WEBVTT

NOTE
Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver
Episode: Teleios – Signs and Wonders
Publishing Date: 2020-11-08T05:00:44-08:00
Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca
Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/teleios-signs-and-wonders/

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Alrighty, so we're going to talk about signs and wonders today, signs and wonders.

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We've been on this topic called teleos. Teleos means that which has been brought

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into completion. So we are looking at things in the Bible where what if we saw

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the end picture and then began to work backwards from that? Because God says

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that I show you the end from the beginning. So what if we looked at certain

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things that God wants us to walk in but we see the full picture and then we

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decide aha now that we've seen the end picture let's begin our journey towards

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it so that a point will come where we are mature or where we are fully grown

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in that which God is calling us to. So if you look at Acts 15 verse 17, Acts 15

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verse 17 and we might stay on this next week also, Acts 15 verse 16 and 17.

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This is when Paul meets the council in Jerusalem and James stands up and he

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begins to draw from a prophetic word that was spoken by Amos where he said

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that in the last days as in towards the end the tabernacle of David will be

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restored so that the Gentiles may seek me and come to the obedience of faith.

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Different versions put it differently but basically that is a picture that in

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the last days as in a time is coming as in let me show you the end picture and

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this was spoken 2,000 years ago and it was spoken 3,000 years ago when Amos

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first spoke it and so James reiterates it and so he's giving us the end picture

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saying listen one of the things that's going to happen is the tabernacle of

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David is going to be restored and when it is restored the Gentiles will seek me

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and they will come into obedience to the faith and then if you go to Romans

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chapter 15 verse 18 and 19 we see again one of the ways that the Gentiles come

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to faith as in those that do not believe in Jesus Christ yet who do not know

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about him one of the ways they come to faith is mentioned in Romans chapter 15

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verse 18 and 19 and that's where we'll be stuck for the rest of the day. Romans

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15 verse 18 and 19 so here's what it says I will not venture to speak of

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anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the

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Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done by the power of signs and

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miracles through the power of the Spirit so that from Jerusalem all the way around

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to Illyricum sounds like like a gourmet coffee machine I have fully

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proclaimed the gospel of Christ let me read that again I will not venture to

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speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the

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Gentiles to obey God but by what I have said and done by the power of signs and

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miracles or signs and wonders through the power of the Spirit so that from

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Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the

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gospel of Christ so if we were to look at that then this is how it pans out

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that the the initiator or the agent of signs and wonders or the works is Christ

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the purpose is that the Gentiles come to faith the means is words and works signs

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and wonder by the power of the Spirit the result from Jerusalem to the ends of

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the earth or to whatever your borders are let's put Illyricum for now the

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gospel of Christ is fulfilled Christians either overemphasize signs and wonders

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and that becomes a major and everything else becomes minor or they de-emphasize

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signs and wonders so it becomes so minor that the gospel and its witness and its

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validation remains incomplete and we can't be neither we have to approach it

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the way Christ approached it the church approached it people in the Bible

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approached it and so here's something we need to understand that first when it

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comes to look at verse 18 again I will not venture to speak of anything except

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what Christ has accomplished through me so when it comes to what Christ wants to

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accomplish through this church or through anybody who's hearing or through

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anybody who's listening right now when it comes to Christ wanting to accomplish

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what he wants to accomplish then know that the initiator or agent for what

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needs to be accomplished is Christ the purpose is that the Gentiles come to

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faith but here's the thing I want to concentrate on today that the means is

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words and works signs and wonders and the power of the spirit my hope is that

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when we leave today this church will never doubt that signs and wonders is

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part of our natural expression as a church any questions

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we look at far more scriptures but the thing is guys even for a church like us

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signs and wonders are not natural we don't think that signs and wonders should

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happen through us every day we don't think like that and I want to show you

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through the word that it is what should be expected it is what should be

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expected and it has to be shown through scripture it cannot be anecdotal

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evidence and it cannot be done through an apostle or a prophet sure these are

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signs that accompany an apostle or a prophet but it cannot be limited to that

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it has to be a body responding this way any questions meaning me telling you

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something that this is the way it should be and giving you an example from my

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life or someone else's life doesn't cut it the scripture should prove that this

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is what should be a natural experience yeah sorry who is the culprit oh this

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is a family thing eh shouldn't she be at work or something guys whenever Paul

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says stuff like so that the gospel be fulfilled and that it spread throughout

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the area what he always means is that he has proclaimed it widely enough and

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planted it firmly enough for it to progress whenever whenever Paul says I've

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got no more work left to do in this area whenever he says I've fully accomplished

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the spreading of the gospel in this area he doesn't mean that everybody has heard

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it what he's saying is I have proclaimed it strong enough so that it is now

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planted firmly and progression is the natural outcome and it cannot be stopped

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that's what he means I remember that when it comes to Wally when it comes to

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the things we do when we say that we should do something in Wally it is that

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by the end of 2022 there should be a seed planted in Wally so deep that it

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cannot be stopped from growing that's how God accomplishes the thing he wants

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to otherwise you'll have to set targets like 2000 churches by 2020 and you

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usually find that in 2019 you're still thousand short and then you begin to

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panic or you have to revise your target Paul used to plant the seed so deep that

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it would continue so let's define this idea of signs and wonders let's define

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signs and wonders CS Lewis defined signs and wonders as an interference with

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nature by a supernatural power and interference with nature or an

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interference in the natural or an interference with nature by a

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supernatural power in his stories and in what he wrote this was his definition

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that signs and wonders is an interference in nature by or with the

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supernatural power one of the things we need to realize is that if we use that

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definition then supernatural powers can be powers other than God and that

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miracles are not limited to Jesus Christ

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signs and wonders are not limited to Christianity or Christ I've seen signs

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and wonders performed by witch doctors by powerful sorcerers it's very common

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so let's not go with CS Lewis's definition there's another definition by

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a guy called Grudem he says a less common this is how he defined signs and

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wonders a less common way of God's working a less common way of God's

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working in which he arouses awe and wonder in people in which he arouses awe

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and wonder in people and bears witness oh I forgot I'll change the pen later

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and bears witness to himself this definition makes more sense signs and

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wonders is a less common way of God's working as in God is continuously active

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in everything right now you're hearing my voice because he's active or he's

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established a principle that allows some waves to carry so God is continuously

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working but a miracle is a less common way of God's working in which he arouses

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awe and wonder in the hearts of people and in the process he bears witness to

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himself this is what signs and wonders look like I want to keep re-emphasizing

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that this must be a natural experience for us as a church not so much for

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ourselves but for the world so that God can through us bear witness to himself

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is the Bible full of this yes Exodus how many how many signs and wonders happen

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in Exodus man where do you want to start you want to start with the burning bush

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you want to go to the plagues that hit Egypt you want to see what happened to

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the serpents that the sorcerers created and how Moses's staff swallowed them all

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you want to see the Red Sea where do you want to go for signs and wonders and

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that's in the Old Testament where God lived outside a stiff neck people and

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now he lives inside a soft neck people signs and wonders is so common in the

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that you cannot turn more than five pages without coming across one and if

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you name yourself acts 29 sure it

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Joshua signs and wonders think of Jericho think of the Sun standing still Elijah

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where should I start I mean what it sometimes God would take the natural

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and make it supernatural other times he'd send a raven other times he'd

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multiply food other times he'd raise the dead other times he would go up on Mount

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Carmel and he would call down fire these are all old covenant people guys

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Elisha all that I said Elijah about Elijah double that make people dip seven

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times in a river and they come out clean he seemed to have this thing for water

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throw an axe into the water it come up straight up poison in the stew no

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problem throw in some more flour utter I mean it's crazy what Elijah did signs

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and wonders followed that man want to pick Jesus walked on water raised the

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dead one of the things that I'd love to see was the withered hand a man with a

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withered hand and it shoots out and it becomes normal or go fish Jacob and

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you'll pay your taxes or Peter just put your net on the other side and it'll be

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full of fish hundred and fifty three that nobody can pull out Peter how do

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shackles fall off your hand how the doors that are barred shut swing open

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how do you walk out in the middle of the night from the from a very secure prison

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how do you walk on water how do you go lie down on someone and the person rises

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to life as an Elijah did how does he go and bring Dorcas back to life how does

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he go to this place where a man has been paralyzed for eight years called Aeneas

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and he brings him back to normalcy how does he look at someone and see faith in

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them and say silver and gold I have none but stand up and rise where are these

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signs and wonders your response should be here here here yeah we should try it

