WEBVTT

NOTE
Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver
Episode: Stewarding the Harvest 2
Publishing Date: 2025-11-23T02:04:44-08:00
Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca
Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/stewarding-the-harvest-2/

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We have been to different places and know that it is connected to people that meet in Richmond.

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We use it for anything from distributing hot chocolate to clothes to soup to Christmas

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bags where it will be like the ice cream man. You will be surprised at what will happen because of it.

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I am looking forward to it and trust that the money will come in too. It will cost more than that.

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By the time you put in insurance and making hot chocolate and all that stuff, but this is just for

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the van. Most of these vans will have 200 plus kilometers on, 200k more and 20-12ish, but this is how much it will cost.

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So see what you want to do towards it.

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Cool.

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So when we stopped two weeks ago, I was talking about Stewarding the Harvest and today we continue with it.

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Stewarding the Harvest Part 2. So we looked at Luke 10 verse 1 and 2 last time.

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Here is what it says,

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After this the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.

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And he said to them, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

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That is what we talked about two weeks ago. Today we look at Luke 10, 3-20.

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We are not covering every verse, but that is where we hang around. Luke 10, verse 3-20. That is what we look at today.

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So as soon as you go to verse 3, this is Jesus speaking and he is not someone who exaggerates, he is not someone who dramatizes anything.

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He is not sensational. He is very matter of fact in most of the things he does.

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And he says that the work that you guys are taking on in Richmond is hazardous.

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We don't think like this. We think it is easy peasy. It is not. Harvest is hazardous work.

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That is how the message phrases it as. Harvest is hazardous work.

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Pardon?

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Brandon will take care of that. Harvest is hazardous work.

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He sends us out like lambs in a pack of wolves.

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You have got to think like that. The work that we are going to do is hazardous work.

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We don't think like that. We think it is just going out and maybe speaking to somebody.

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Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. That is how we think.

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But Jesus says it is hazardous work and then he goes on to say I am sending you out like lambs among a pack of wolves.

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If you were a lamb among a pack of wolves or if you were caught in a situation where everybody around you is almost waiting to do you harm, you would be far more alert than you and I are.

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So we are being sent out like lambs in a wolf pack.

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Come to grips with this because this is not how we think. This is not how we think.

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Strangely enough, nobody here thinks like this.

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That is because most of what we do is with flesh and blood so we don't think like this.

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If you were in some other countries you would think like this because then there would be the machinery of the government against you.

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Like let's say North Korea or certain parts of India or certain parts of the world then you would find it hazardous work.

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But in Canada we don't think like this because there is no actual machinery that threatens you.

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Therefore it is important to think like this and we will see why.

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And therefore he says because of this don't get distracted.

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Don't get distracted.

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I don't think like this, at least not in Canada.

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Don't get distracted.

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And when you want to understand what don't get distracted looks like you have to go to 2 Timothy 4-6 and maybe Luke 9, 57-62.

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So if you go to 2 Timothy 4-6, 2 Timothy 2, 4-6, 2 Timothy 2, 4-6.

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Here's what he says, no soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

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An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

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It is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share of crops.

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One of the things that I heard Jeremy, Evan and Nick keep saying to people in Indonesia was that they do have jobs but those jobs are secondary.

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That their first job is kingdom.

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Time and time again I would be standing there and I would be eavesdropping.

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And people would ask them, so are you guys working in the church or what do you do?

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And they say no, we have regular jobs but that's the second job.

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Our primary job is to do what we are presently doing.

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And so this idea of being not distracted, don't get distracted goes back to 2 Timothy 2, 4-6 and Luke 9, 57-62.

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Where if it's hazardous work, if you are lambs in a wolf pack, be alert and do not get distracted.

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Luke 9, 57-62, read that.

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Luke 9, 57-62.

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As they were going along the road, someone said to him, I will follow you wherever you go.

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Jesus said to him, foxes of holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.

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To another he said, follow me.

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But he said, Lord, let me go and bury my father.

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And Jesus said to him, leave the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.

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Yet another said, I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.

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Jesus said to him, no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

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So do not get distracted is a question that we need to ask ourselves.

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Is what we are doing your primary pursuit or is your job your primary pursuit?

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So we go back to something we talked long ago, which we haven't done for a while, which is

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there's

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this is how Christians must operate.

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There's Christ and the church at the center.

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And then there's me and my family.

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There's my work.

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There's my money.

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And there's my family.

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And there's my possessions.

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And what Jesus is really saying here is, can you rally your family and serve Christ and the church?

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Can you work, but can work never be something that prevents you from serving Christ and the church?

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Yes, your money, you do give 10%.

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Some of you give 15.

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Some of you give more.

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Can you work with the attitude that all my money belongs to Christ and the church?

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And yes, you have possessions and it's good to have possessions, leave an inheritance for your children.

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But can your possessions, like Barnabas did, be at the disposal of Christ and the church if Christ asks you to?

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That is radical Christian living.

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And so what usually happens is we take this out of the equation

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and we are willing to give everything to Christ

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because the great thing about giving everything to Christ is

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he doesn't have a visible hand that will reach into your pocket.

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So surrendering to Christ is easy.

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Surrendering to Christ and the church is very difficult, eh?

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Because now people may actually take you up on what you

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surrender.

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So this is the kind of no distraction living that he's calling us to

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and so that's a question that must be asked of all of us.

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And if we are not in a place yet to act like that, we keep pressing on towards it, right?

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It's not that we aren't like that today so we won't be better tomorrow.

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But this is where we are heading.

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Any questions on that before we go on?

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I rally my family, I rally my work, I rally my finances and I rally my possessions

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and place it secondary to serving Christ and the church

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so that none of them prevent me from serving Christ and the church.

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It's a mindset.

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The immediate gut reaction from our flesh is, can't do that

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because then I've got responsibilities, I've got things to take care of,

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it's a way of thinking so that should it ever come to it, it won't be a struggle.

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Any questions?

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This?

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Yeah, what if the church is broken?

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Then we'll have to draw another diagram and fix the church.

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So both diagrams will have to be side by side.

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Because this can easily be abused.

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What I'm showing here can easily be abused.

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But it's only that which is true that will ever be abused.

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Nothing false is abused.

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Hey, I've got too much whatever on this.

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So it's always that which is original and authentic that is going to be abused.

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It's never the false that's abused.

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And the danger is then in a cancel culture to throw out the things that are being abused.

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Especially when it's a thing of God, you can't throw it out just because someone is abusing it.

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Because all these can be abused.

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But you cannot separate Christ from the church.

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Christ is ahead, the church is his body, so they go together.

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You cannot separate them.

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You cannot serve Christ, you cannot follow Christ without serving Christ and the church

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or following Christ in the church or with the church.

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As much as we would like it to be different.

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So don't get distracted.

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You are engaged in hazardous work.

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And so can you be single-minded about it?

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This is why he talks about how if you set your hand to the plough, Jacob, don't keep looking back.

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Because if you do, what you plough will be crooked.

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Can you be single-minded about it?

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And can you be fluid about it?

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If you look at Job 37, for long it's been one of my favorite verses.

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Job 37, 11-13.

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Can you be fluid?

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Can you shift at the drop of a hat?

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Job 37, verse 11-13.

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Job 37, 11-13.

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He loads the thick cloud with moisture.

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The clouds scatter his lightning.

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They turn around and around by his guidance to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world.

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Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen.

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If you read the message, it gives you more of an idea of how he puts them through their paces.

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And yes, it's God who fills clouds with rainwater and hurls lightning from them every which way.

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He puts them through their paces first this way, then that.

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Commands them to do what he says all over the world.

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Whether for discipline or grace or extravagant love, he makes sure to make them mark.

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That's the kind of people we want to be.

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At the beck and call of the Holy Spirit.

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Able to turn.

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And that's why he tells his disciples, listen, I don't want you to take two pieces of luggage just because Air Canada says you can.

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Travel light.

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Wear stuff that you can easily put on and get out of.

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Move.

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Be willing to change plans if I have to.

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Be willing to get up and flee if you have to.

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Be flexible.

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This is the kind of people he wants, guys.

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So all we are doing is trying to craft in ourselves the kind of people he wants.

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Because he was like this.

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He was like this.

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We're just trying to imitate the master.

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And then it goes on to say in Luke chapter 10, it says, when you enter a house, this is verse 5.

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When you, let me start from verse 3, go, I'm sending you out like lambs among wolves.

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So when, what's her name, Jane read Isaiah 6 and says, who shall I send, who will go for us?

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And Jane volunteered all of us.

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She just put us into a whole lot of trouble.

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So basically what she's saying is, okay, we will go, but now here's what Jesus says.

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Go, I'm sending you out like lambs among wolves.

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Do not take a purse or bag or sandals and do not greet anyone on the road.

