Okay, so let's get to the teaching.
Yeah. Guys, so we've been talking about teleos, which we said is a word that means to bring
to completion or to maturity.
Teleos means to bring to completion or to maturity.
We also said that that's how God figures things out in Isaiah 46, verse 10.
He said that I see the end from the beginning.
God sees the end from the beginning.
As in He knows what it looks like right off before it even is created.
He knows what it looks like.
So He has a picture of me and you and of Acts 29 and of different things.
He knows the end from the beginning.
And so if we were to think the same way He does, we can look at what God says the end looks like
and then begin to walk towards it so that by the time we reach the horizon,
it doesn't go further, it becomes real.
So one of the things we've been looking at that way is the idea
that the church should be a government here on earth.
That the church should be a government here on earth.
That's what God says.
So what does that end picture look like?
Because if we can see how God really wanted the church to govern, to rule,
to function as a government here on earth, if we could actually see the end that God has
in mind for the church and then begin to walk towards it, we can get to a place
where we become what God wants us to be.
Last week we started talking about the idea of the church as a government here on earth.
And we said that the government is a person or a group vested with the right
to make laws and to enforce laws.
We said that the government is a person or a group vested with the right
to make laws and to enforce laws.
That's what we said is the way to define government.
And here was the equation we've been dealing with right
since we began this series on TELUS.
We are saying that everything is under Jesus' feet.
Everything is under Jesus' feet.
Everything.
There's nothing excluded.
Everything is under Jesus' feet.
Jesus is head of the church.
The third part was he speaks, acts, and fills the church.
So he speaks through the church.
He acts through the church.
He fills the church with his presence.
And if that is the case, if he's the head of everything and he's the head of the church
and he speaks through the church, acts through the church,
and fills the church with his presence, then no longer is the church peripheral to the world.
But the world is peripheral to the church.
This, if we can keep wrapping our heads around because we don't think like this.
Churches don't think government.
Churches think department.
Churches think ministries.
Churches think of themselves as we are a department.
We are specialized in this.
I mean, we've got departments here.
Derek is the head of the Penn and Whiteboard Department.
Don is in charge of probation.
Diana is in charge of a department we want to shut down,
and we've been attempting to shut down for years.
But the thing is, the church, the church, the church is a department.
The church mentality is we are a department.
We specialize in this.
Or we are a ministry.
We specialize in this.
But it would be so awesome if churches began to think of themselves as governments,
because that is our original DNA.
And when we think of ourselves as ministries, as a department that does social work,
or department that saves people, then something changes.
We lose part of our essential DNA, which is if Christ is head over everything,
if Christ is head of the church, if he speaks through the church and acts through the church,
if he fills the church with his presence, then the church is at the center,
and the world is peripheral and not the other way around.
The Old Testament people didn't have any problems thinking like this,
because they actually thought Yahweh was the absolute king of the universe,
and that Israel was God's chosen vessel through whom he decrees things,
through whom he acts, through whom he speaks, and in whose midst he dwells.
Therefore, the other nations around would come to a realization
that the God of the universe dwells amongst them.
And God would go about doing that.
Other nations would say, oh, maybe he's only the God of the mountains.
And then they'd get beaten in the mountains.
And then they would come and fight in the plains.
And they'd think, oh, maybe he's just the God of the plains.
And then they'd get beaten in the mountains.
Israel made it obvious that God ruled.
But we don't necessarily think so.
It's not part of the way we think.
Any questions?
We said a couple of weeks ago last week that right off the bat in Psalm 2,
David writes saying, Yahweh has installed his king on Mount Zion,
as in Jesus Christ is king.
On Mount Zion, which happens to be the dwelling or the resting place of God,
which is now the people of God, that he speaks through them, that he acts through them.
In Isaiah 2, it says that out of Zion shall go laws and decrees.
In Zechariah 8, it says people will come and grab your sleeve and start tugging at it and say,
can you take us to your God?
Because we know he is king and he has what we need.
Ten people will come and tug at your sleeve and say, please take us to your God.