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later more spontaneously Paul my lord the guy was full of signs and wonders and

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that's why he writes this look at what he's writing that listen guys I have

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accomplished everything that Christ wanted to and Christ did it through me

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and I want you to know that this was accomplished so that the Gentiles may

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obey God and how did I do this I did this through what I said and what I did

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by the power of signs and wonders through the power of the Spirit so that

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from Jerusalem all the way around to Illricum I have fully proclaimed the

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gospel of Christ it's impossible to do what God has asked us to do if you

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sanitize or sterilize God in this area any questions guys one of the things

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you've got to get rid out of your head a is just because you are suffering a

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problem doesn't mean God cannot use it to create real peace in other situations

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don't look at your neckache and decide that God doesn't do wonders God only

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knows how many neckaches Moses had but that didn't stop him

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Elisha was sick he died they threw him into a grave but before they could bury

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him a raiders came along and they tossed one of their bodies that they were

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carrying into the grave and the man came back alive look at look at signs and

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wonders happening after the person died Elisha wasn't even alive but he saw a

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sign and wonder he did not see it others saw it your ache or pain does not

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prevent God from doing signs and wonders through you on a regular basis there

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must be an expectation and my hope is that by the power of the Spirit of God

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this church will begin to expect this as natural as you expect got to use you on

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a daily basis in the streets that you walks fears of influence near strata

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and segment of society go ahead

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isn't desiring signs and wonders baby food yep Jesus said that an adulterous

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generation desires signs and wonders so that has to be taken in the context of

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Greeks requiring rational and Jews requiring a sign and so Jesus says only

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an adulterous generation desires signs and wonders and no sign or wonder will

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be given to them except this as when Jonah went into the belly of a fish and

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came back in three days so the son of man shall die and rise again in three

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days so that's one side of it and so you have to hold that separate and then

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listen to everything else that Jesus said which I'll talk about when a people

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begin to hunger after signs and wonders without the word when it is only works

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or deeds and no word then there is a problem that is an adulterous generation

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that wants to be pampered pacified just shown manifestations one after the other

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and Jesus rightly called it wrong but then when you take the evidence that I'll

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present to you of Jesus saying hey listen guys you can't do without this I

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mean let me take you straight to one mark 16 was 18 to 20 and these signs

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shall follow then that believe that says one scripture that is common knowledge

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I'll give you scripture after scripture after scripture where the expectation is

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hey Jacob how come you don't expect this from me if I am alive in you mark

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as in mark Bergman mark send me a text I mean you had John's testimony isn't

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that a sign and a wonder his dad thinks he's dead because he's heavy weight now

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his mom sees a hand and the boy comes back to life but this can't happen once

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in 24 years that's what I'm trying to say because we've rendered signs and

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wonders so uncommon yes the definition is a less common not uncommon and the

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only reason we say less common way of God's working is because God works every

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day every time all the time in every person's life every sparrows life every

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this was something that mark Bergman sent me and I thought I should read it

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out to you signs and wonders are not limited to people in the Bible mark

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wrote to me recently saying four years this was on Tuesday he suddenly wrote

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saying four years ago we were in Mongolia thank you for inviting me there

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I really miss sitting and talking with you I don't miss the weird salty cuddled

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milk tea with meat in it which I can still smell and taste when I see the

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picture and then he says I had forgotten the sidewalks I recall the steps I

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recall the steps of your slippery shoes because of the ice then he calls out

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these different things that happen in one evening I remember the little girl

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whose lung was restored and the parents throughout the shaman trinkets the

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little boy whose eyes were crooked and the family did not want to get rid of

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the shaman stuff the woman who only cried and God showed you what was going

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on in her life and you spoke God's forgiveness to her for her abortion and

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I had forgotten these stories where this little kid has it I had his eyes

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restored where this girl who had a lung problem had immediate relief and she

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started running around the church but this woman who had an abortion and was

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weeping throughout the service God only knew what she was weeping about and she

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got healed immediately this was in less than five or six minutes signs and

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wonders should not happen when you go on a mission trip shines and wonders should

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happen on your on a regular basis this must be our expectation things are

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created through expectation because expectation carries in it a degree of

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faith and without that guys some things let me read this to you just read the

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last few lines of her this is for someone here a your choice will have to

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be a deliberate determination it is not something into which you will

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listen to me again this is for someone here your choice will have to be a

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deliberate determination it is not something into which you will

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automatically drift let me read it a third time because it's important your

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choice will have to be a deliberate determination it is not something into

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which you will automatically drift just because you prayed it you're not going

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to drift into it automatically you'll have to make a deliberate intentional

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determination that you're going to go a certain way signs and wonders are God's

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witness to his word signs and wonders are God's witness to his word signs and

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wonders are God's witness to his word they don't replace the word they don't

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subsume the word but they bear witness to his word case in point Matthew chapter

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9 verse 6 and Jesus looks at the paralytic and he says to the man pick up

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your son your sins are forgiven and people look at him and say how dare you

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blaspheme who gives you the right to forgive sins and then Jesus says which

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is easier to say your sins are forgiven or pick up your mat and walk obviously

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your sins are forgiven but just so you know that I have both the right to

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forgive sins and prove that what I have said is true I say to you man pick up

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your mat and walk and the man gets up picks up his mat and walks signs give

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evidence of validate the word of God they bear witness to the word they don't

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replace the word they're not subsumed by the word they don't subsume the word as

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in that they don't overpower the word and now we are only a science people no

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when signs are present without the word being present suspected and so he

00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:38.840
speaks the word your sins are forgiven but then he also comes up with a sign

00:23:38.840 --> 00:23:47.920
that shows that the man sins are forgiven pick up your mat and walk I

00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:55.240
would say to you and I'm not trying to browbeat you but I would say to you it

00:23:55.240 --> 00:24:00.000
is important it would be it would be impossible for you when I'm done to

00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.000
actually believe that signs and wonders don't happen or that it is not your cup

00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:08.760
of tea or that it is not part of our life it you would have to deliberately

00:24:08.760 --> 00:24:13.360
resist the word of God to walk that way today and I'm saying it not based on my

00:24:13.360 --> 00:24:19.560
ability to convince you a persuasive speech just surely on the on the weight

00:24:19.560 --> 00:24:24.000
of the word that I'm going to present today it must become a natural way of

00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:38.920
it says the gospel is the power of God unto salvation

00:24:38.920 --> 00:24:44.120
signs and wonders are not the power of God unto salvation it says the gospel is the

00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:48.120
power of God unto salvation signs and wonders are not the power of God

00:24:48.120 --> 00:24:53.200
unto salvation signs and wonders are not the power of God unto

00:24:53.200 --> 00:25:02.400
I'm starting at verse 3, Hebrews chapter 2 verse 3.

00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:06.320
How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?

00:25:06.320 --> 00:25:11.920
This salvation which was first announced by the Lord was confirmed to us by those who

00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:13.080
heard him.

00:25:13.080 --> 00:25:19.400
God also testified to it by signs and wonders and various miracles and the gifts of the

00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:23.520
Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

00:25:23.520 --> 00:25:28.000
Signs and wonders are not the power of God unto salvation but signs and wonders testify

00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:29.280
to salvation.

00:25:29.280 --> 00:25:30.280
Let me read that again.

00:25:30.280 --> 00:25:34.940
Please follow me as I read so that you know I'm not pulling a fast one.

00:25:34.940 --> 00:25:39.520
This salvation which was first announced by the Lord was confirmed to us by those who

00:25:39.520 --> 00:25:40.520
heard him.

00:25:40.520 --> 00:25:45.880
God also testified to this salvation by signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts

00:25:46.080 --> 00:25:52.200
of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:56.120
Our story of Jesus can't just be words eh.

00:25:56.120 --> 00:26:01.560
Our story of Jesus cannot just be words but a demonstration of the Spirit's power.

00:26:01.560 --> 00:26:04.280
A demonstration of the Spirit's power.

00:26:04.280 --> 00:26:06.240
First Thessalonians 1.5.

00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:09.280
First Thessalonians 1.5.

00:26:09.280 --> 00:26:14.360
First Thessalonians 1.5.

00:26:14.360 --> 00:26:20.480
I always go the wrong way when it comes to Thessalonians.

00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:29.360
First Thessalonians 1.5.

00:26:29.360 --> 00:26:30.360
Starting at verse 4.

00:26:30.360 --> 00:26:35.320
For we know brothers loved by God that he has chosen you because our gospel came to

00:26:35.320 --> 00:26:41.360
you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.

00:26:41.360 --> 00:26:42.360
Listen to that again.