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Be single-minded, be fluid.

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When you enter a house, first say peace to this house.

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If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him.

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If not, it will return to you.

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We cannot determine who we encounter as we go.

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You cannot determine, you cannot determine, you cannot predetermine who you encounter as you go.

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Who you encounter as you go.

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But you should know, and this is important guys, but you should know how to discern,

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you should know how to discern, you should know how to discern those that are ready.

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Those that are ready.

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Or if you stick to the harvest theme, those that are ripe, those that are ready,

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are predisposed to the message and to the messenger, meaning you.

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For people who want to follow the Holy Spirit, we need to follow the Holy Spirit even here.

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You can't predetermine who you may encounter.

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I might go down this route and I may encounter Tuni.

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I can't predetermine that, but I must figure out, I must discern, I should know by the Spirit

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if the person is ready or ripe or predisposed to the message and the messenger.

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It doesn't mean that I don't speak till the person is ready,

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but in my conversation I should figure it out.

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That's what Jesus is saying here, because he says there will be some that won't be ready.

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Do not tarry then, move on.

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If someone does not receive the words that you offer,

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what's his name?

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What's the guy? What's my friend?

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Cam. Yeah, I was going to call him Rob.

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So, remember what Cam said.

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How do you know spaghetti is cooked?

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You throw it at the wall and if it sticks, you know that spaghetti is cooked.

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In the same way, what are the words that you can throw?

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And that's another thing.

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One has to ask the Holy Spirit for the words to speak in every encounter.

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So what happens usually is we have a set format.

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It's either the four spiritual laws or our usual way of approaching people.

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What if we follow John 6.63 which says,

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the words that I speak are spirit and life.

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We do that everywhere else.

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When we meet people and we don't want to talk to them about the gospel,

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but we want to say something to them about their lives,

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we think, we ask the Holy Spirit and we say it.

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When it comes to this part of telling people about the kingdom,

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we still have to use that.

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I have to find from the Holy Spirit the opening conversation

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that helps me see whether the person is predisposed

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to the message and to the messenger.

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And if so, now we go further.

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And if not, move on.

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Do not impose yourself.

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Any questions on that?

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Any questions?

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What you communicate as someone who is extending the peace of God to a person

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will provoke either acceptance or rejection.

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Don't impose if you're not received.

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If you find that the words you're speaking are sparking something,

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now you know that there's an open door.

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He says, if they're open to it, go sit with them.

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Have food with them. What's he saying there?

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Build relationship.

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Hey, this is Jesus' advice.

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It's not ministry strategy.

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He used to do this.

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There were times when he would go to a guy

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and there was a scribe who started saying things to Jesus

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and Jesus' response was,

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you're really close to the Kingdom of God.

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And he didn't push him, but he did encourage him.

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He said, you're very close to the Kingdom of God.

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And then Jesus walked away.

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How nuts is that?

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If you're close to the Kingdom of God, push him over.

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No!

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You're very close to the Kingdom of God

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and you can't even imagine what those words must have done for that man.

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Because now he begins his process of discovery.

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I think I told you about this Jewish kid.

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He wanted a dog.

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He asked his mom, I want a dog.

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And the mom said, sure.

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He said, when?

00:19:37.600 --> 00:19:39.600
She said, when the Messiah comes.

00:19:39.600 --> 00:19:41.600
And the boy started reading

00:19:41.600 --> 00:19:43.600
to find out when the Messiah comes.

00:19:43.600 --> 00:19:48.600
Today he leads a Jewish Christian, a Messianic organization in the U.S.

00:19:48.600 --> 00:19:51.600
Why? Because he just wanted a dog.

00:19:51.600 --> 00:19:55.600
You have no idea what will lead to the Messiah entering your life.

00:19:57.600 --> 00:19:59.600
Wrong thing to say for a mother to a child,

00:19:59.600 --> 00:20:01.600
when the Messiah comes.

00:20:02.560 --> 00:20:04.560
And then he can buy a dog now.

00:20:04.560 --> 00:20:07.560
But the thing is, find out the words that you need to say.

00:20:07.560 --> 00:20:09.560
John 6.63 is important.

00:20:09.560 --> 00:20:11.560
The words that I speak to you are spirit and life.

00:20:11.560 --> 00:20:14.560
And so, the flesh profits nothing.

00:20:14.560 --> 00:20:15.560
It also says that.

00:20:15.560 --> 00:20:17.560
The flesh profits nothing.

00:20:17.560 --> 00:20:20.560
We think that scripture that comes from the flesh will profit.

00:20:20.560 --> 00:20:23.560
I would say that the things that don't come back void

00:20:23.560 --> 00:20:26.560
are words that are sent by the spirit into people's lives.

00:20:26.560 --> 00:20:28.560
Because Jesus spoke a lot.

00:20:28.560 --> 00:20:30.560
And yet, people rejected him.

00:20:32.560 --> 00:20:35.560
When we say the word shall go back and not come back void,

00:20:35.560 --> 00:20:37.560
we think anything we speak will not come back void.

00:20:37.560 --> 00:20:40.560
No, find out what the spirit of God wants and speak those words.

00:20:44.560 --> 00:20:46.560
It becomes an adventure then,

00:20:46.560 --> 00:20:49.560
because you want to find out if the spaghetti sticks.

00:20:52.560 --> 00:20:54.560
So you do that by throwing spaghetti.

00:20:54.560 --> 00:20:56.560
Spaghetti is words that are spirit,

00:20:56.560 --> 00:20:58.560
released from your life.

00:20:59.520 --> 00:21:02.520
When you communicate that peace of God to the person,

00:21:02.520 --> 00:21:04.520
and by peace I mean the wholeness of God

00:21:04.520 --> 00:21:06.520
that he wants to bring into a person's life,

00:21:06.520 --> 00:21:09.520
it will provoke acceptance or it will provoke rejection.

00:21:09.520 --> 00:21:10.520
Don't impose.

00:21:10.520 --> 00:21:12.520
Just move on if it's not received.

00:21:12.520 --> 00:21:15.520
But if you are received, if you are received,

00:21:17.520 --> 00:21:19.520
if you are received.

00:21:19.520 --> 00:21:21.520
And we are talking about

00:21:21.520 --> 00:21:23.520
multiple encounters in Richmond

00:21:23.520 --> 00:21:25.520
and in different parts of Vancouver.

00:21:25.520 --> 00:21:29.480
We have received build relationships.

00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:34.480
In the Jewish culture,

00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:36.480
and in Middle Eastern culture,

00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:38.480
even today it was always over a meal.

00:21:41.480 --> 00:21:43.480
Build relationship.

00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:45.480
And then, here's the odd thing.

00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:46.480
Look at how it goes.

00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.480
Build relationship.

00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:50.480
The second one he says is,

00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:52.480
demonstrate the works of God.

00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:54.440
It says there,

00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:55.440
build relationship,

00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:56.440
go sit in their house,

00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:57.440
eat with them,

00:21:57.440 --> 00:21:59.440
and then heal them.

00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:03.440
This is gutsy, man.

00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:05.440
There's almost nobody

00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:07.440
who does not need some kind of touch

00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:09.440
from Jesus Christ in the world.

00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:11.440
Nobody.

00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:13.440
So you might ask for,

00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:15.440
and this is again the keenness

00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:17.440
of observation that comes from

00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:18.440
listening to the Holy Spirit,

00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:19.440
where you know different things

00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:21.440
that are happening in people's lives.

00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:23.400
And you take the leap,

00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:25.400
saying, hey, is there anything

00:22:25.400 --> 00:22:27.400
I can pray for if you know nothing?

00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:29.400
Or, hey, you look like you're limping.

00:22:29.400 --> 00:22:30.400
Can I pray for your knee?

00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:32.400
Or, hey, I heard that there was a loss.

00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:33.400
Can I pray?

00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:35.400
It's always demonstrating

00:22:35.400 --> 00:22:37.400
the works of the Holy Spirit.

00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:38.400
That's what Jesus says next.

00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:39.400
Build relationship.

00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:40.400
After that,

00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:42.400
heal anyone who is sick.

00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:44.400
Or, cleanse the lepers.

00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:46.400
Or, cast out demons.

00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:47.400
We'll come to that later.

00:22:47.400 --> 00:22:48.400
Demonstrate the works of God.

00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:50.400
And after that he says,

00:22:51.360 --> 00:22:53.360
proclaim the Kingdom.

00:22:56.360 --> 00:22:58.360
Now, it's easy for people

00:22:58.360 --> 00:23:00.360
to accept the proclamation of the Kingdom

00:23:00.360 --> 00:23:02.360
because they just saw the works of the Kingdom.

00:23:04.360 --> 00:23:07.360
These are Jesus' words.

00:23:07.360 --> 00:23:09.360
Let's just trust that he'll show up

00:23:09.360 --> 00:23:11.360
and show off.