We want to see this king.
It's a mentality, guys.
Government always means permission.
As in, it is a government that permits or forbids.
If you go to Isaiah 22, you read of this man called Eliakim or Hilkiah.
I think his name was Hilkiah.
Isaiah 22 was 22.
I don't know whether Eliakim was his father or whether Hilkiah was his father.
Just one second.
Eliakim, son of Hilkiah.
So in Isaiah 22, it says Eliakim was this man who would be a guy who carried keys on his shoulders.
And in those days, whenever you were in charge, they would give you a set of keys and you would place the keys on your shoulder.
And the shoulders were always a sign of government.
That is why in Isaiah 9 and 6, it says, and the government shall be upon your shoulders.
And so he would carry two sets of keys on each shoulder.
He would carry keys.
One key was to open doors.
The other key was to shut doors.
Government has always been about permission.
So if you read verse 20 of Isaiah 22, it says,
In that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah.
I will close him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him.
He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
I'll place on his shoulder the key to the house of David.
What he opens, no one can shut.
And what he shuts, no one can open.
Government has always been about what you permit and what you do not permit,
which is why Jesus then in Matthew chapter 16, verse 17 to 19, if you go there,
Matthew 16, 17 to 19,
Jesus takes his cue from that scripture
and then says what he says in Matthew 16, 17 to 19.
Shortly after Peter says, you are Christ the son of the living God in verse 16,
Jesus replied, blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah,
for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my father in heaven.
And I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church
and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
And listen to this, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven
and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
As in, hey Peter, I'm giving you the authority or the right to now permit things here on earth
and not permit things here on earth.
And in giving it to you, I'm actually giving it to the church
because it says there and the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church.
It just so happens that in giving it to Peter, he's saying church listen,
if you could only find out what I allow in heaven,
if you could only find out what I forbid in heaven
and if you could learn how to trust me by being my voice
since I speak and act through the church,
if you could begin to function like that.
You know, something saddened me last week like crazy.
And then irritated me. I didn't know which one came first.
So, and you'll feel bad when I'm done saying what I'm going to say.
So we had a time last week during the service where I said,
can you thank God for the Holy Spirit and what he is doing in our midst
and how critical he is to our existence.
We stayed on that for nine and a half or ten minutes
and in ten minutes eight people spoke and that is unacceptable.
Unacceptable.
After all these years, if you cannot voice truths,
then there ain't no way we're going to get here.
Because if the church refuses to speak, truths remain silent.
I actually calculated the time I went home, watched the video
and for nine minutes 51 seconds,
we had eight people speak saying what they think the Holy Spirit does.
That is unacceptable.
It doesn't matter how you feel about things.
There are certain truths that need to be spoken out.
Do not hold back.
Do not do someone else's service by saying let them go first.
You should be chomping at the bit saying please, please shut up.
I want to say something.
The day I see that I like Moses say don't bring any more offerings.
That's a rebuke just in case you didn't get it.
This thing is impossible if the church does not speak.
We can't have one Peter speaking.
A Peter can be given a key, but the church needs to begin to rise and speak.
Blessed are you if you were not here last week.
The rebuke does not apply to you.
So government is about permission and it is always for the benefit of others.
It's always for the benefit of others.
What you permit, what you forbid must be what God already allows and disallows.
And you get to know it.
And then you need to speak or act on it.
This is why in Amos it says does God do anything without telling his prophets?
It wasn't as if prophets are a special group of people who God needs counsel with
or needs to tell before he does something.
It wasn't that because prophets make it that.
That's one favorite scripture prophets use.
God doesn't do anything without talking to prophets.
No, it's not because God wanted to consult prophets.
It is because what he was trying to say is listen, I like announcing things before I act on them.
This has been his pattern since ages.
Announce then act.
And so if we want to know what is permitted and what is not permitted,
we need to receive in our spirits what he's saying.
Which then means that we operate by revelation, which is what happens to Peter.
Jesus says to me, hey Peter, you didn't do to receive this revelation about me being the son of God
from anybody else but by my father.