00:26:42.560 --> 00:26:47.400
We know brothers loved by God that he has chosen you because our gospel came to you

00:26:47.400 --> 00:26:55.000
not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.

00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:57.360
You know how we lived among you for your sake.

00:26:57.360 --> 00:26:59.080
It cannot be just words.

00:26:59.080 --> 00:27:02.640
The story of God cannot be just words.

00:27:02.640 --> 00:27:06.760
Anybody can tell that story of any God.

00:27:06.760 --> 00:27:09.640
But there's something about our God that is different.

00:27:09.640 --> 00:27:13.800
Go to 1 Corinthians 2.4.

00:27:13.800 --> 00:27:15.440
1 Corinthians 2.4.

00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:17.360
It's a well-known scripture.

00:27:17.360 --> 00:27:19.360
1 Corinthians 2.4.

00:27:19.360 --> 00:27:20.640
1 Corinthians 2.4.

00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:34.000
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration

00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:39.120
of the Spirit's power so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom but on God's

00:27:39.120 --> 00:27:40.120
power.

00:27:40.120 --> 00:27:45.040
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration

00:27:45.040 --> 00:27:50.840
of the Spirit's power so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom but on God's power.

00:27:50.840 --> 00:27:53.280
You know what God does with signs and wonders?

00:27:53.280 --> 00:28:00.040
God uses signs and wonders to shatter the shell of disinterest, to shatter the shell

00:28:00.040 --> 00:28:04.120
of cynicism, to shatter the shell of false religion.

00:28:04.120 --> 00:28:09.160
And instead, through signs and wonders, he begins to shift the focus back to the Gospel

00:28:09.160 --> 00:28:10.160
and the glory of Christ.

00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:12.040
Let me say that again.

00:28:12.040 --> 00:28:18.080
Signs and wonders is used tremendously by God to shatter the shell of cynicism, to shatter

00:28:18.080 --> 00:28:23.320
the shell of false religion, to shatter the shell of disinterest.

00:28:23.320 --> 00:28:29.000
And then having done that, he uses signs and wonders to shift the focus onto the Gospel

00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:32.540
and the glory of Christ, which alone can save.

00:28:32.540 --> 00:28:48.940
If you look at Acts chapter 9, Acts chapter 9, Acts chapter 9, it's crazy what happens here.

00:28:53.540 --> 00:28:56.020
Acts chapter 9 verse 32.

00:28:56.020 --> 00:29:02.520
As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda.

00:29:02.520 --> 00:29:09.520
There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years.

00:29:09.520 --> 00:29:13.560
Aeneas, Peter said to him, Jesus Christ heals you.

00:29:13.560 --> 00:29:18.720
I mean, no long prayer, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you.

00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:20.920
This is a guy who hasn't moved in eight years.

00:29:20.920 --> 00:29:23.240
Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you.

00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:24.240
And look what happens.

00:29:25.240 --> 00:29:28.840
Get up and take care of your mat immediately.

00:29:28.840 --> 00:29:30.940
And where does Peter learn this from?

00:29:30.940 --> 00:29:32.740
He's seen Jesus do this.

00:29:32.740 --> 00:29:37.240
He was there in Matthew chapter 9 when Jesus did this.

00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:41.980
Hey, if we don't show it, how will Phoebe learn it?

00:29:41.980 --> 00:29:43.520
How will Jocelyn learn it?

00:29:43.520 --> 00:29:52.240
How will Aaron and Reni's baby learn it?

00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:53.740
Someone's got to show, man.

00:29:58.040 --> 00:30:00.440
And look what happens because of this miracle.

00:30:00.440 --> 00:30:02.440
Immediately, Aeneas got up.

00:30:02.440 --> 00:30:06.940
All, let's say Luke was exaggerating.

00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:07.840
Maybe it was not all.

00:30:07.840 --> 00:30:09.840
Maybe it was 90%.

00:30:09.840 --> 00:30:15.640
All, those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

00:30:15.640 --> 00:30:16.440
All.

00:30:16.440 --> 00:30:20.240
You're talking about an entire two towns turned to God.

00:30:23.240 --> 00:30:25.240
Let's not diminish the power of this, eh?

00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:34.240
Guys, what has happened with us Christians is we do signs and wonders amongst Christians in conferences where Christians have been healed multiple times.

00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:39.240
While what we're being asked is to see this as a normal part of life out there.

00:30:42.040 --> 00:30:44.540
I don't need convincing that Jesus heals.

00:30:52.840 --> 00:30:58.440
We are called to imitate and model and continue the ministry of Jesus.

00:30:58.440 --> 00:31:00.040
Anyone doubt that?

00:31:00.040 --> 00:31:05.440
We are called to imitate and model and continue the ministry of Jesus.

00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:11.840
Is it possible without signs and wonders?

00:31:11.840 --> 00:31:18.540
Your silence is deafening and it means, no, it's not possible.

00:31:18.540 --> 00:31:19.340
It's not possible.

00:31:19.340 --> 00:31:21.440
Peter makes two declarations.

00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:22.940
Peter makes two declarations.

00:31:22.940 --> 00:31:32.740
One in Acts chapter 2, verse 22 and the other in that well-known scripture in Acts chapter 10, verse 38.

00:31:32.740 --> 00:31:34.240
Two declarations he makes.

00:31:34.240 --> 00:31:37.640
And if you were to combine them, this is what it would sound like.

00:31:37.740 --> 00:31:44.740
That Jesus was a man anointed.

00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:50.240
Jesus was a man anointed with the Holy Spirit.

00:31:53.340 --> 00:31:55.140
I'm combining both scriptures.

00:31:55.140 --> 00:31:59.240
Jesus was a man anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power.

00:31:59.240 --> 00:32:16.040
Attested to you, attested to you by God, attested to you by God with miracles, wonders and signs.

00:32:16.040 --> 00:32:21.940
With miracles, wonders and signs.

00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:34.340
Attested to you means validated before you, endorsed before you, confirmed before you.

00:32:34.340 --> 00:32:37.540
That here is a man who is anointed by God.

00:32:37.540 --> 00:32:42.140
Attested to you by God with miracles, wonders and signs.

00:32:42.140 --> 00:32:44.640
Which God performed through him.

00:32:44.640 --> 00:32:52.640
Which God performed through him.

00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:56.640
Because God was with him.

00:33:01.540 --> 00:33:10.340
And he went about and he went around doing good.

00:33:13.640 --> 00:33:21.340
And healing those oppressed or harassed by the devil.

00:33:22.640 --> 00:33:30.640
Imitate him, continue what he began, model him.

00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:34.440
I'm combining Acts chapter 2, verse 22 and Acts 10, verse 38.

00:33:34.440 --> 00:33:42.640
If you want to imitate him, model him and continue the work that he did here on earth, which is his expectation.

00:33:42.640 --> 00:33:46.140
Then this is what it looks like.

00:33:46.140 --> 00:33:52.440
That God anointed Jesus of Nazareth, the man anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power.

00:33:52.440 --> 00:33:56.240
And he was attested to you by God with what?

00:33:56.240 --> 00:33:58.740
With signs and wonders and miracles.

00:33:58.740 --> 00:34:01.740
Which God performed through him.

00:34:01.740 --> 00:34:03.740
Because God was with him.

00:34:03.740 --> 00:34:10.240
And he went around doing good and setting free those that were oppressed by the enemy.

00:34:10.240 --> 00:34:14.240
This is my call, this is your call, this is the church's call.

00:34:14.240 --> 00:34:19.040
Challenge me on this guys, question me.

00:34:19.040 --> 00:34:21.040
Drill holes in this.

00:34:22.040 --> 00:34:25.040
Show me that this is biblically incorrect.

00:34:25.040 --> 00:34:29.040
That this cannot be the expectation that God has of us.

00:34:29.040 --> 00:34:33.040
And we're not even half done.

00:34:36.040 --> 00:34:38.040
Any questions?

00:34:43.040 --> 00:34:45.040
I can't hear you.

00:34:51.040 --> 00:34:53.040
Can you hear me?

00:35:07.040 --> 00:35:14.040
So if you are dealing with a non-believer and let's say this person is seen like you said,

00:35:14.040 --> 00:35:18.040
people from other faiths do signs and wonders.

00:35:18.040 --> 00:35:25.040
How do you sort of approach that situation and you know Jesus is different.

00:35:25.040 --> 00:35:32.040
And that it's about, like if they're just not getting it's about Jesus, it's not about,

00:35:32.040 --> 00:35:41.040
I mean it's the signs and wonders, but I'm just thinking of a very specific situation.