00:23:14.360 --> 00:23:16.360
Best to follow his blueprint, man.

00:23:17.320 --> 00:23:19.320
Just follow this pattern.

00:23:23.320 --> 00:23:25.320
Now, what does it mean when we say

00:23:25.320 --> 00:23:27.320
proclaim the Kingdom?

00:23:27.320 --> 00:23:29.320
What do we mean when we say

00:23:29.320 --> 00:23:30.320
proclaim the Kingdom?

00:23:30.320 --> 00:23:31.320
Here's what we mean.

00:23:31.320 --> 00:23:33.320
And verse 9 is what we're talking about right here.

00:23:33.320 --> 00:23:35.320
When you enter a town and are welcomed,

00:23:35.320 --> 00:23:37.320
eat what is said before you,

00:23:37.320 --> 00:23:38.320
heal the sick who are there,

00:23:38.320 --> 00:23:40.320
and tell them the Kingdom of God is near you.

00:23:42.320 --> 00:23:43.320
It's from Scripture.

00:23:43.320 --> 00:23:45.320
What is proclaiming the Kingdom?

00:23:46.280 --> 00:23:48.280
What does proclaiming the Kingdom look like?

00:23:48.280 --> 00:23:49.280
One,

00:23:51.280 --> 00:23:54.280
that Christ

00:23:54.280 --> 00:23:56.280
is

00:23:56.280 --> 00:23:58.280
the only

00:23:58.280 --> 00:24:00.280
Creator

00:24:00.280 --> 00:24:02.280
and

00:24:02.280 --> 00:24:04.280
sovereign.

00:24:04.280 --> 00:24:06.280
Whatever word fits your context,

00:24:06.280 --> 00:24:08.280
Lord, King,

00:24:08.280 --> 00:24:10.280
depends on the context that people are in.

00:24:10.280 --> 00:24:12.280
That he's the only one.

00:24:12.280 --> 00:24:14.280
That he's supreme.

00:24:15.240 --> 00:24:17.240
Occasionally, only

00:24:17.240 --> 00:24:19.240
God and no other.

00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:23.240
That's the first thing about the Kingdom.

00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:25.240
Second,

00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:27.240
that he

00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:29.240
is for

00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:30.240
us.

00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:31.240
And in that,

00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:33.240
you can describe how he's for us.

00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:35.240
He died for us.

00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:39.240
Came down to the earth.

00:24:39.240 --> 00:24:41.240
And so that part you can build.

00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:42.240
He died, he is for us.

00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:43.240
Third,

00:24:44.200 --> 00:24:47.200
this you and I have such a distinct advantage.

00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:49.200
This is what the three boys were talking about.

00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:51.200
He is with us.

00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:53.200
Emmanuel is not a Christmas message.

00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:55.200
It's a presence message.

00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:57.200
It is what distinguishes us

00:24:57.200 --> 00:24:59.200
from all else.

00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:00.200
He is with us.

00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:02.200
This is part of the Kingdom.

00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:04.200
The Kingdom breaking in was Christ coming in.

00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:06.200
Christ in our midst.

00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:07.200
He is for us.

00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:08.200
He is with us.

00:25:08.200 --> 00:25:10.200
And when you say he is with us,

00:25:10.200 --> 00:25:12.200
don't be surprised if he's with us.

00:25:13.160 --> 00:25:15.160
Don't be surprised if some of them take a step back.

00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:19.160
Because once we start doing this, guys,

00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:20.160
a strange thing will happen.

00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:22.160
You will actually carry presence.

00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:23.160
Because you become aware of presence.

00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:25.160
And you're walking in the awareness of presence.

00:25:27.160 --> 00:25:28.160
He is for us.

00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:30.160
He is with us.

00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:32.160
The with us part is super important.

00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:34.160
Because you're carriers.

00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:36.160
Carriers.

00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:38.160
This part is important.

00:25:39.160 --> 00:25:41.160
He is for us.

00:25:42.120 --> 00:25:44.120
He is with us.

00:25:44.120 --> 00:25:46.120
And then...

00:25:46.120 --> 00:25:48.120
Yep.

00:25:50.120 --> 00:25:52.120
Sorry.

00:25:54.120 --> 00:25:56.120
He died for us.

00:25:58.120 --> 00:26:00.120
He died for us.

00:26:00.120 --> 00:26:02.120
Came down.

00:26:02.120 --> 00:26:04.120
Yeah. Sorry.

00:26:04.120 --> 00:26:06.120
Next one.

00:26:06.120 --> 00:26:08.120
He will make all things new.

00:26:12.120 --> 00:26:17.120
Or if you don't know how to explain that to people,

00:26:17.120 --> 00:26:19.120
tell them he'll restore.

00:26:19.120 --> 00:26:21.120
Restore everybody understands.

00:26:23.120 --> 00:26:25.120
And then...

00:26:26.120 --> 00:26:28.120
Tell them what you see right now.

00:26:30.120 --> 00:26:32.120
What you feel right now.

00:26:32.120 --> 00:26:34.120
Because people feel things when we say

00:26:34.120 --> 00:26:36.120
it's a taste of his power.

00:26:37.080 --> 00:26:39.080
This constitutes rule.

00:26:42.080 --> 00:26:44.080
Write it down, memorize it.

00:26:44.080 --> 00:26:45.080
Write it down, pray it.

00:26:45.080 --> 00:26:46.080
Write it down, talk it.

00:26:46.080 --> 00:26:48.080
Write it down, practice it.

00:26:48.080 --> 00:26:50.080
Till announcing the gospel of the kingdom

00:26:50.080 --> 00:26:52.080
becomes such a natural thing for us.

00:26:53.080 --> 00:26:55.080
That Christ is supreme.

00:26:55.080 --> 00:26:56.080
He is Lord.

00:26:56.080 --> 00:26:57.080
He is King.

00:26:57.080 --> 00:26:58.080
He is sovereign.

00:26:58.080 --> 00:26:59.080
He is the only God.

00:26:59.080 --> 00:27:01.080
Whatever word fits your context

00:27:01.080 --> 00:27:03.080
when you're talking to somebody.

00:27:03.080 --> 00:27:05.080
So, you're talking to somebody.

00:27:06.040 --> 00:27:08.040
Second, he is for us.

00:27:08.040 --> 00:27:09.040
He's not against us.

00:27:09.040 --> 00:27:10.040
He's not an enemy.

00:27:10.040 --> 00:27:12.040
He does not need to be appeased.

00:27:12.040 --> 00:27:14.040
No sacrifices are necessary.

00:27:14.040 --> 00:27:15.040
No song and dance.

00:27:15.040 --> 00:27:16.040
He is for us.

00:27:16.040 --> 00:27:17.040
How do we know it?

00:27:17.040 --> 00:27:18.040
He came down.

00:27:18.040 --> 00:27:19.040
And you can explain again,

00:27:19.040 --> 00:27:20.040
depending on the context.

00:27:20.040 --> 00:27:22.040
Because with Catholics, it'll be different.

00:27:22.040 --> 00:27:24.040
With Buddhists, it'll be different.

00:27:24.040 --> 00:27:26.040
With Christians who are born in a Christian family,

00:27:26.040 --> 00:27:27.040
it'll be different.

00:27:27.040 --> 00:27:28.040
Next one.

00:27:28.040 --> 00:27:30.040
He is with us.

00:27:30.040 --> 00:27:33.040
This man go full throttle.

00:27:33.040 --> 00:27:35.000
You've got to trust that you know him.

00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:38.000
That you are aware of him inside you.

00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:40.000
He is with us.

00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:42.000
Right now.

00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:46.000
He will make things new.

00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:48.000
As in, hey, are things broken in your life?

00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:49.000
Let him restore.

00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:51.000
Let me pray for that too.

00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:53.000
This is after demonstrating his works,

00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:54.000
whatever their need be.

00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:55.000
And then the last one is,

00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:56.000
hey, what you see and feel

00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:58.000
as I'm talking to you right now

00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:01.000
is a taste of his power.

00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:03.000
You have no idea how powerful he is.

00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:07.000
Practices in our own lives, eh?

00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:10.000
This is what announcing or proclaiming

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:11.000
the kingdom looks like.

00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:12.000
Any questions?

00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:18.000
It's actually beautiful.

00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:22.000
Yep.

00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:26.000
No, them.

00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:27.000
Them.

00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:28.000
Them.

00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:32.000
People feel things.

00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:33.000
People see things.

00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:36.000
Remember, God was there before you met the person.

00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:37.000
God has set them up.

00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:39.000
They can reject or accept him.

00:28:39.000 --> 00:28:40.000
But when they accept him,

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:41.000
they see, feel things.

00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:43.000
It's just that they don't let on.