And because you were there to receive the revelation here, I'm giving you the keys.
And in giving you the keys, you represent the church that I'm building,
that the gates of hell will not prevail against.
Whatsoever you permit will be permitted.
Whatsoever you disallow will be disallowed.
How are you going to permit it, Peter?
How are you going to disallow it?
You use your words and you use your actions.
A few years later in the book of Acts chapter 2, Peter stands up and he begins to speak.
And as he begins to speak, the very keys of the kingdom that were handed to him
open the door and for the first time in the history of the world,
3,000 people enter what God had always spoken of as a kingdom.
And once we begin to function like this, what happens then?
And you will see it happening bit by bit by bit.
It may not happen...
See, because we want immediate results and everything has to be microwaved,
if we don't see it boiling hot a moment after we have spoken,
we do not then pursue it further.
And it is discouraging, I agree.
But my God, press through it, man.
Once we begin to function like this, three things will surely happen
because it has always happened.
One, you will prevail against opposition.
You will prevail against opposition.
You will end desolation as in harm that is being done to the people.
You will end desolation as in harm that is being done in people's lives
because it always benefits others.
And you will restore inheritances.
You will restore inheritances.
Yeah, once you begin to function like this,
once a church begins to function like this,
and this is a teaching that's both for us as a people first
and then as individuals who make up that people.
It's being addressed first to the church.
And then as we hear it, we as individuals begin to become like it.
But I'm addressing the church first.
And so when we begin to behave like this as Christ wants to speak,
to act and to convey His presence, then here's what happens.
When we begin to realize what is permitted, what is not permitted,
when we begin to speak it, then here's what happens.
One, we prevail against opposition.
We prevail against opposition.
Our weapon is not just a melody, it's a melody with words in it.
Humming doesn't frighten the devil.
It doesn't change anything.
God didn't hum and He didn't hum, let there be light.
He actually said it.
It prevails against opposition.
Matthew 16, 19 says that.
It ends desolation.
You want proof for that, go to Isaiah 61.
The one who does all this today is the Holy Spirit.
But when you go to Isaiah 61, you see this idea of proclaim coming up again and again.
In the first verse, that you will proclaim liberty to captives,
that you will proclaim liberty to the captives,
that you will proclaim liberty to the captives.
That you will proclaim Jubilee and the year of favor.
That you will proclaim good news to the poor.
So much of Isaiah 61, verse 1 and 2 is words.
You will not cut it without words, guys.
You will not cut it without words.
None of us are at a place where we are...
persuaded fully that words are critical to our everyday existence.
After a while, we languish and we just stop.
The thing is, guys,
when you're a child, God will treat you like a child.
But when you're an adult, God expects you to now behave like an adult.
Unfortunately, most of you are adults.
So,
too bad.
It restores inheritances.
Isaiah 49, 8 talks about how one of the things that we are sent out to do,
just like Christ was sent out to do, was to restore desolate heritages.
As in, people who have had their inheritances taken away, restore it to them.
We do it on a one-on-one basis so often.
But what if we began to think like this?
That this is how people's desolate inheritances are restored.
So, if you look at Joseph, who is a Jesus type,
you see that before you govern,
and today's topic, if you want, a title for today is,
teleos testing.
The topic is testing.
Testing.
And so, if you look at Joseph, who is a Jesus type,
as in, he was a, he was very,
he was like an example of the one to come.
If you look at Joseph, you will see how governing works.
You'll see the phases or the stages through which one has to go,
before one governs.
And again, I'm preaching to the church first,
then to each of us as individuals.
So,
if you want to govern, every church, and every person who,
God says, okay, show me your shoulders.
I want to put things on your shoulders so you can carry them for me,
and govern out of my nature.
Remember, we talked about what his nature looks like when he governs.
We talked about last week.
He will be called wonderful or amazing counselor.
Mighty God.
Everlasting Father.
Prince of Peace.
Or Prince of Wholeness or Shalom.
Justice and Righteousness.
We talked about that last week.