00:35:41.040 --> 00:35:43.040
Yeah.

00:35:44.040 --> 00:35:56.040
Yeah, so what happens when there are other faiths, other people that offer signs and wonders too?

00:35:56.040 --> 00:36:04.040
And how do you then talk about signs and wonders and yet make sure that they understand that Jesus Christ is greater?

00:36:04.040 --> 00:36:10.040
Usually anybody who has received signs and wonders from any other source,

00:36:10.040 --> 00:36:23.040
one of the things that I find is that they've had to either wear something, give something, pledge something,

00:36:23.040 --> 00:36:30.040
give money, do something that it was an exchange, it was never free.

00:36:30.040 --> 00:36:34.040
That's the first thing I see with any other religion, any other faith.

00:36:34.040 --> 00:36:36.040
What is given is never free.

00:36:36.040 --> 00:36:41.040
Two, it is usually not directly between God and them.

00:36:41.040 --> 00:36:44.040
They'll always have to be a middle person.

00:36:44.040 --> 00:36:52.040
One of the things we need to remove from Christianity is people being brought to the pastor for help.

00:36:52.040 --> 00:36:58.040
We need to remove a person as the one who has all the power to do it.

00:36:58.040 --> 00:37:01.040
The church must begin to arise to this.

00:37:01.040 --> 00:37:08.040
Very ordinary, normal people who give what God has, a benevolent God who gives freely,

00:37:08.040 --> 00:37:18.040
who's paid the price, who has no greater joy than delivering people who know him and who don't know him.

00:37:18.040 --> 00:37:21.040
I know many of you are new, so you haven't heard this story.

00:37:21.040 --> 00:37:24.040
Many of you are old, and so you have heard this story, unfortunately.

00:37:24.040 --> 00:37:30.040
But I was in a little town called Colchester, and a man walked into a full gospel businessman's meeting,

00:37:30.040 --> 00:37:36.040
and he had fallen into a small canal ditch and twisted his knee, and it was swollen.

00:37:36.040 --> 00:37:40.040
He comes into the full gospel businessman meeting because there's breakfast being served.

00:37:40.040 --> 00:37:44.040
He comes in, and my friend, Roland Tan, was the one ministering that day, and he says,

00:37:44.040 --> 00:37:46.040
is there anybody who needs healing?

00:37:46.040 --> 00:37:48.040
This man comes up and says, I've got a bum knee.

00:37:48.040 --> 00:37:53.040
Roland Tan prays for him, and in 20, 25 seconds, the knee heals.

00:37:53.040 --> 00:37:57.040
Then Roland says to him, now that you have been healed, would you like to know the healer?

00:37:57.040 --> 00:38:01.040
And he says, nope, the healing is enough, and the breakfast was good, and he walks out of there.

00:38:01.040 --> 00:38:05.040
I'm looking at him thinking, what kind of God is this?

00:38:05.040 --> 00:38:08.040
You think God didn't know that he would walk out?

00:38:08.040 --> 00:38:13.040
God knew beforehand that this man would come, receive his healing, eat breakfast, and walk out of there

00:38:13.040 --> 00:38:19.040
without any desire to know Jesus, and that didn't stop Jesus from healing the man.

00:38:19.040 --> 00:38:25.040
There's this free thing that we give in signs and wonders that no other religion can give,

00:38:25.040 --> 00:38:33.040
because any practitioner of any other power has to pay a price himself to give what he wants to give to you.

00:38:33.040 --> 00:38:40.040
Jeevan and I sat in that room praying for a man who had so many charms and amulets on him

00:38:40.040 --> 00:38:44.040
that he was pulling it out of places you don't want to touch charms.

00:38:44.040 --> 00:38:49.040
And by the time we were done, there were about 13 charms lying, and I said, Jeevan, you take them.

00:38:49.040 --> 00:38:53.040
But in the end, I mean, he pulled out 13 charms, but here's the other thing.

00:38:53.040 --> 00:38:55.040
There's a deliberate reason why I'm bringing up this story.

00:38:55.040 --> 00:39:00.040
Guys, whenever other people heal, there's always an element of fear connected to it.

00:39:00.040 --> 00:39:07.040
Because Jesus Christ is the only one who does signs and wonders without any fear attached to it.

00:39:07.040 --> 00:39:12.040
Every other religion that heals you always has an element of fear attached to it.

00:39:12.040 --> 00:39:19.040
As in, if you now don't do this, Jesus is the only one who does it freely, man.

00:39:19.040 --> 00:39:26.040
The reason the man was so hesitant to remove those charms from his body

00:39:26.040 --> 00:39:30.040
was every part that he had been diseased, he had a charm fixed to it.

00:39:30.040 --> 00:39:33.040
I'm talking about beads and crosses and the works.

00:39:33.040 --> 00:39:38.040
And he was so scared to let go because he had been told, you let go of this, you die.

00:39:38.040 --> 00:39:48.040
What we see here with Jesus is that one, his miracles pointed first to the rescuing power of God,

00:39:48.040 --> 00:39:54.040
two, he was able to save his family, to save his people, to save his family from death.

00:39:54.040 --> 00:39:59.040
He was able to save his people from death.

00:39:59.040 --> 00:40:03.040
And we all know that Jesus was able to do everything.

00:40:03.040 --> 00:40:07.040
His miracles pointed first to the rescuing power of God.

00:40:07.040 --> 00:40:13.040
Two, signs and wonders validated the presence of the Spirit over him.

00:40:13.040 --> 00:40:21.040
Three, it attested him as someone who had divine origin and that his ministry was a God ministry.

00:40:21.040 --> 00:40:27.040
Four, that he used signs and wonders to destroy the works of the devil.

00:40:27.040 --> 00:40:32.040
Five, that he induced faith in people through signs and wonders.

00:40:32.040 --> 00:40:36.040
Let me repeat that again. If you take Acts 2 22 and Acts 10 38 and join them together,

00:40:36.040 --> 00:40:41.040
what you find is that signs and wonders were used by Jesus.

00:40:41.040 --> 00:40:45.040
Please remember one thing and this always blows my mind.

00:40:45.040 --> 00:40:52.040
Jesus was as helpless as you and me when it came to doing signs and wonders because he did them by the Spirit of God.

00:40:52.040 --> 00:40:54.040
No, no, no, no, that's not true. Jesus was the Son of God.

00:40:54.040 --> 00:41:01.040
Well then, help explain to me Acts 10 38 that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth

00:41:01.040 --> 00:41:07.040
and that he was attested to us through signs and wonders and miracles

00:41:07.040 --> 00:41:13.040
that God performed through him because God was with him.

00:41:13.040 --> 00:41:20.040
We must understand his helplessness, the limits that were put on Christ as a human being.

00:41:20.040 --> 00:41:25.040
The Jesus of Nazareth was limited. He had to depend on the Holy Spirit.

00:41:25.040 --> 00:41:32.040
Our problem won't even be here, which God performed through him.

00:41:32.040 --> 00:41:38.040
Our problem maybe is God with me. I might suggest to you that if you're born again, he is with you.

00:41:38.040 --> 00:41:49.040
This is no way around this. Wrap your mind around this. There's no other choice.

00:41:49.040 --> 00:41:54.040
You can either resist the word or you can begin to receive it so that it changes your mind.

00:41:54.040 --> 00:42:00.040
There's no gray area here.

00:42:00.040 --> 00:42:12.040
Unless you're a cessationist who believes that all the gifts are seized, in which case you're in the wrong church.

00:42:13.040 --> 00:42:20.040
It's time to wear big boy pants.

00:42:26.040 --> 00:42:29.040
Time to wear big boy pants.

00:42:29.040 --> 00:42:32.040
Sorry. Okay.

00:42:32.040 --> 00:42:37.040
Okay, the other thing. Yeah. So when it came to signs and wonders,

00:42:37.040 --> 00:42:45.040
Jesus had these signs and wonders happening in his life so that they could point to the rescuing power of God.

00:42:45.040 --> 00:42:51.040
Like that first story I talked about, Matthew 9.25, your sins are forgiven, which is easier to say.

00:42:51.040 --> 00:42:54.040
Signs and wonders would point to the rescuing power of God.

00:42:54.040 --> 00:43:02.040
Two, signs and wonders would make evident the presence of the Spirit.

00:43:02.040 --> 00:43:07.040
Because the Jews knew, Israel knew that these things were impossible without the power of the Spirit.