00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:44.000
And we don't see.

00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:49.000
It's impossible to come into a place like this,

00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:51.000
even if you don't know a single song.

00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:55.000
Even if you don't have an idea of what's happening.

00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:56.000
And not know that,

00:28:56.000 --> 00:29:00.000
ah, there's something about this that's presence.

00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:03.000
Hey, you go into a temple,

00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:05.000
you go into any place of religion,

00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:06.000
you can feel it.

00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:07.000
How much more?

00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:08.000
The only true God.

00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:14.000
Humans were made that way, guys.

00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:26.000
In the, ah, he is for us, he is with us.

00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:27.000
How do you know he is for us?

00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:28.000
He is for us.

00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:32.000
Then you, these are the broad guidelines

00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:35.000
within which you move.

00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:36.000
He is for us.

00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:37.000
How do you know he is for us?

00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:38.000
He became one of us.

00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:40.000
He came down to the earth in flesh.

00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:41.000
He died.

00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:42.000
He rose again.

00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:47.000
So fit in what you need to based on the context.

00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:51.000
Because we are supposed to announce the gospel of the kingdom.

00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:52.000
Not personal salvation.

00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:55.000
We are inviting them into the reign of Christ.

00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:57.000
There's a difference, guys,

00:29:57.000 --> 00:30:01.000
that we have to learn to make part of our vocabulary

00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:03.000
because we don't have it yet.

00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:10.000
Of course.

00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:15.000
Yeah.

00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.000
Yeah, I would mean, I would say to this friend of yours,

00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:32.000
when you see him two days later, ask him again.

00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:34.000
Ask him again.

00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.000
And then if he still says nothing has changed,

00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:41.000
ask, say that, can I pray one more time?

00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:43.000
Then ask him again and then let it go.

00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:46.000
See guys, at the end of the day,

00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:48.000
you can't do nothing.

00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:50.000
You can't do nothing.

00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:52.000
You can't do nothing.

00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:58.000
You can't do nothing to get someone to receive Christ.

00:30:58.000 --> 00:30:59.000
Nothing.

00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:05.000
This is for yourself?

00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:10.000
Yeah.

00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:23.000
Yeah.

00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:32.000
Yeah.

00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:38.000
Okay, so let's assume that Dilna is struggling with something

00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:41.000
and I say something and he rejects it.

00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:44.000
Now, rejection just means I'm not going to impose myself.

00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:47.000
It doesn't mean that the next time I meet Dilna,

00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:49.000
I will not continue building relationship.

00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:52.000
Because I rejected about 21 times before I received.

00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:55.000
But thank God people were insistent.

00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:57.000
They kept the relationship going.

00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:00.000
It's just that the relationship breaks down.

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:01.000
You know why?

00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:03.000
Because we just keep imposing.

00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:04.000
Dilna, please receive Christ.

00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:06.000
If you don't receive Christ, you will go to hell.

00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:08.000
If you receive Christ, you will go to heaven.

00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:10.000
Dilna just wants to keep away from me.

00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:12.000
My sister used to keep away from me.

00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:17.000
And so the intent is do not impose, but keep building relationship,

00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:18.000
especially if he's a neighbor,

00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:21.000
especially if he's someone you will see on a regular basis,

00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:23.000
because one day he's going to open up.

00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:31.000
So the spaghetti is just a matter of starting with the right lines every week,

00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:33.000
every month, every day.

00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:38.000
But it doesn't mean that if someone rejects, that you reject it.

00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:39.000
No.

00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:44.000
You keep building the relationship, but you do not impose.

00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:46.000
Imposing is what kills people.

00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:47.000
It's like plucking.

00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:51.000
I mean, have you eaten unripe bananas?

00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:54.000
They're the worst thing in the world.

00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:56.000
They get stuck.

00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:57.000
Pardon?

00:32:58.000 --> 00:32:59.000
Yes.

00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:03.000
You can make chips out of that.

00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:05.000
But yeah.

00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:07.000
Go ahead, Anna.

00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:17.000
Yeah.

00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:26.000
In the part where it says he is for us, that's when you tell him about Christ.

00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:27.000
See, we want to...

00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:30.000
People don't know that God is for them.

00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:33.000
Christ came to show them.

00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:35.000
I mean, the Bible says this again and again and again.

00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:37.000
Listen, I'm not against you.

00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:41.000
I didn't wait for your invitation.

00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:43.000
I came and died for you.

00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:44.000
I'm for you.

00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:45.000
I'm for you.

00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:47.000
There is no need to appease me.

00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:51.000
I'm for you even till the day you die if you reject me.

00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:54.000
And then there will be a separation.

00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:55.000
But I am for you.

00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:58.000
I am for you whether you receive me as Lord and Savior or not.

00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:00.000
I am for you and I am good.

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.000
And I will take care of you even if you keep rejecting me a hundred times.

00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:05.000
And you choose hell.

00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:06.000
I am still for you.

00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:08.000
This is mind-blowing.

00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:09.000
Nobody believes this.

00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:11.000
We don't believe it ourselves.

00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:17.000
That I am for you even if you reject me.

00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:18.000
That is nuts.

00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:22.000
Why else would he say words like, forgive them for they know not what they're doing?

00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:24.000
He knows they're not going to change.

00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:31.000
If anything, after his death, they began to persecute his disciples even more.

00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:32.000
But I am for you.

00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:35.000
This is an odd heart change that we have to have.

00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:38.000
And if we have this heart change, it will be pretty amazing.

00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:41.000
And from that for you place, now we are presenting Christ.

00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:43.000
And they may still say no, but he's still for them.

00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:47.000
We will not be for them, but he's still for them.

00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:54.000
It's a wonderful Savior that we have, man.

00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:55.000
And he's not our Savior.

00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:56.000
He's the Savior of the world.

00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:58.000
He's our Lord, but he's their Savior.

00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:06.000
Okay, our Savior is our Lord.

00:35:07.000 --> 00:35:17.000
Okay, after you say all this, now you take them to the place of repent, as in turn from your hostility towards God.

00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:31.000
Hostility or your neutrality, because he is for you.

00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:34.000
Repent and then receive him.

00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:37.000
This is where you can lead them in a prayer.

00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:42.000
But your prayer will completely change if you actually believe all the things we've said before.

00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:47.000
It won't be the four this or four that or six that or eight that.

00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:49.000
In my case, it might be 32.

00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:52.000
But the point being, it'll be different.

00:35:53.000 --> 00:35:54.000
That is funny.

00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:58.000
It's okay.

00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:00.000
I'm talking to myself right now.

00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.000
Okay, Luke 10, verse 18.

00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:06.000
Luke 10, 18.

00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:12.000
He replied, the 72 returned, verse 17.

00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:17.000
The 72 returned with joy and said, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.

00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:21.000
He replied, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:24.000
I've given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions.

00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:27.000
It means something completely different to Jeremy and Nick right now.

00:36:27.000 --> 00:36:33.000
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy.

00:36:33.000 --> 00:36:34.000
Nothing will harm you.

00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:40.000
However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.000
Guys, in Luke 10, 18, Luke uses the word Satan.

00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:46.000
It's an Aramaic word.

00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:49.000
It's not used very often.

00:36:49.000 --> 00:36:51.000
They usually refer to him as devil.

00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:52.000
Aramaic word.

00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:58.000
It's an Aramaic word and it means supernatural adversary.

00:36:58.000 --> 00:37:00.000
That's the sense of the word.

00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:06.000
It means chief of diabolic forces.

00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:15.000
It means the chief of diabolic forces opposed to God's purpose.

00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:18.000
This is the sense of the word Satan.

00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:23.000
And it's not often used and very clearly Luke picks on that word.

00:37:23.000 --> 00:37:44.000
And so Jesus here, when the 72 return, is explicitly identifying Satan as the real enemy who must be overcome.

00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:54.000
That's why he said, listen, this harvest that I'm sending you into, this harvest that Jane spoke about, this harvest that's being taught is hazardous work.

00:37:54.000 --> 00:37:56.000
It's hazardous work.

00:37:59.000 --> 00:38:05.000
Thank God it's him saying it because we then have an easy job believing.

00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:12.000
So it's not Rome.

00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:14.000
So Jesus is saying it's not Rome.

00:38:14.000 --> 00:38:21.000
It's not some ism or today it would be some other city or some other country or some government.

00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:22.000
It's not a leader.

00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:31.000
Yes, these are minions, but they're not the real power that we are fighting.

00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:43.000
It's not a leader, but it's a resident cosmic evil power called Satan.

00:38:46.000 --> 00:38:48.000
Thank God Jesus is saying it.

00:38:48.000 --> 00:39:09.000
And with him, according to Ephesians 6-12, there are rulers, there are authorities, there are powers of darkness and the word used for each of these is different.