So, here are three phases that one goes through if one wants to govern.
The Father's Heart.
Potiphar's Prison.
You enter it and then you emerge in Pharaoh's Palace,
which is where you begin to finally rule.
That's how it always works.
There are three phases that you walk through before you govern.
The Father's Heart,
Potiphar's Prison,
and Pharaoh's Palace.
Churches go through it.
Individuals will go through it if you want to govern.
Guys, it's not age or experience that counts.
It's how you walk through these stages that is evaluated.
It's not age or experience.
I've met really young men and women who have
this tremendous ability to know what God wants to do on Earth,
how to act, how to speak, how to govern.
And sometimes when I use the word rule, it sounds pretty strong.
Govern is different.
Govern is administering God's intent, desire, purpose, nature here on Earth.
It's always tethered to His character.
And so I'll insist on using the word govern,
not because it's a less strong word.
In fact, it just covers everything that God wants to do.
So it's not age or experience that counts,
but I've seen people who are young who govern really well.
Chad is an example.
He's 11 or 12 years younger than me, but he knows how to govern.
And imagine the vehicle he has to carry.
It's pretty massive, man.
So how you walk through these stages is what is evaluated,
not whether you walk through it or how old you are.
That don't matter.
I've seen people who are really old,
who've gone through many, many different experiences,
but are still writing the same song.
Acts 29 can help you with this.
Acts 29 should provide you a secure place
where you get to know the Father's heart
and rid yourself of orphanhood.
Because as long as you don't start here,
where you don't understand that everything is rooted,
everything stems out of the Father's heart,
you won't be able to navigate
Potiphar's prison or Pharaoh's palace.
And how do you know whether you are secure in the Father's heart?
How are you reacting when you're here and here?
What comes out of your mouth first?
What are the thoughts in your heart?
What is your first reaction?
And very often I find that I'm not sure
what my first reaction is.
And very often I find that after all these years
of knowing the Father well,
I'm still sometimes unseated by both these things.
And I go back to the drawing board.
How do I go back to the drawing board?
To learn how to govern?
No, go back to the Father's heart.
That's the key to this.
You go back to the Father's heart
when you get caught in Potiphar's prison
and you're getting bitter.
Or when you're in Pharaoh's palace and you're getting proud,
go back to the Father's heart.
Everything starts there, guys.
And it is impossible to govern
if you don't go through these stages.
Impossible. Impossible.
So whether you're on the cross
or whether you're on a donkey coming into Jerusalem,
whether you're going to crown your king
or whether you're hanging between two thieves,
he always knew his Father's heart.
And that kept him safe.
Any questions?
Because purpose, kingdom, raising people, government,
everything is dysfunctional if you aren't located here.
And you will always know
how well you're located when these things happen.
And I'm sometimes so surprised
that I still need to grow so much here.
Any questions?
Okay.
So if those are the three phases you pass through,
there's a testing process that qualifies
a people or a person to govern.
There's a testing process
that qualifies a people or a person to govern.
And it's not degrees, not degrees of authority,
it's not degrees of authority to govern.
And it's not degrees, nor is it your pedigree.
My, I have heard of and met some very famous people's sons
whose fathers must be rolling in their graves.
Why? Because pedigree doesn't count and degrees don't count.
But there is a testing process
that qualifies a people or a person to govern.
And the intent of the test is to show you caliber,
how far you've come.
A test, we think of tests as in,
oh shucks, I'm going to fail.
He thinks of tests as in,
oh shucks, let me show you how far you've gotten.
It's one thing to stand and count the stars in the sky
and say, I believe.
After that, God will test you to see whether you actually do.
So Abraham stood down to the stars and he said,
so you want Eliezer's son to reign in my place?
No, as many as the stars are in the sky
and as many as the grains of sand on the shore,
that many will be your descendants.
I believe you.
And it was credited to him as righteousness immediately.
And after he was made righteous by faith,
his faith was tested.
Right?
That's the cool thing with God.
Righteousness was not given to him after testing.
