you out of your present place into the next place and when you fill 00:54:58.880 --> 00:55:06.280 that place he'll expand you further. Isn't this your desire for your children? 00:55:09.520 --> 00:55:14.440 Isn't this your desire for your children and will you insulate them from 00:55:14.440 --> 00:55:22.000 opposition, from bullies, from teachers who are not good, from falling and 00:55:22.000 --> 00:55:28.880 hurting their knees? Will you insulate them? How are you going to raise the next 00:55:28.880 --> 00:55:38.080 messy if every time your kid falls and scratches his knee you go and say right 00:55:38.080 --> 00:55:41.960 you're not playing anymore. No, you let them fall, you let them get up, you let 00:55:41.960 --> 00:55:46.000 them fall and you take care of them every time. Man, we got to do the same 00:55:46.000 --> 00:55:49.400 thing. Ouch that hurt. 00:55:52.000 --> 00:55:55.000 These can be calibrated. 00:56:01.000 --> 00:56:04.000 These must be displayed. 00:56:07.000 --> 00:56:12.000 This cannot be, yeah, yeah, internally it's happening. Really? 00:56:12.000 --> 00:56:15.000 Show me you're pregnant. 00:56:15.000 --> 00:56:24.000 It has to manifest and these do not manifest in isolation. I love what Eddie 00:56:24.000 --> 00:56:28.000 used to say, a guy used to come to Eddie's father and used to tell Eddie's 00:56:28.000 --> 00:56:32.000 father, you know I'm very spiritual and Eddie's father would always ask who are 00:56:32.000 --> 00:56:37.000 you spiritual with? Because when you're not spiritual you're not going to be 00:56:37.000 --> 00:56:40.000 able to manifest. 00:56:40.000 --> 00:56:45.000 And Eddie's father would always ask who are you spiritual with? Because the 00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:51.000 guy would always be on his own, never connect with the body, just be in and out, 00:56:51.000 --> 00:56:55.000 perhaps a Sunday thing and but he would he would keep saying you know I'm really 00:56:55.000 --> 00:57:00.000 spiritual and the question is well who are you spiritual with? And you can't be 00:57:00.000 --> 00:57:06.000 spiritual with someone two hours sitting on a pew way. You're being spiritual with 00:57:06.000 --> 00:57:14.000 a pew. As I do God expands my sphere, gives me greater measure, greater 00:57:14.000 --> 00:57:17.000 influence. Guys, he expands you out of your present place into the next place. 00:57:17.000 --> 00:57:20.000 When you fill that he pushes you out further. In the end you end up carrying a 00:57:20.000 --> 00:57:26.000 family, a city, a church. Just think of it, eh? You know I was thinking of this, 00:57:26.000 --> 00:57:34.000 that, Blessy knows this. I was 22 or something, had this deep desire to do 00:57:34.000 --> 00:57:39.000 something for the youth in Bahrain. Used to play table tennis with them, began to 00:57:39.000 --> 00:57:43.000 influence many of them from Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, used to gather with 00:57:43.000 --> 00:57:48.000 them, little knowing that these things that I learned in the process would now 00:57:48.000 --> 00:57:55.000 expand my sphere further. And then I've watched the greatest advantage of 00:57:55.000 --> 00:58:00.000 getting old is you've got tons of hindsight. I feel bad for you 00:58:00.000 --> 00:58:08.000 20 somethings. When you look back at your life you only see baby pictures. I meant 00:58:08.000 --> 00:58:16.000 that as a not a compliment. But the point is this, that it began there with a bunch 00:58:16.000 --> 00:58:22.000 of kids in a little room that was super hot in 45 degree heat and then from there 00:58:22.000 --> 00:58:28.000 it began happening. And as I watch now nations opening up I rarely think that it 00:58:28.000 --> 00:58:32.000 is because of some great grifting, anointing or anything. I think it is 00:58:32.000 --> 00:58:38.000 because of faithfulness at different