00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:10.000
They're not the same.

00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:20.000
And there are spiritual forces of evil and they are in heavenly places.

00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:23.000
They're heavenly places.

00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:29.000
And this is word for word from Ephesians 6-12.

00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.000
So this is what you're against in Richmond when you go out for harvest.

00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:52.000
And until we come into grips with the fact that this is what we are dealing with when we go out for a harvest, our results will be varied because anybody who does not know his enemy is someone who does not come to cause before going to the battle and therefore does not know whether to make truths, whether to withdraw, whether to fight and lose.

00:39:54.000 --> 00:40:00.000
This is why now prayer would be required because this is not an easy speed bump.

00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:02.000
It's not a speed bump.

00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:22.000
So Jesus says that it's not Rome, it's not an ism, it's not a leader, but it's a resident cosmic, as in universal, evil power called Satan who has with him rulers, authorities, powers of darkness and spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.

00:40:22.000 --> 00:40:35.000
So the pharaohs and the herds and the pilots and the caesars of the world are Satan's minions or Satan's pawns that are used by him to oppose the message and to persecute the messengers.

00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:40.000
So pharaohs, herds, pilots and caesars still exist in different forms.

00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:43.000
Sometimes they exist as leaders, rulers.

00:40:43.000 --> 00:40:45.000
Sometimes they exist as institutions.

00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:47.000
Sometimes they exist as traditions.

00:40:47.000 --> 00:40:53.000
Sometimes they exist as cultures that fiercely oppose both the message and then persecute the messengers.

00:40:53.000 --> 00:40:55.000
That still exists.

00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:58.000
You still hear weeping in Rama as children are slaughtered.

00:40:58.000 --> 00:41:08.000
You still hear 360 girls and boys taken from the school in Nigeria two days ago, out of which 50 escaped today.

00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:14.000
The rest of them are taken and God knows the harm that can be done to them.

00:41:14.000 --> 00:41:23.000
And I pray God that instead of putting up a flag on Facebook that we actually begin to pray saying, oh God, just like the 50 escaped, could you help the rest to escape?

00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:36.000
Because I'm not labeling anything true or fake, but please understand that the media is not what we go by.

00:41:38.000 --> 00:41:40.000
Everything is slanted.

00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:46.000
That's why you will always hear what you want and see what you want on Facebook and on Instagram.

00:41:46.000 --> 00:41:50.000
Whatever you fancy is that's what will come up first.

00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.000
You like Charlie Kirk, you'll have enough of like Charlie Kirk.

00:41:54.000 --> 00:41:56.000
You don't like Charlie Kirk, you'll have enough of that.

00:41:56.000 --> 00:41:58.000
You like Nigeria, enough of Nigeria.

00:41:58.000 --> 00:42:01.000
You don't like Nigeria, enough of don't like Nigeria.

00:42:01.000 --> 00:42:04.000
It depends upon what you like or what you don't like.

00:42:04.000 --> 00:42:05.000
Don't trust that as a source.

00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:11.000
But know that when 350 children are taken, if two of them were yours, what in the world would happen to you?

00:42:18.000 --> 00:42:20.000
And so that's what we are dealing with.

00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:26.000
Even though it's a government or it's something like that, that may be behind it, machinery is used.

00:42:26.000 --> 00:42:34.000
But when we target machinery, we get caught up in word fights that result in nothing.

00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:48.000
So when we talk about stewarding the harvest, let's look at what it looked like in the Book of Acts,

00:42:48.000 --> 00:42:50.000
Stewarding the Harvest.

00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:52.000
What did it look like in the Book of Acts?

00:42:52.000 --> 00:43:00.000
Let's go to Acts chapter 4, 17 to 20.

00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:03.000
Acts chapter 4, 17 to 20.

00:43:03.000 --> 00:43:08.000
This is what Stewarding the Harvest in Richmond, or just look at Acts first,

00:43:08.000 --> 00:43:14.000
Stewarding the Harvest, Acts chapter 4, verse 17 to 20.

00:43:14.000 --> 00:43:30.000
You realize that they had fearless confidence, fearless confidence to preach even when threatened,

00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:46.000
even when threatened by rulers, councils, and prevalent norms.

00:43:46.000 --> 00:43:50.000
So that's the first one.

00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:56.000
And wherever you find you're lacking in that area, just put a tick mark.

00:43:56.000 --> 00:44:00.000
Stewarding the Harvest, first one is Acts chapter 4, verse 17 to 20.

00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:05.000
Fearless confidence to preach even when threatened by rulers, councils, and prevalent norms.

00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:11.000
Next one, Acts 5, 16.

00:44:11.000 --> 00:44:15.000
This is what Stewarding the Harvest looks like, Acts 5, 16.

00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:17.000
What does it say?

00:44:17.000 --> 00:44:19.000
Just read it and I'll write it.

00:44:19.000 --> 00:44:35.000
Healing the sick and those afflicted by demons.

00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:37.000
Healing the sick and those afflicted by demons.

00:44:37.000 --> 00:44:40.000
I want to almost say it this way.

00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:45.000
I don't care, Jacob, that you might have sicknesses in your body that doesn't opt you out

00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:48.000
of Stewarding the Harvest by praying for the healing of the sick.

00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:51.000
I don't care, Jacob, that you haven't seen results yet.

00:44:51.000 --> 00:44:55.000
I am telling you to, so you go and do it.

00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:59.000
Your experience or inexperience is not what matters.

00:44:59.000 --> 00:45:01.000
I am the Lord of the Harvest.

00:45:01.000 --> 00:45:10.000
I'm telling you to go do it, so just do it.

00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:15.000
Jesus may actually not preface it saying, I don't care, but I'm just doing it for him.

00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:18.000
Yeah.

00:45:18.000 --> 00:45:19.000
Acts 5, 16.

00:45:19.000 --> 00:45:21.000
Healing the sick and those afflicted by demons.

00:45:21.000 --> 00:45:25.000
Next one.

00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:33.000
Acts 13, 4-12.

00:45:33.000 --> 00:45:50.000
It's a story of going against a sorcerer called Elimath, going against a sorcerer who was called the son of the devil.

00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:52.000
It wasn't a likable term.

00:45:52.000 --> 00:45:54.000
Oh, you son of a devil?

00:45:54.000 --> 00:45:56.000
No, it wasn't like that.

00:45:56.000 --> 00:45:57.000
Paul was pretty upset.

00:45:57.000 --> 00:46:05.000
Going against a sorcerer who was the son of the devil, full of deceit and full of wickedness.

00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:17.000
And he was opposing the message and preventing the messengers from getting to places, in this case, a well-known leader who could have changed the county.

00:46:17.000 --> 00:46:21.000
And so Acts 13, 4-12 talks about going against sorcerers.

00:46:21.000 --> 00:46:26.000
You know, you might think, okay, this is the book of Acts.

00:46:26.000 --> 00:46:27.000
We'll talk about it some more.

00:46:27.000 --> 00:46:32.000
But actually, Evan wanted to talk about some of the things we prayed against in Indonesia.

00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:34.000
And I told him, don't do it this time.

00:46:34.000 --> 00:46:37.000
We'll talk about it in the future.

00:46:37.000 --> 00:46:39.000
Next one.

00:46:39.000 --> 00:46:41.000
Acts 16, 16.

00:46:41.000 --> 00:46:45.000
Acts 16, 16.

00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:48.000
16 to say 20 or so.

00:46:48.000 --> 00:46:51.000
Acts 16, 16 to 20.

00:46:51.000 --> 00:46:58.000
Countering a spirit called the python spirit.

00:46:58.000 --> 00:47:17.000
Countering the python spirit that had sway over Tyatira, the city of Tyatira, through a woman who was delivered.

00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:23.000
Acts 19, 8-20.

00:47:23.000 --> 00:47:29.000
It's a power encounter, just like Elijah's on Mount Carmel.

00:47:29.000 --> 00:47:47.000
A power encounter between Paul and a city called Ephesus, which was the city known for occult and magic like no other city in the world at that time.

00:47:47.000 --> 00:47:59.000
Millions of dollars worth of charms, amulets, secret papyri, magic charms that are enclosed in the London museums and other museums even now.

00:47:59.000 --> 00:48:07.000
Encounter between Paul and a city called Ephesus where the culture itself was occultic.

00:48:07.000 --> 00:48:15.000
This is where he also encounters the seven sons of Sceva that were going around doing exorcisms.

00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.000
So this was Acts 19, 8-20.

00:48:19.000 --> 00:48:24.000
And finally Acts 19, 35.

00:48:24.000 --> 00:48:45.000
Where you enter into battle with a regional power that was called Diana of Artemis,

00:48:45.000 --> 00:49:04.000
who ruled over all of Turkey, all of present-day Turkey, which at that time was at the crossroads of most of the important civilizations in the world.