00:43:07.040 --> 00:43:11.040
Signs and wonders make real the presence of the Spirit.

00:43:11.040 --> 00:43:16.040
Three, signs and wonders validate your divine origin and ministry.

00:43:16.040 --> 00:43:20.040
What? My divine origin? First Peter 2, verse 23.

00:43:20.040 --> 00:43:29.040
You are not of mortal sperm. You were born of immortal seed.

00:43:29.040 --> 00:43:34.040
Signs and wonders validate your divine origin and your ministry.

00:43:34.040 --> 00:43:44.040
As in, hey, I'm a Christian. I belong to Christ. He lives in me. I'm different.

00:43:44.040 --> 00:43:53.040
Four, signs and wonders destroy satanic works. Destroy satanic works.

00:43:53.040 --> 00:44:01.040
Five, signs and wonders induce people to faith.

00:44:01.040 --> 00:44:17.040
It's not the power of God unto salvation, but it induces faith for sure.

00:44:17.040 --> 00:44:20.040
I love what it says in Acts chapter 1, verse 8.

00:44:20.040 --> 00:44:23.040
You should go to Jerusalem and wait. Wait for what?

00:44:23.040 --> 00:44:34.040
Wait for the Holy Spirit and power so that you can witness.

00:44:34.040 --> 00:44:38.040
So, should there be an expectation of signs and wonders in our life? What's the proof for that?

00:44:38.040 --> 00:44:41.040
Should there be an expectation of signs and wonders in our life?

00:44:41.040 --> 00:44:47.040
Not once in a blue moon? On a...

00:44:47.040 --> 00:44:53.040
I know this is frightening to say because it's not our experience, but that does not annul what I'm going to say.

00:44:53.040 --> 00:45:04.040
Should there be an expectation that God will do uncommon things through me that will leave people in awe and wonder and the acts that I do will bear witness to him?

00:45:04.040 --> 00:45:14.040
Should I have an expectation of that happening through me on a daily basis? That is the question.

00:45:14.040 --> 00:45:19.040
Because what's happened is in Christendom, in Pentecostalism, in Baptist-Costalism, in every-Costalism,

00:45:19.040 --> 00:45:24.040
what we've done is we've taken signs and wonders and made them a rarity.

00:45:24.040 --> 00:45:29.040
I would suggest to you that in Peter's life, in Paul's life, in Jesus' life, it was not a rarity.

00:45:29.040 --> 00:45:36.040
There was an expectation every day, which is why crowds would gather around them.

00:45:37.040 --> 00:45:45.040
So can we have an expectation? Is there scriptural proof for it? Matthew 11.2. Matthew 11.2.

00:45:45.040 --> 00:45:51.040
Matthew 11.2.

00:45:51.040 --> 00:45:58.040
Matthew 11.2. This is with Jesus, eh?

00:45:58.040 --> 00:46:03.040
And here was the expectation that Jesus had of himself because of God working through him.

00:46:03.040 --> 00:46:07.040
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him,

00:46:07.040 --> 00:46:11.040
are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone else? Jesus replied.

00:46:11.040 --> 00:46:18.040
He didn't go and give him a theology lesson. He said, Jesus replied, go back and report to John what you hear and see,

00:46:18.040 --> 00:46:26.040
as in words and works. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised,

00:46:26.040 --> 00:46:32.040
the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.

00:46:32.040 --> 00:46:37.040
As in, if you're falling away because I'm saying that signs and miracles are normal,

00:46:37.040 --> 00:46:46.040
then I would suggest to you that there is a problem because Jesus is saying, blessed are they who do not stumble because I say this.

00:46:46.040 --> 00:46:51.040
And what did he say? He will authenticate who he is, his messiahship.

00:46:51.040 --> 00:47:01.040
How is he authenticating his messiahship? He's saying to John, he's saying to John's disciples, go tell John what you hear and what you see, works, words.

00:47:02.040 --> 00:47:04.040
I'm just excited, man.

00:47:09.040 --> 00:47:12.040
Sorry, Erin, you asked a question? Okay.

00:47:16.040 --> 00:47:17.040
Any questions?

00:47:18.040 --> 00:47:24.040
That's with Jesus. Let's see if we can take it further. Matthew 10 verse 8.

00:47:24.040 --> 00:47:26.040
Matthew 10 verse 8.

00:47:27.040 --> 00:47:31.040
So if it's just Jesus, well, then too bad. Can't be anyone else.

00:47:31.040 --> 00:47:41.040
So Matthew 10 verse 8 is to the, where is it? Matthew 10 verse, let's start at verse 5.

00:47:41.040 --> 00:47:45.040
These 12, Jesus sent out with the following instructions.

00:47:45.040 --> 00:47:50.040
Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.

00:47:50.040 --> 00:47:53.040
As you go, preach this message. The kingdom of heaven is near.

00:47:53.040 --> 00:47:57.040
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.

00:47:57.040 --> 00:48:00.040
Freely you have received, freely give.

00:48:00.040 --> 00:48:05.040
So here it's a command to the 12, listen, I want you to preach, but you can't go just preach.

00:48:05.040 --> 00:48:08.040
You have to have signs and wonders accompanying you.

00:48:08.040 --> 00:48:13.040
One of the things that immediately happens as soon as we hear this is we say, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, this applies to the apostles.

00:48:13.040 --> 00:48:15.040
It doesn't apply to the rest. Okay.

00:48:15.040 --> 00:48:25.040
So then let's look at Matthew 10. Let's go to Luke 10 verse 9, Luke 10 verse 9.

00:48:25.040 --> 00:48:29.040
Luke 10 verse 9.

00:48:38.040 --> 00:48:41.040
Let's start at verse 1 and then go to verse 9.

00:48:42.040 --> 00:48:49.040
After this, the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them two by two ahead of him into every town and place where he was about to go.

00:48:49.040 --> 00:48:54.040
Verse 9, heal the sick who are there. Tell them the kingdom of God is near you.

00:48:54.040 --> 00:49:03.040
Verse 18, he replied, the 72 returned with joy and said, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.

00:49:03.040 --> 00:49:06.040
He replied, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

00:49:06.040 --> 00:49:11.040
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy.

00:49:11.040 --> 00:49:14.040
Nothing will harm you. However, you do not rejoice.

00:49:14.040 --> 00:49:18.040
Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

00:49:18.040 --> 00:49:23.040
Do you know that without signs and wonders, there is no delivering people from the clutches of the demonic?

00:49:24.040 --> 00:49:28.040
Do you know what that makes this world miss out on?

00:49:28.040 --> 00:49:35.040
Do you know how important Christians are when they cannot deal with the one that Jesus Christ came down to the earth in flesh

00:49:35.040 --> 00:49:40.040
whose words he came down to destroy? What good are we then? What does salt taste like then?

00:49:51.040 --> 00:49:57.040
Ah, but then it's the 72. It was limited to 72. Let's go to Acts 6, verse 8.

00:49:58.040 --> 00:50:00.040
Let's pick on a deacon.

00:50:00.040 --> 00:50:05.040
It's like one of those, you know what deacons are like, right?

00:50:05.040 --> 00:50:12.040
They are aspiring leaders who the pastor appoints because they're very enthusiastic, but he doesn't want them anywhere near him.

00:50:12.040 --> 00:50:19.040
So that's what deacons are. So look at what it says in Acts 6, verse 8.

00:50:20.040 --> 00:50:27.040
Let's start at verse 5. The proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith in the Holy Spirit.

00:50:28.040 --> 00:50:33.040
And so these were the deacons. The apostles laid hands on them and prayed. Now go to verse 8.

00:50:33.040 --> 00:50:40.040
Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs amongst the people.

00:50:40.040 --> 00:50:45.040
Now, but Stephen is an exception. Good. Let's go to Acts chapter 8, verse 6.

00:50:45.040 --> 00:50:49.040
Here's Philip. He's an evangelist. Acts chapter 8, verse 6.

00:50:50.040 --> 00:50:51.040
Verse 5.

00:50:51.040 --> 00:50:55.040
Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.

00:50:55.040 --> 00:51:02.040
When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.

00:51:02.040 --> 00:51:07.040
With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many. Many paralegics and cripples were healed.

00:51:07.040 --> 00:51:10.040
And so there was great joy in the city.

00:51:10.040 --> 00:51:15.040
When was the last time a city was joyful because of these things happening?

00:51:15.040 --> 00:51:19.040
There are times when it has happened, eh? I know stories.

00:51:19.040 --> 00:51:25.040
But I don't want stories from the good old days. I want stories now in the good old days.