phases. And when I see the demonic that I 00:58:38.000 --> 00:58:43.000 deal with now, and when I look back 20 years and look at the demonic that I dealt 00:58:43.000 --> 00:58:49.000 with then, I can see a difference even in terms of authority. And so when I read 00:58:49.000 --> 00:58:53.000 this line out it really resonates with me and I pray that it resonates with 00:58:53.000 --> 00:58:57.000 everybody in this church, if not tomorrow then day after tomorrow, that you can 00:58:57.000 --> 00:59:02.000 end up not just carrying your family because that's the sphere you begin that. 00:59:02.000 --> 00:59:06.000 You can end up not just carrying your family, you can end up carrying a church, 00:59:06.000 --> 00:59:11.000 you can end up carrying a city. And God will deliberately send you to dry places. 00:59:11.000 --> 00:59:16.000 Why? Because you have suddenly become a well digger. You have the ability to go 00:59:16.000 --> 00:59:20.000 into dry places, dry nations, dig up wells and out of that well begin to pour out 00:59:20.000 --> 00:59:24.000 water. Now you can understand Isaiah 35. Now you can understand spring up all 00:59:24.000 --> 00:59:29.000 wells. You know what it says about that song spring up all wells, splash, splash? 00:59:29.000 --> 00:59:35.000 It says call your nobles, call your kings and tell them to use their sceptres, 00:59:35.000 --> 00:59:40.000 Judah, so that you can dig up wells, so that out of those wells can spring 00:59:40.000 --> 00:59:51.000 living water. This is what we are talking about, man. Your circumstances will train 00:59:51.000 --> 00:59:55.000 you. Your circumstances will train you. I'll finish in two minutes. Your 00:59:55.000 --> 01:00:01.000 circumstances will train you so that you can carry a family, carry a city, 01:00:01.000 --> 01:00:03.000 carry a church. Guys, you don't have to be a preacher for this. You can be 01:00:03.000 --> 01:00:08.000 whatever you are, a guitarist, a businessman, environmental, whatever you are, 01:00:08.000 --> 01:00:15.000 software, whatever. You can be a mom who's just taking care of her kids and 01:00:15.000 --> 01:00:19.000 cities and churches and nations you begin to water. Why? Because you were 01:00:19.000 --> 01:00:23.000 faithful in these things and you began with your home, work and church and you 01:00:23.000 --> 01:00:31.000 will not be insulated from the enemy. We will overcome. We will overcome. Do you 01:00:31.000 --> 01:00:36.000 know that the book of Revelation is continuously, at least three churches, the 01:00:36.000 --> 01:00:40.000 last line of every letter that Jesus writes to the churches ends this way, to 01:00:40.000 --> 01:00:50.000 him who overcomes. To him who overcomes. And then it says this is the reward. He 01:00:50.000 --> 01:00:57.000 earned the right, man that offers because he overcame and the one who 01:00:57.000 --> 01:01:09.000 overcame dwells in our midst. Your character can only handle the anointing 01:01:09.000 --> 01:01:16.000 prophesied over you if your character is proven in handling circumstances. Your 01:01:16.000 --> 01:01:23.000 character can only handle the anointing that is prophesied over you if your 01:01:23.000 --> 01:01:31.000 character is proven under circumstances. I was trying to chat two days ago. I'll 01:01:31.000 --> 01:01:36.000 end here. I'm not going any further. I was trying to chat a few days ago and I 01:01:36.000 --> 01:01:41.000 was, maybe I said this last time I was here, and I've realized that when I take 01:01:41.000 --> 01:01:46.000 people with me to different places, especially to deal with some of the 01:01:46.000 --> 01:01:50.000 principalities that rule over nations, that at some point or the other many of 01:01:50.000 --> 01:01:56.000 them are being affected. And when I was trying to chat about it, I said Jacob 01:01:56.000 --> 01:02:01.000 unfortunately there is no other way to do