00:49:04.000 --> 00:49:10.000
This is what stewarding the harvest looks like.

00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:18.000
And this is now how we get exposed as unable or not ready to deal with these things.

00:49:18.000 --> 00:49:33.000
There's not a city that Acts 29 has gone into and has either planted a church or plans to plant a church that could have been done without encountering all these things.

00:49:33.000 --> 00:49:40.000
Not a city. Not Vancouver, not New York, not any place in India, not any place in New Zealand.

00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:46.000
You take a western city or a non-western city, it doesn't matter.

00:49:46.000 --> 00:49:53.000
These things, there's not a place in the world where this is not the way to steward a harvest.

00:49:53.000 --> 00:49:59.000
Everywhere you go there's the boldness to preach, there's the demonstration of the works of God.

00:49:59.000 --> 00:50:09.000
And then there's going against sorcerers in the land, there's going against spirits that sometimes have great power over the area,

00:50:09.000 --> 00:50:14.000
there's going against sometimes cultures that are occultic or traditional or evil,

00:50:14.000 --> 00:50:22.000
and then there's going against sometimes regional powers that have to be unseated before the house can be plundered.

00:50:22.000 --> 00:50:25.000
And here's the strange thing, guys.

00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:28.000
Richmond is the same.

00:50:28.000 --> 00:50:31.000
There's nothing different about Richmond.

00:50:31.000 --> 00:50:36.000
Richmond could be taken and put into the Book of Acts and it would fit.

00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:43.000
Not because Richmond is particularly evil, but because this is how cities are taken.

00:50:43.000 --> 00:50:53.000
So next week we're going to shift from stewarding the harvest to train my hands for war and my fingers for battle, Psalm 144 verse 1.

00:50:53.000 --> 00:50:57.000
But a harvest cannot be stewarded unless these are dealt with.

00:50:57.000 --> 00:51:01.000
Any questions?

00:51:01.000 --> 00:51:09.000
So if you think Richmond is any different, then we are just ignorant.

00:51:09.000 --> 00:51:15.000
And so this is why now it becomes important to listen to Luke chapter 10 verse 3, he says,

00:51:16.000 --> 00:51:22.000
I'm sending you as a lamb amongst a pack of wolves.

00:51:22.000 --> 00:51:25.000
Be single minded and be fluid.

00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:35.000
But what a privilege to raise not two or three, but raise an entire church that can begin to think a certain way and function a certain way.

00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:42.000
So that if another COVID hits, this church multiplies because now everyone's equipped to go wherever you're sent to do whatever is required.

00:51:42.000 --> 00:51:48.000
I may not another COVID not it. I hated those masks.

00:51:48.000 --> 00:51:58.000
Any questions?

00:51:58.000 --> 00:52:01.000
They're all there. It's almost like different levels.

00:52:01.000 --> 00:52:07.000
You'll find them all in Richmond. You'll find them all in every major city in the world now.

00:52:07.000 --> 00:52:13.000
Because there are hardly any walls that prevent the flow of I mean,

00:52:13.000 --> 00:52:20.000
Os Guinness, a very famous writer, put it this way, to westernize your kids, you have to give them an Eastern experience.

00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:25.000
That's what's happened.

00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:29.000
And so this is prevalent all over the world. So Richmond is not unique.

00:52:29.000 --> 00:52:34.000
But since we are really being asked to harvest in Richmond, this is what is required.

00:52:34.000 --> 00:52:41.000
Any part of the world, you go to the Middle East, you go to the Far East, you go to the West, you go to Sri Lanka, you go to India.

00:52:41.000 --> 00:52:42.000
This is what happens.

00:52:42.000 --> 00:52:54.000
Dethronement is required or dispossession is required before possession.

00:52:54.000 --> 00:52:57.000
And I'm so grateful that Jesus is saying this.

00:52:57.000 --> 00:53:02.000
Because pastors can say stuff like this and people will think they're just,

00:53:02.000 --> 00:53:08.000
there is no if we are ignorant, if you think Richmond does not require the same divine intervention,

00:53:08.000 --> 00:53:15.000
there is not a nation where acts 29 has planted or will plant a church that this process was not initiated and completed.

00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:26.000
And so finally, stewarding the harvest can be summed up in one beautiful verse, which is acts 26, 17, 18.

00:53:26.000 --> 00:53:29.000
I pray God that you memorize it.

00:53:29.000 --> 00:53:35.000
Acts 26, 17 and 18.

00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:44.000
Some things should be memorized so that your baby can wake you up in the middle of the night and out it comes and the baby goes back to sleep.

00:53:44.000 --> 00:53:46.000
You should try it. It works, Tom.

00:53:46.000 --> 00:53:55.000
Acts 26, verse 17 and 18.

00:53:55.000 --> 00:54:00.000
Now get up, stand on your feet.

00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:06.000
Don't I didn't mean it like literally.

00:54:06.000 --> 00:54:08.000
Now get up, stand on your feet.

00:54:08.000 --> 00:54:15.000
I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.

00:54:15.000 --> 00:54:17.000
I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles.

00:54:17.000 --> 00:54:19.000
I'm sending, this is the part.

00:54:19.000 --> 00:54:24.000
I'm sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light from the power of Satan to God.

00:54:24.000 --> 00:54:32.000
And then it says, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.

00:54:32.000 --> 00:54:33.000
Look at it again.

00:54:33.000 --> 00:54:35.000
I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles.

00:54:35.000 --> 00:54:37.000
That's talking to Paul.

00:54:37.000 --> 00:54:39.000
And now look at what he's saying.

00:54:39.000 --> 00:54:42.000
I am sending you to them to do what?

00:54:42.000 --> 00:54:44.000
To open their eyes.

00:54:44.000 --> 00:54:46.000
Why? How do you open people's eyes with the word?

00:54:46.000 --> 00:54:48.000
Open their eyes to do what?

00:54:48.000 --> 00:54:52.000
To turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.

00:54:52.000 --> 00:55:01.000
Why? So that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith.

00:55:01.000 --> 00:55:03.000
These are very deliberate sentences.

00:55:03.000 --> 00:55:11.000
They are from the word.

00:55:11.000 --> 00:55:17.000
You can sit down now, Sue. Thanks.

00:55:17.000 --> 00:55:21.000
And so in the 72 come back, Jesus is pretty overjoyed.

00:55:21.000 --> 00:55:31.000
Because in Isaiah 14 13, it said of Satan that Satan wanted to sit where Jesus' throne was on Mount Zion.

00:55:31.000 --> 00:55:38.000
In Isaiah 14, verse 13, it says he wanted to sit on the throne and receive the worship of men.

00:55:38.000 --> 00:55:53.000
And in Luke 10 15, sorry, in Luke 4 15, during the temptation, you should see what Satan says to Jesus.

00:55:53.000 --> 00:56:00.000
Listen, Jesus, all the glory I have, all the allegiance I have gathered to myself, I'm willing to give to you.

00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:03.000
All you have to do is bow.

00:56:03.000 --> 00:56:10.000
And this is the very being created being supernatural chief of diabolic forces opposed to the gospel.

00:56:10.000 --> 00:56:20.000
This being is suddenly being cast down, judged, cast down all his glory, all his allegiance, all his desire to sit on the throne and receive worship.

00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:22.000
Everything cast down.

00:56:22.000 --> 00:56:29.000
And what is Jesus seeing? Jesus in a prophetic vision is seeing Satan falling.

00:56:29.000 --> 00:56:38.000
And he's saying it. He's saying it to his 72 who are ordinary, nobody's like you and I with less training than you and I.

00:56:38.000 --> 00:56:41.000
He's saying it to them saying, you guys went out on a mission.

00:56:41.000 --> 00:56:47.000
I saw this prophetically. I haven't even died. I haven't even risen. I haven't even ascended.

00:56:47.000 --> 00:56:53.000
But even though it's reserved for the future, in your going out, I've already seen it.

00:56:53.000 --> 00:56:56.000
And you come back rejoicing. Good.

00:56:56.000 --> 00:57:04.000
He's not saying don't rejoice at it. He's saying rejoice at this but rejoice at something that is even greater that your name is written in the book of life.

00:57:04.000 --> 00:57:13.000
Then he says, did you notice how safe you were? When you went down this path, did you notice how you trampled over serpents and scorpions, all these demons that you cast out?

00:57:13.000 --> 00:57:18.000
Did any harm come to you? That's how we need to read that.

00:57:18.000 --> 00:57:21.000
I gave you power over everything that you met on the way.

00:57:21.000 --> 00:57:26.000
Once you're safe, did you trample over them? Awesome.