00:51:27.040 --> 00:51:31.040
So then you think, but these are individuals. It can't be for a group of people.

00:51:31.040 --> 00:51:36.040
Go to Galatians chapter 3, verse 5. Galatians 3, verse 5.

00:51:36.040 --> 00:51:38.040
Galatians 3, verse 5.

00:51:44.040 --> 00:51:48.040
Galatians 3, verse 5.

00:51:51.040 --> 00:51:56.040
Does God give you his spirit? Now listen to this. Paul is talking to a church now.

00:51:56.040 --> 00:52:02.040
Paul is talking to a church now. He's not talking to one or two deacons or evangelists or apostles.

00:52:02.040 --> 00:52:05.040
He's talking to a church now. And here's what he says in Galatians 3, verse 5.

00:52:05.040 --> 00:52:12.040
He says, does God give you his spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law or because you believe what you heard?

00:52:13.040 --> 00:52:15.040
It's a church now.

00:52:17.040 --> 00:52:21.040
And if that isn't enough, go to 1 Corinthians 12, verse 9 and 10.

00:52:21.040 --> 00:52:24.040
1 Corinthians 12, verse 9 and 10.

00:52:24.040 --> 00:52:27.040
1 Corinthians 12, verse 9 and 10.

00:52:28.040 --> 00:52:32.040
He's talking about the gifts. Now to each one, I'm starting at verse 7.

00:52:32.040 --> 00:52:36.040
Now to each one, the manifestation of the spirit is given for common good.

00:52:36.040 --> 00:52:38.040
Verse 9.

00:52:39.040 --> 00:52:49.040
To another faith by the same spirit, to another gifts of healing by that same spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits.

00:52:49.040 --> 00:52:53.040
Now go to the end of 1 Corinthians 12, verse 28.

00:52:53.040 --> 00:52:54.040
Verse 28.

00:52:54.040 --> 00:53:01.040
And in the church, God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles.

00:53:01.040 --> 00:53:05.040
Also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others with gifts of administration.

00:53:05.040 --> 00:53:08.040
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?

00:53:08.040 --> 00:53:15.040
Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret but eagerly desire the greater gifts?

00:53:15.040 --> 00:53:22.040
This was given to us as a church. These are disclosures of the activity of the Holy Spirit through the body of Christ.

00:53:22.040 --> 00:53:32.040
Why is it that you have no problem speaking in tongues every day?

00:53:32.040 --> 00:53:38.040
Why is it that many of you who speak in tongues do not think that it should happen only once in a while?

00:53:38.040 --> 00:53:47.040
How come you don't say, crazy, I spoke in tongues yesterday, I'm speaking in tongues today. Great anointing.

00:53:47.040 --> 00:53:50.040
No, you see it as a gift that is resident.

00:53:50.040 --> 00:53:56.040
The same spirit that gave you the gift of tongues and gave you the gift of prophecy and gave you the gift of discernment

00:53:56.040 --> 00:54:02.040
is the same spirit that now says, I give you the gift of healings, of miracles, signs and wonders.

00:54:06.040 --> 00:54:08.040
It was given to the church, guys.

00:54:13.040 --> 00:54:18.040
I want us to believe this on a daily basis, guys. Not once in a while.

00:54:20.040 --> 00:54:26.040
This must be an expectation. You know, nations are taken and delivered through signs.

00:54:26.040 --> 00:54:33.040
Deuteronomy 434, Deuteronomy 434, Deuteronomy 434.

00:54:36.040 --> 00:54:40.040
God ain't changed, man. Deuteronomy 434.

00:54:40.040 --> 00:54:46.040
Has any God ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation

00:54:46.040 --> 00:54:52.040
by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm?

00:54:52.040 --> 00:54:57.040
God takes nations through miracles and signs. He can.

00:54:57.040 --> 00:55:00.040
If you want to use another word for nations, ethnos.

00:55:02.040 --> 00:55:05.040
A people, a people group can be changed with signs.

00:55:05.040 --> 00:55:11.040
That's what I showed you in Acts chapter 9, verse 35, where the people in Lydda and Joppa

00:55:11.040 --> 00:55:17.040
were so amazed by what happened with Aeneas that two towns gave their lives to Jesus Christ.

00:55:22.040 --> 00:55:25.040
I hope the Spirit of God is doing something in our heart, eh?

00:55:25.040 --> 00:55:30.040
It was one of my impossible requests saying, Father, show me, show me this.

00:55:30.040 --> 00:55:34.040
Show me how to take an ethnos, a people group, a race, a tribe, a nation.

00:55:34.040 --> 00:55:37.040
Show me with your power how to take this.

00:55:37.040 --> 00:55:41.040
Want to see it. Not me when I say me, not one person. Us.

00:55:41.040 --> 00:55:46.040
What does it look like, man, to live in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 35 to 37?

00:55:53.040 --> 00:55:57.040
Prophetic promises are birthed through signs and wonders.

00:55:57.040 --> 00:56:00.040
Prophetic promises are birthed through signs and wonders.

00:56:00.040 --> 00:56:04.040
Joel prophesied, and it's written in Acts chapter 2, verse 17,

00:56:04.040 --> 00:56:08.040
that Joel had said that the Spirit of God will fall upon all flesh.

00:56:08.040 --> 00:56:11.040
How does it happen? Sign and wonder. What was the sign?

00:56:11.040 --> 00:56:16.040
While they were sitting in a room like this, suddenly there was a sound of a mighty rushing wind.

00:56:16.040 --> 00:56:19.040
And after that there was fire that entered the room.

00:56:19.040 --> 00:56:25.040
But the fire, after it entered the room, suddenly broke up into 120 little flames

00:56:25.040 --> 00:56:27.040
that began to descend on people's heads.

00:56:27.040 --> 00:56:31.040
There was commotion outside. 13 different nationalities gathered.

00:56:31.040 --> 00:56:34.040
They could hear people speaking in the language of their own dialect,

00:56:34.040 --> 00:56:36.040
and they were thinking, how is this happening?

00:56:36.040 --> 00:56:40.040
Some thought they were drunk. Others realized that they were talking about God.

00:56:40.040 --> 00:56:43.040
Promises come to pass through signs and wonders.

00:56:43.040 --> 00:56:47.040
God births us into things he has promised through signs and wonders.

00:56:47.040 --> 00:56:51.040
If you and I stop expecting and stop believing in signs and wonders,

00:56:51.040 --> 00:56:57.040
many promises that God wants to bring to pass because they are impossible, stays dormant.

00:57:01.040 --> 00:57:06.040
The Word of the Lord increases and prevails mightily through signs and wonders.

00:57:06.040 --> 00:57:10.040
The Word of the Lord increases. It's very odd.

00:57:10.040 --> 00:57:12.040
The Word of the Lord increases? What does that mean?

00:57:12.040 --> 00:57:16.040
It means the Word of the Lord begins to spread rapidly and prevails mightily

00:57:16.040 --> 00:57:20.040
when there are signs and wonders. Proof, Acts chapter 19.

00:57:20.040 --> 00:57:24.040
Acts chapter 19, verse 17 to 20.

00:57:24.040 --> 00:57:27.040
Acts 19, verse 17 to 20.

00:57:27.040 --> 00:57:29.040
Verse 17 to 20.

00:57:29.040 --> 00:57:32.040
Acts 19, 17 to 20.

00:57:32.040 --> 00:57:35.040
Acts 19, 17 to 20.

00:57:37.040 --> 00:57:41.040
When this became known to the Jews and the Greeks living in Ephesus,

00:57:41.040 --> 00:57:45.040
they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.

00:57:45.040 --> 00:57:47.040
What seized them with fear?

00:57:47.040 --> 00:57:50.040
That the seven sons of Skiwa who were trying to chase out demons

00:57:50.040 --> 00:57:56.040
got beaten up by the demons, and that Paul instead cast his spirit out of

00:57:56.040 --> 00:58:02.040
the woman with divination and was doing extraordinary miracles in verse 11

00:58:02.040 --> 00:58:05.040
so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that touched him were taken to the sick

00:58:05.040 --> 00:58:08.040
and the illness was cured and evil spirits left them.

00:58:08.040 --> 00:58:10.040
Going back to verse 18.

00:58:10.040 --> 00:58:14.040
Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.

00:58:14.040 --> 00:58:17.040
A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together

00:58:17.040 --> 00:58:18.040
and burned them publicly.

00:58:18.040 --> 00:58:22.040
When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to 50,000 drachmas.