this than to take someone into a 01:02:01.000 --> 01:02:06.000 battle because you can train them all you want in a classroom, but till you 01:02:06.000 --> 01:02:11.000 actually fly an aircraft in combat with real enemies who can shoot you down at 01:02:11.000 --> 01:02:16.000 40,000 feet, traveling at twice the speed of sound, you really don't know if 01:02:16.000 --> 01:02:25.000 you've got it. And so it's a natural rite of passage. And so in our discussion, 01:02:26.000 --> 01:02:31.000 one of the things I realized is you cannot insulate. You can protect, you can 01:02:31.000 --> 01:02:40.000 lift up, you can help recover, but you cannot insulate. I'm done. Any questions? 01:02:40.000 --> 01:02:50.000 Go ahead. You want to ask something, Don? Okay. Any questions, guys? Your 01:02:50.000 --> 01:02:58.000 character can only handle the anointing that has been prophesied over you if your 01:02:58.000 --> 01:03:04.000 character has been proven under circumstances. Because many of you have 01:03:04.000 --> 01:03:10.000 received prophetic words, but your character can only handle the anointing 01:03:10.000 --> 01:03:18.000 prophesied over you if your character has been proven under circumstances. And if 01:03:18.000 --> 01:03:26.000 your character has not proven itself worthy of the anointing that you require 01:03:26.000 --> 01:03:32.000 for the next phase, then God will not allow you to go further because he would 01:03:32.000 --> 01:03:38.000 hate for you to be trampled under Goliath's boot. And so he'll keep you where 01:03:38.000 --> 01:03:45.000 you are, which is why sometimes you find like life is on Groundhog Day repeats. 01:03:45.000 --> 01:04:00.000 That nothing is breaking forth. It's circular. See, problem with God is he doesn't 01:04:00.000 --> 01:04:07.000 live in time, so he's not very concerned with time that it takes for me to change. 01:04:07.000 --> 01:04:29.000 Let's pray. Gosh, Lord, there's so much to talk. And the intent is to prove your nature. 01:04:29.000 --> 01:04:37.000 We've really warped it. Today we go with this understanding that we were born in a 01:04:37.000 --> 01:04:45.000 time of war, where every inch of land is contested and every life is contested. 01:04:45.000 --> 01:04:51.000 Even though the enemy knows that he has been defeated, it does not prevent him 01:04:51.000 --> 01:04:58.000 from contesting. Revelations 12 or 13 talks about how the woman gave birth to a 01:04:58.000 --> 01:05:03.000 man-child and that when the enemy saw that he was cast out, he raged after the 01:05:03.000 --> 01:05:11.000 child of the woman. There's a rage more so against the children of God. But we are 01:05:11.000 --> 01:05:15.000 not afraid of it. I'm not saying it in a way that frightens us. I'm just saying, 01:05:15.000 --> 01:05:21.000 Father, that we are born in a time of war and we refuse to have our children 01:05:21.000 --> 01:05:28.000 insulated. They shall become ones that will grow from... 01:05:28.000 --> 01:05:36.000 Yeah. Don't want to get too dramatic, Father. All I'm saying, Father, is as we 01:05:36.000 --> 01:05:42.000 go home now, could you make us aware that there is evil around us, but there is the 01:05:42.000 --> 01:05:50.000 righteous, holy one who overcame evil within us. I pray that we would go home 01:05:50.000 --> 01:05:55.000 and explore the world. Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. 01:05:55.000 --> 01:06:03.000 How absurd if you lived in me and then allowed evil to happen to you. I remember 01:06:03.000 --> 01:06:08.000 what you said, oh God, when Paul was persecuting Christians. He said, Jesus, 01:06:08.000 --> 01:06:16.000 you said to Paul, why are you persecuting me? You take this very personally. 01:06:16.000 --> 01:06:24.000 I'll end on that note, Father. Don't want to sing or anything. Just want to go 01:06:24.000 --> 01:06:27.000 soberly. In Jesus' name, Amen.