00:57:26.000 --> 00:57:33.000
But now that you're rejoicing over that, let me also tell you that is another thing that's far greater in rejoicing, which is your names are written in the book of life,

00:57:33.000 --> 00:57:41.000
which is why later on Jesus says, I do not know you because their names were not written in the book of life, even though they cast out demons and prophesied.

00:57:41.000 --> 00:57:48.000
Like the seven sons of Sceva. Those guys were successful. It was just that in Ephesus, it didn't work because it was a power encounter.

00:57:52.000 --> 00:57:56.000
This is how we steward the harvest. Any questions?

00:57:56.000 --> 00:57:59.000
Any questions?

00:58:02.000 --> 00:58:13.000
I love what they say. They say even as in this is impossible, oh God, human, humanly it's impossible, but even then what do they say?

00:58:13.000 --> 00:58:21.000
The demons as in these supernatural, invisible beings that ravage and do great harm and are only sent to steal, kill and destroy.

00:58:21.000 --> 00:58:27.000
Even the demons. What next? Are subject, as in are subdued.

00:58:27.000 --> 00:58:36.000
Goes back to Genesis 1, 26 to 28. Subdue. Go forth. They went forth. They multiplied. They subdued. They replenished.

00:58:36.000 --> 00:58:42.000
Even the demons are subject. And then the next thing is beautiful. To who? To us.

00:58:42.000 --> 00:58:47.000
And then they add in your name. Such a simple formula.

00:59:03.000 --> 00:59:08.000
So we got to train to steward the harvest. We got to train to steward the harvest.

00:59:09.000 --> 00:59:14.000
Let's end with this. First Samuel 37. First Samuel 37.

00:59:18.000 --> 00:59:33.000
First, sorry. First Samuel 17. 34 to 37. First Samuel 17. 34 to 37.

00:59:34.000 --> 00:59:43.000
David talking to Saul. How do we train to steward the harvest? David talking to Saul. First Samuel 17. 34 to 37.

00:59:43.000 --> 00:59:53.000
First thing he says is, your servant used to keep sheep.

00:59:53.000 --> 01:00:01.000
For his father.

01:00:05.000 --> 01:00:17.000
First step of training guys. Not your deliverance ministry guy. Not your pastor. Not your tongue speaking, Satan bashing, Pentecostal.

01:00:17.000 --> 01:00:25.000
No. Your servant. So that's the first part. Used to keep. As in the ability to guard. The ability to nourish. The ability to feed.

01:00:25.000 --> 01:00:29.000
This is such an essential part of dealing with these powers.

01:00:29.000 --> 01:00:38.000
They're not after, nor do they pay heed to anyone who does not steward what is already placed in their hands.

01:00:38.000 --> 01:00:44.000
David is telling Saul, your servant used to keep sheep for his father.

01:00:44.000 --> 01:00:55.000
This goes back to what we were talking about, stewarding. Have you been accountable and responsible for that which has been placed in your hand?

01:00:55.000 --> 01:01:04.000
And if you aren't, then don't expect two things. Don't expect to be sent, nor should you expect to have any success.

01:01:04.000 --> 01:01:10.000
We can go as the seven sons of Skiwa, or we can go as the sons of God.

01:01:10.000 --> 01:01:20.000
The seven sons of Skiwa were itinerant ministers who had no accountability, no responsibility, had nothing to say that was their own. They just went out.

01:01:20.000 --> 01:01:28.000
So the first part is your servant used to keep sheep and the sheep belonged to the father.

01:01:28.000 --> 01:01:32.000
You always start with something that belongs to somebody else in this process.

01:01:32.000 --> 01:01:37.000
And if you can't handle that, you can't handle squat.

01:01:37.000 --> 01:01:41.000
That's not scripture, but it's true.

01:01:41.000 --> 01:01:48.000
Everything that God does begins with you handling something that does not belong to you.

01:01:48.000 --> 01:01:51.000
That's the first test, guys.

01:01:51.000 --> 01:01:59.000
If you cannot steward what someone gave to you to take care of, you will not be given more.

01:01:59.000 --> 01:02:03.000
It's a biblical principle. It'll stand till the end of time.

01:02:03.000 --> 01:02:06.000
Stewarding what belongs to another.

01:02:06.000 --> 01:02:11.000
Next thing he says is, when a lion or a bear, when a lion or a bear,

01:02:11.000 --> 01:02:16.000
so when you start keeping what belongs to someone else and keep it with your life,

01:02:16.000 --> 01:02:20.000
then you will begin to fair off different enemies, lion and bear.

01:02:20.000 --> 01:02:26.000
These are different types of animals.

01:02:26.000 --> 01:02:29.000
These are different types of enemies.

01:02:29.000 --> 01:02:36.000
These are different types of enemies.

01:02:36.000 --> 01:02:44.000
And so when you meet guys in this church or in any other place that come and go,

01:02:44.000 --> 01:02:48.000
that don't handle responsibility well, that do things selectively,

01:02:48.000 --> 01:02:51.000
that do things that are convenient, that cannot be trusted,

01:02:51.000 --> 01:02:58.000
that cannot be trusted, man, unreliable people like that, embrace them, but do not give them your business.

01:02:58.000 --> 01:03:03.000
Yeah? Let them eat of the spoils of your business, but do not let them spoil your business.

01:03:03.000 --> 01:03:07.000
Man, I'm full of amazing puns today.

01:03:07.000 --> 01:03:10.000
Yeah, so just remember that.

01:03:10.000 --> 01:03:13.000
Self-congratulations is the only thing that works in this church sometimes,

01:03:13.000 --> 01:03:16.000
so that's why I occasionally indulge in it.

01:03:16.000 --> 01:03:19.000
Moving on before people look at me and frown.

01:03:19.000 --> 01:03:26.000
So lion and bear, different enemy types, if they ever came to steal, kill and destroy,

01:03:26.000 --> 01:03:30.000
until you steward something, you will not experience this,

01:03:30.000 --> 01:03:36.000
and you will never get to steward anything that is your own until you steward what belongs to someone else.

01:03:36.000 --> 01:03:40.000
Write it down in your heart. This is how it works. There's no way around it.

01:03:40.000 --> 01:03:43.000
God will not allow you to circumvent this process.

01:03:49.000 --> 01:03:55.000
Then you get to fight, and you're not even fighting for your own, you're fighting for somebody else's.

01:03:55.000 --> 01:04:03.000
And when God finds you faithful in this, that's when things begin to happen where you get your own things to fight for.

01:04:03.000 --> 01:04:06.000
I went after it.

01:04:06.000 --> 01:04:10.000
Next. I went after it. As in?

01:04:10.000 --> 01:04:18.000
It's active keeping, eh? It's active guarding, it's active keeping, it's active stewarding, it's active fighting.

01:04:18.000 --> 01:04:29.000
I went after it and struck it, learning how to attack and defeat spiritual forces and enemies.

01:04:29.000 --> 01:04:34.000
This is what our, yeah, attack and defeat.

01:04:34.000 --> 01:04:41.000
I seized it by its hair.

01:04:41.000 --> 01:04:47.000
It's aggressive and killed it.

01:04:47.000 --> 01:04:52.000
Then it says, your servant has killed both lion and bear. That level is done.

01:04:52.000 --> 01:04:55.000
This uncircumcised philistine will be like one of them. As in?

01:04:55.000 --> 01:05:06.000
Now David knows he's ready to go, to go to the next level.

01:05:06.000 --> 01:05:13.000
The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this philistine.

01:05:13.000 --> 01:05:21.000
That's when you know someone has confidence for the next level.

01:05:21.000 --> 01:05:26.000
What happens to the devil during this process? Here's what happens to him.

01:05:26.000 --> 01:05:36.000
One, he knows that the power of the spirit is proven in your life.

01:05:36.000 --> 01:05:46.000
Two, he knows the loss you inflicted last time.

01:05:46.000 --> 01:06:04.000
And three, he knows the dread that awaits the next Goliath.

01:06:04.000 --> 01:06:07.000
So what does Satan do when people become like this?

01:06:07.000 --> 01:06:32.000
He usually attacks their identity and thereby their confidence.

01:06:32.000 --> 01:06:36.000
When people begin to walk like this, you prove the power of the spirit in your life.

01:06:36.000 --> 01:06:42.000
Two, the enemy is aware of the loss you inflicted last time.

01:06:42.000 --> 01:06:50.000
Every time David or Joshua would go out to battle, the real spiritual powers behind this knew that they had experienced Jericho.

01:06:50.000 --> 01:06:53.000
That's why the next city would be shut up.

01:06:53.000 --> 01:06:59.000
Three, the dread that awaited the next Goliath. Because one Goliath was taken care of, he had four other brothers.

01:06:59.000 --> 01:07:08.000
That's when the enemy changes tactics and says, okay, Derek's become good at this, so let's not touch him in terms of opposing what he does in different cities.

01:07:08.000 --> 01:07:13.000
Let's attack his identity.