00:58:22.040 --> 00:58:23.040
Verse 20.

00:58:23.040 --> 00:58:28.040
In this way, the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

00:58:28.040 --> 00:58:37.040
And you want to avoid signs and wonders and yet live the Acts 29 or Acts 28 life?

00:58:37.040 --> 00:58:39.040
Impossible.

00:58:39.040 --> 00:58:44.040
Ancient doors are opened and shut through signs and wonders.

00:58:44.040 --> 00:58:48.040
Ancient doors are open and shut through signs and wonders.

00:58:48.040 --> 00:58:52.040
Want to hear about an ancient door that was shut on Mount Carmel?

00:58:52.040 --> 00:58:58.040
You got 450 prophets of Baal and one man who knows how things work.

00:58:58.040 --> 00:58:59.040
1 Kings 18.

00:58:59.040 --> 00:59:01.040
He says, okay, here's the deal, guys.

00:59:01.040 --> 00:59:05.040
You set up a bull for your God and I'll set up a bull for my God.

00:59:05.040 --> 00:59:11.040
And let's see whose God answers.

00:59:11.040 --> 00:59:16.040
It was a sign and a wonder that caused fire to fall.

00:59:16.040 --> 00:59:18.040
Ancient doors are shut.

00:59:18.040 --> 00:59:20.040
The ancient demonic doors are shut.

00:59:20.040 --> 00:59:23.040
Ancient divine doors are opened by signs and wonders.

00:59:23.040 --> 00:59:30.040
And God is looking, saying, come on, man, who will go for me?

00:59:30.040 --> 00:59:35.040
He wants to do this.

00:59:35.040 --> 00:59:37.040
The great thing is he always finds someone.

00:59:37.040 --> 00:59:42.040
He's not in the Book of Isaiah anymore where he says, I looked and I found nobody.

00:59:42.040 --> 00:59:47.040
Thank God that because of Jesus Christ, who is alive and well in people today,

00:59:47.040 --> 00:59:51.040
that Jesus always finds someone nowadays.

00:59:51.040 --> 00:59:54.040
I pray God that it be me, that it be us.

00:59:54.040 --> 00:59:57.040
I don't want him to pass by and say, didn't find anyone here,

00:59:57.040 --> 01:00:00.040
but I'm not put up because I can find someone down the road.

01:00:00.040 --> 01:00:04.040
No longer does God come up empty handed and say, I've got to send Jesus again

01:00:04.040 --> 01:00:11.040
because there's enough Jesuses around.

01:00:11.040 --> 01:00:15.040
Signs and wonders can be imitated by Satan too.

01:00:15.040 --> 01:00:17.040
Just be aware of that.

01:00:17.040 --> 01:00:22.040
I've seen ancient doors being opened and shut in Uttarakhand,

01:00:22.040 --> 01:00:24.040
in New Zealand, in Indonesia, in Mongolia.

01:00:24.040 --> 01:00:26.040
I've seen it.

01:00:26.040 --> 01:00:31.040
I've told you that story where signs and wonders changed an entire village in Borneo

01:00:31.040 --> 01:00:35.040
where all they heard was the name Jesus and saw light on top of a hill

01:00:35.040 --> 01:00:39.040
and they started going up the hill chanting the name Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

01:00:39.040 --> 01:00:42.040
These were a bunch of drunk guys on whom books were written saying,

01:00:42.040 --> 01:00:45.040
there's a book written called Drunk Until Dawn

01:00:45.040 --> 01:00:50.040
because that entire village was being wiped out throughout Borneo

01:00:50.040 --> 01:00:54.040
and they see this light on the mountain, they go up saying Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

01:00:54.040 --> 01:00:57.040
They go up, all of them come back sober

01:00:57.040 --> 01:01:01.040
and it completely changes that area in Borneo.

01:01:01.040 --> 01:01:05.040
In 2013, I'm there in a little village called Miri

01:01:05.040 --> 01:01:09.040
and I heard this story from a man called Tom Hamlin years ago

01:01:09.040 --> 01:01:13.040
and I'm in that church and I'm looking around the church and I'm so sure I've been there

01:01:13.040 --> 01:01:15.040
but I've never been there before.

01:01:15.040 --> 01:01:18.040
And suddenly God reminds me saying, remember the story Tom Hamlin told you

01:01:18.040 --> 01:01:21.040
and I remember and I ask an old man sitting in the front, I say,

01:01:21.040 --> 01:01:23.040
is this the church Tom Hamlin came to?

01:01:23.040 --> 01:01:26.040
Is this the church where people went up the hill

01:01:26.040 --> 01:01:30.040
and they saw light there and they were touched by Jesus and they came back sober

01:01:30.040 --> 01:01:32.040
and they stopped drinking and they all became Christians

01:01:32.040 --> 01:01:34.040
and he said, yes, this is the church.

01:01:35.040 --> 01:01:38.040
God didn't need anybody at that time.

01:01:38.040 --> 01:01:42.040
All that happened was some missionary came and mentioned the name Jesus.

01:01:42.040 --> 01:01:46.040
They went up the mountain, these guys don't know English, they speak a completely different dialect.

01:01:46.040 --> 01:01:49.040
They go up the mountain, they were headhunters.

01:01:49.040 --> 01:01:52.040
Read that book Drunk Until Dawn

01:01:52.040 --> 01:01:54.040
and they come back from the mountain.

01:01:54.040 --> 01:01:57.040
All of them changed, all of them sober.

01:01:57.040 --> 01:02:03.040
It is one of the most dominant Christian areas in Borneo.

01:02:03.040 --> 01:02:07.040
Signs and wonders can change nations.

01:02:07.040 --> 01:02:11.040
Why don't we hear about it? Because it won't be brought up in CNN.

01:02:14.040 --> 01:02:16.040
God is super active guys.

01:02:18.040 --> 01:02:22.040
He can work with nobodies, eh? Nobodies.

01:02:22.040 --> 01:02:24.040
Doesn't need someone special.

01:02:28.040 --> 01:02:33.040
Signs and wonders can be imitated by Satan, eh?

01:02:33.040 --> 01:02:38.040
So don't think that the world isn't seeing signs and wonders.

01:02:38.040 --> 01:02:41.040
It's just that they aren't seeing enough signs and wonders from the people

01:02:41.040 --> 01:02:43.040
to whom signs and wonders belong.

01:02:46.040 --> 01:02:49.040
Other religions have no problem putting this on display.

01:02:51.040 --> 01:02:56.040
In Matthew 24, 24, Jesus says many false prophets and many false messiahs will come

01:02:56.040 --> 01:02:59.040
and they will do signs and wonders and they will deceive people.

01:03:01.040 --> 01:03:04.040
In 2 Thessalonians 2, 9, Paul says,

01:03:04.040 --> 01:03:07.040
listen, the lawless one is coming and the lawless one will be revealed

01:03:07.040 --> 01:03:10.040
with signs and wonders, false signs and wonders.

01:03:12.040 --> 01:03:16.040
In Acts chapter 8, verse 9 to 11, there was a man called Barre Jesus,

01:03:16.040 --> 01:03:20.040
Elimastus Sorcerer, who was doing signs and wonders so much so

01:03:20.040 --> 01:03:22.040
that they called him the Great One.

01:03:26.040 --> 01:03:30.040
In Corinth, where Paul is writing and visiting churches,

01:03:30.040 --> 01:03:34.040
they used to have a temple dedicated to the god Askelpius,

01:03:34.040 --> 01:03:41.040
the god that you see on all the ambulances with the snakes around the staff.

01:03:42.040 --> 01:03:44.040
It was supposed to be the god who heals, the god of medicine.

01:03:44.040 --> 01:03:47.040
And in the midst of this, Paul stands and begins to talk about healing.

01:03:48.040 --> 01:03:50.040
And gifts. And the gift of healing.

01:03:50.040 --> 01:03:51.040
And the gift of healing.

01:03:52.040 --> 01:03:57.040
There is a counterfeit out there that is destroying the souls of men.

01:04:01.040 --> 01:04:04.040
Because the people to whom this rightfully belongs

01:04:08.040 --> 01:04:10.040
aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing.

01:04:10.040 --> 01:04:12.040
But we shall no longer be that people.

01:04:12.040 --> 01:04:14.040
I'm going to take another 10 minutes.

01:04:15.040 --> 01:04:18.040
Because I have to finish this. I can't leave it right now.

01:04:20.040 --> 01:04:23.040
We might have to exit after I finish a little faster,

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because I'm taking the extra 10 minutes,

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so that we can prep for the next church that moves in here at about 5.30.

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Signs demonstrate the reality of the presence of the kingdom.

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These are some of the things that you and I have to just calibrate

01:04:38.040 --> 01:04:39.040
our hearts and minds.

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Signs demonstrate the reality of the presence of the kingdom.

01:04:43.040 --> 01:04:48.040
These are some of the things that you and I have to just calibrate

01:04:48.040 --> 01:04:50.040
our hearts and minds around.

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If you belong to the kingdom of God,

01:04:52.040 --> 01:05:00.040
signs bear witness to, or signs demonstrate the reality of the presence of the kingdom.

01:05:03.040 --> 01:05:05.040
In Luke 11.20, Jesus said,

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If I cast out demons by the finger of God,

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then know that the kingdom of God is in your midst.

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I, if I belong to the kingdom, must expect that signs and wonders

01:05:19.040 --> 01:05:22.040
present the reality of the kingdom within me.

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As in, signs and wonders are actually evidence of the fact that Jesus Christ is in me

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and he wants to do something.

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This kingdom presents evidence of its presence here on earth.

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And one of the ways it does it is signs and wonders.

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Two. In spiritual confrontations,

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signs expose and subdue and unleash fear on the enemy.

01:05:47.040 --> 01:05:49.040
In spiritual confrontations,

01:05:49.040 --> 01:05:55.040
signs expose, subdue, and unleash fear on the enemy.

01:05:56.040 --> 01:05:58.040
In spiritual confrontations,

01:05:58.040 --> 01:06:06.040
signs and wonders expose, subdue and unleash fear on the enemy.

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fear on the enemy. In Acts chapter 13 there was a man who tried to stop Paul

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from influencing Sergius Paulus, the governor of Paphos. He was a sorcerer

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and he tried to prevent Sergius Paulus from hearing the gospel. Paul

01:06:24.640 --> 01:06:28.800
turns around and says to him that because of your wickedness, blindness is

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going to descend on you right now and as he speaks the man goes blind. And Sergius

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Paulus sees it, people around him see it and they give up what they believed in

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and they begin to follow Jesus Christ. One of the things we haven't seen is the

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vengeance of God. It's not vengeance that destroys, it's a vengeance that puts you

01:06:49.840 --> 01:06:54.360
in acknowledgement of who he is. Sometimes guys there are certain things

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that can only be gotten through spiritual confrontation. I've had so many

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experiences of this over the last 10 or 12 years. It is nuts and every time it

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brings so much fear to the enemy and to the agents of the enemy as in human

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agents of the enemy. It brings great fear. But see if I'm saying that it requires

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that this church begin to rise and take part in spiritual confrontations, not

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just say Kesarasara, fight for what the enemy has snatched. Things are not

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restored automatically. Things have to be plundered sometimes. Some things have

01:07:35.240 --> 01:07:39.360
to be warred for, some things are restored. Know the things that have to be fought

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for and every time you fight for it signs and wonders come into play. Here's

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another one that is critical. We walk this next point I'm saying and you'll

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see it for sure. Acts chapter 14 verse 3. Acts 14 verse 3.

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So Paul and Barnabas spent, this is an iconium, so Paul and Barnabas spent

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considerable time there speaking boldly for the Lord who confirmed the message

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of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. Speak bold

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the truth about his grace and he will give you the ability to do miraculous

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signs and wonders to show people that you were telling the truth about his

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saving grace. Speak boldly about his grace and his truth. Speak boldly as in

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not in some roundabout way that Jesus is a nice man. No, speak boldly of the truth

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and the grace that Jesus is, that Jesus brings. Speak boldly about the truth

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about his grace and he will give you the ability to do miraculous signs and

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wonders to show the ones who are listening that you are telling the truth

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about his grace. Mark 16 20 says the same thing and God endorsed or

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confirmed what they preached with signs and wonders. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 4

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says the same thing. That God will testify to the truth that you are

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speaking through signs and wonders. Boldness in presenting the truth of God.

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No more God but Jesus. God is acceptable, Jesus is not. Jesus is a stumbling block

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not God. People are fine with God. Present the truth of Jesus Christ, the one

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crucified, the one risen and then see how signs and wonders break through you.

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Guaranteed again and again and again in Jesus's words, in Paul's words, in Peter's

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words again and again. I plan to do this because I cannot live a sterilized life

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for words and no works and I cannot have them happen on a mission trip because

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I've been stuck here for the last 10 months. Here's another one, two more

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points and we are done. Cause the Spirit of Christ lives in me. I didn't say the

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Holy Spirit, I didn't say the Spirit of God. Romans 8 verse 9 refers to the Holy

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Spirit as the Spirit of Christ. Cause the Spirit of Christ lives in me. He can do

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through me what he did through Christ. If you want heavy words, Paul's

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pneumatology is always Christological meaning everything that Paul says about

01:10:45.120 --> 01:10:53.000
the Holy Spirit is so Christ centered. Because the Spirit of Christ himself

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lives in me. This really affected me. That Spirit of God because you live in me,

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Spirit of Christ because you live in me, you can do through me. I must, I must wrap

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my head around this every morning that today you can do through me whatever you

01:11:08.400 --> 01:11:13.520
did through Christ. I must go into the world with this understanding that the

01:11:13.520 --> 01:11:18.480
Spirit of Christ because he lives in me can do through me everything that he did

01:11:18.480 --> 01:11:25.000
through Christ and I must present myself ready. I must have a language in terms of

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my mind and my spirit that is open for it to flow and I must have a mind that

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is alert to encounters where he wants to do so and then I must become absolutely

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helpless, reliant and foolish so that he may be provoked to do what he wants to

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do. And the last one. Signs and wonders. This is so odd. Signs and wonders

01:11:59.440 --> 01:12:06.760
multiply when hearts are hard, threats are many and enemies arise. Signs and

01:12:06.760 --> 01:12:16.280
wonders multiply when hearts are hard, when threats are many and when one and

01:12:16.280 --> 01:12:22.280
when enemies arise. Instead of it being negative, instead of it slowing things

01:12:22.280 --> 01:12:28.880
down, signs and wonders multiply when hearts are hard, when threats are many

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and when enemies arise. Go to Exodus 7.3. Exodus 7.3. Exodus 7.3.

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Poor Moses, eh? He's already struggling with having to go to Egypt and then

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instead of helping him and comforting him and making it easier, God says, oh by

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the way I'm sending you to Egypt I know you don't want to go there. I also want

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you to know that once you go there and start talking his heart will get harder

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because I'm going to do that. I mean talk about stacking the odds up and so he

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says in verse 3, but I will harden Pharaoh's heart and though I multiply my

01:13:18.940 --> 01:13:23.400
miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt he will not listen to you. Then I will lay

01:13:23.400 --> 01:13:28.120
my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions,

01:13:28.120 --> 01:13:32.160
my people, the Israelites and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord

01:13:32.160 --> 01:13:35.280
when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of there.

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The hardening of heart multiplies miracles. Go to Deuteronomy 7.19.

01:13:44.320 --> 01:13:50.680
Deuteronomy 7.19. Deuteronomy 7 verse 19.

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He's talking about how he will deal with Israel's enemies as they walk through the desert in the

01:14:03.720 --> 01:14:11.880
midst of hostile nations. Verse 19, you saw with your own eyes the great trials,

01:14:11.880 --> 01:14:17.800
the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm with which the Lord your

01:14:17.800 --> 01:14:22.720
God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the people you now fear. As in,

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don't worry about your enemies. I will do what I have done before. One last scripture, Acts chapter 4,

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Acts chapter 4, verse 30. Acts chapter 4, verse 30. Starting at verse 29. Now Lord, consider their

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threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand

01:14:52.440 --> 01:14:58.800
to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your Holy Servant Jesus. After

01:14:58.800 --> 01:15:03.040
they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken and they were all filled with the

01:15:03.040 --> 01:15:09.920
Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Threats, the rising of enemies and the hardening

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of hearts multiplies miracles, signs and wonders. Look forward to it when people's hearts are hard,

01:15:16.560 --> 01:15:25.840
when enemies arise, when threats come against you. Recalibrate our thinking. Align ourselves

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with how God works. Take public stands. It is impossible for God to show off till you show him

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off. It is impossible for God to show off till I begin to show him off. And you have been appointed

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to your spheres, your segments, your streets for this reason. Show me off where I have planted you.

01:15:48.840 --> 01:16:09.400
Jeeva, come pray and finish. I always have a closing song but never have time for it.

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So Jeevan is the second option.