01:07:13.000 --> 01:07:21.000
Let's get people to accuse him. Let's get people to say he's a liar, that he's immoral, that he's this or that. Why?

01:07:21.000 --> 01:07:26.000
Hollow out his identity so that he loses confidence.

01:07:26.000 --> 01:07:29.000
That's what happens.

01:07:29.000 --> 01:07:37.000
And you've got to be aware of it because before you know it, it can completely infect your brain.

01:07:37.000 --> 01:07:48.000
Stand up against it, because it'll come in waves.

01:07:48.000 --> 01:07:52.000
You know, Heidi can testify to this.

01:07:52.000 --> 01:08:01.000
When Act 29 first started and we were only three or four people, God sent us people that needed help.

01:08:01.000 --> 01:08:09.000
And some of the ones that were sent to us were so demonized, so demonized that we were completely out of our league.

01:08:09.000 --> 01:08:11.000
Didn't even know what to do.

01:08:11.000 --> 01:08:19.000
But one of the reasons God would send really demonized people that I've never met since.

01:08:19.000 --> 01:08:27.000
You would think that he would take you step by step by step, but he sent really difficult situations right off the bat in 2006.

01:08:27.000 --> 01:08:34.000
And three or four of us, and we had to deal with these demonized situations, but here was what God was doing in the process.

01:08:34.000 --> 01:08:39.000
He was giving us really difficult situations so that he could train us to deal with it.

01:08:39.000 --> 01:08:45.000
So that early in the life of this church, it was not uncommon to cast out demons.

01:08:49.000 --> 01:08:52.000
The first year of this church, why am I saying this to us?

01:08:52.000 --> 01:08:59.000
I'm saying this to us so that we understand that God has put us in Richmond so that he may do exactly the same thing again.

01:08:59.000 --> 01:09:05.000
This is Judges chapter three, verse two, where he leaves tribes in the nation.

01:09:05.000 --> 01:09:09.000
In the promised land, God deliberately leaves tribes. Why?

01:09:09.000 --> 01:09:18.000
So that those that had not experienced war may experience war.

01:09:18.000 --> 01:09:20.000
Who needs a God like that, right?

01:09:20.000 --> 01:09:33.000
Everybody's praying for a cushy life and he's leaving people in the land so that you get to experience war because you haven't experienced war.

01:09:33.000 --> 01:09:39.000
That's part of the reason he sent us to Richmond, because after Richmond there are more cities.

01:09:39.000 --> 01:09:43.000
Some of us will be dead and gone. You guys will still be going from city to city to city.

01:09:43.000 --> 01:09:46.000
This thing is unstoppable.

01:09:53.000 --> 01:09:59.000
Judges three, two, God left nations behind to train the descendants of Israel in the art of war.

01:09:59.000 --> 01:10:02.000
Art of war. He wanted them to learn how to fight.

01:10:02.000 --> 01:10:06.000
God will use our move into Richmond to train us to deal with the enemy.

01:10:06.000 --> 01:10:11.000
He'll train us so we can withstand. He'll train us so we learn how to wear the armor.

01:10:11.000 --> 01:10:14.000
He'll train us so we know how to wield the word.

01:10:14.000 --> 01:10:18.000
He'll train us so that we understand how Efficient 6, 10, 12 can be undone.

01:10:18.000 --> 01:10:23.000
And he'll train us so we know how to walk under authority.

01:10:23.000 --> 01:10:31.000
So my question to you as we end is will you train your hands for war and your fingers for battle?

01:10:31.000 --> 01:10:34.000
You cannot be selective. You cannot prefer community.

01:10:34.000 --> 01:10:37.000
You cannot be selective. You cannot prefer convenience.

01:10:37.000 --> 01:10:40.000
You can't want recognition or rewards.

01:10:42.000 --> 01:10:47.000
Childishness dislikes training. Childishness dislikes training.

01:10:48.000 --> 01:10:51.000
Will you train your hands for war and your fingers for battle?

01:10:51.000 --> 01:10:56.000
Can you turn to Psalm 144? Psalm 144.

01:10:56.000 --> 01:11:01.000
Any questions before we turn there? Psalm 144, any questions?

01:11:04.000 --> 01:11:10.000
Okay. Psalm 144. Get the passion translation. Get the passion translation.

01:11:10.000 --> 01:11:13.000
I checked with other translations. It reads well.

01:11:13.000 --> 01:11:18.000
Meaning the passion translation is accurate in this psalm.

01:11:18.000 --> 01:11:21.000
Sometimes you have to compare it with every... Yeah.

01:11:21.000 --> 01:11:24.000
Get the passion translation. Psalm 144.

01:11:24.000 --> 01:11:31.000
Many guys say that this psalm was written by David just before he went against Goliath.

01:11:31.000 --> 01:11:35.000
That's when he writes this psalm. Just before he goes up against Goliath.

01:11:35.000 --> 01:11:40.000
So let's read it together. Psalm 144, verse 1.

01:11:40.000 --> 01:11:44.000
Sorry, Psalm 144 from the passion translation.

01:11:52.000 --> 01:11:56.000
Okay. On three.

01:11:57.000 --> 01:12:00.000
This is King David's poetic song as he stood before Goliath. Okay?

01:12:00.000 --> 01:12:03.000
So let's read one, two, three.

01:12:03.000 --> 01:12:08.000
There is only one strong, safe and secure place for me.

01:12:08.000 --> 01:12:11.000
It's in God alone and I love him.

01:12:11.000 --> 01:12:15.000
He's the one who gives me strength and skill for battle.

01:12:15.000 --> 01:12:22.000
He's my shelter of love and my fortress of faith who wraps himself around me as a secure shield.

01:12:22.000 --> 01:12:26.000
I hide myself in this one who subdues enemies before me.

01:12:26.000 --> 01:12:30.000
Lord, what is it about us that you would even notice us?

01:12:30.000 --> 01:12:32.000
Why do you even bother with us?

01:12:32.000 --> 01:12:36.000
For a man is nothing but a faint whisper, a mere breath.

01:12:36.000 --> 01:12:40.000
We spend our days like nothing more than a passing shadow.

01:12:40.000 --> 01:12:43.000
Step down from heaven, Lord, and come down.

01:12:43.000 --> 01:12:46.000
Make the mountains melt at your touch.

01:12:46.000 --> 01:12:50.000
Lose your fiery lightning flashes and scatter your enemies.

01:12:50.000 --> 01:12:53.000
Overthrow them with your terrifying judgments.

01:12:53.000 --> 01:12:59.000
Reach down from your heavens and rescue me from this hell and deliver me from these dark powers.

01:12:59.000 --> 01:13:02.000
They speak nothing but lies.

01:13:02.000 --> 01:13:04.000
Their words are pure deceit.

01:13:04.000 --> 01:13:06.000
Nothing they say can ever be trusted.

01:13:06.000 --> 01:13:10.000
My God, I will sing you a brand new song.

01:13:10.000 --> 01:13:13.000
The harp inside my heart will make music to you.

01:13:13.000 --> 01:13:17.000
I will sing of you, the one who gives victory to kings.

01:13:17.000 --> 01:13:21.000
The one who rescues David, your loving servant, from the fatal sword.

01:13:21.000 --> 01:13:27.000
Deliver me and save me from these dark powers who speak nothing but lies.

01:13:27.000 --> 01:13:31.000
Their words are pure deceit and you can't trust anything they say.

01:13:31.000 --> 01:13:34.000
Deliver us, then our homes will be happy.

01:13:34.000 --> 01:13:42.000
Our sons will grow up as strong, sturdy men and our daughters with graceful beauty, royally fashioned as for a palace.

01:13:43.000 --> 01:13:48.000
Our barns will be filled to the brim, overflowing with the fruits of our harvest.

01:13:48.000 --> 01:13:55.000
Our fields will be full of sheep and cattle, too many to count, and our livestock will not miscarry their young.

01:13:55.000 --> 01:14:00.000
Our enemies will not invade our land and there will be no breach in our walls.

01:14:00.000 --> 01:14:03.000
What bliss we experience when the blessings fall.

01:14:03.000 --> 01:14:08.000
The people who love and serve our God will be happy indeed.

01:14:08.000 --> 01:14:11.000
May this be Richmond's story, eh?

01:14:11.000 --> 01:14:15.000
And then Surrey, and then White Rock, and then Langley, and then Burnaby.

01:14:15.000 --> 01:14:18.000
This thing will spread. It's like a forest fire.

01:14:18.000 --> 01:14:21.000
Yeah? Forest fires? Yeah.

01:14:21.000 --> 01:14:24.000
I don't know too much about fires. Yeah.

01:14:24.000 --> 01:14:34.000
Let's ask our returning international speaker to choose a song that would fit with one of your favorite songs.