Righteousness was given to him first because he believed.
And then after that he's tested.
Okay, now that you believe me, let me just test you.
And ruling or governing comes with tests.
God has no problems with time so he can wait.
So if I fail, he'll just say, let's start over again.
I hate that about him.
I know hate is a strong word, but I just wish he could just say,
okay, okay, you've done.
The fifth time I went for my driving license, it was not here.
It was in another country.
The guy just passed me because he knew I had tested five times and failed.
Four times and failed.
So he knew that my last will get this guy through.
He's driven for so long.
Yeah.
So God doesn't do that, unfortunately.
So I say, okay, go.
He just says, let's start over again.
Don't laugh like you didn't go two or three times, okay?
The second time I went, the car stopped in the middle of the road
and I knew I was going to fail because the examiner and I had to keep pushing the car on the road.
So I knew this, even if I didn't make a mistake, this was a fail.
So some were very unfortunate.
Remember that blue Daihatsu ad?
Terrible curry.
Yeah.
So there's a testing process.
So here are some of the things you're tested in.
You're tested with purpose.
And this is such a problem here at Act 29
because most of you have had words that kind of tell you what your purpose is.
You're such a disadvantage in some areas because of coming to this church.
Tested with purpose.
So one of the things God does after he gives you your purpose is he will say,
he will check to see whether you can stay the course or do you deviate from it
or do you amend your purpose?
That's one of the things that happens with purpose.
Now that you have been prophesied over multiple times,
now that you have been told your purpose,
now that you have been encouraged and assured of your purpose
over a period of six years, seven years, 20 years,
now let me see whether you have the ability to stay the course
and not deviate, not lag behind, not get lazy, not find excuses,
not amend your purpose.
Can you endure with joyful faith while you wait?
Can you endure with joyful confession while you wait?
Can you endure with a breakthrough spirit?
That is how you're tested with purpose.
Joyful faith, confession and a breakthrough spirit.
Romans 420.
And even though he knew he was important,
he began to glorify God.
Instead of being discouraged, he began to glorify God.
Psalm 105, verse 17 to 21.
Psalm 105, 17 to 21.
Man, this guy Joseph was something else.
They began when they were pretty young, eh?
Psalm 105, verse 17 to 21.
I've always treasured these verses.
Psalm 105, 17 to 21.
And he sent a man before them, Joseph.
Sold as a slave.
They bruised his feet with shackles.
His neck was put in irons.
Till what he foretold came to pass.
Till the word of the Lord proved him true.
The king sent and released him.
The ruler of people set him free.
He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed,
to instruct his princes as he pleased,
and to teach his elders wisdom.
What a verse!
Any questions?
This is something that I've gone through so many times,
when nothing will seem like it's working out.
And the question is, Jacob, so what are you going to do?
Put it aside?
Deviate from it?
Tinker with it?
Are you going to just throw up your arms and say,
what's the use?
Or are you going to be someone who expresses joyful faith,
and your joyful faith will be expressed in the word you speak
and your conduct?
And you will be able to do that.
And your joyful faith will be expressed in the word you speak
and your confession.
And within you will suddenly rise up that breakthrough spirit
that the Holy Spirit has given you anyways,
so that you shake off the dust, get up again and say,
let's go!
And time and time and time again I've done it.
And because of that I've seen results, man!
And when you can't do it, and you can't get up,
say, I need your help.
Say, I can't get up, my knees are weak,
my hands don't rise, come help me.
And get your errands, get you hers.
Errands and hers are not there to tell you sweet nothings.
They're just there to lift you up.
You think errands and hers are guys who come
and will spend seven hours with us telling us how wonderful you are.
No, they're just there to lift you up and say, now walk.
The ones you are thinking of are Shipra and Pua.
If you don't know who they are, don't worry about it.
Don't name your children that either.
Some of the name Pua for your little daughter doesn't seem right.
Next thing you'll be tested with is you'll be tested with your past.
You'll be tested with your past.
Can you shake off your past failures, your reproaches?
Reproaches are conditions of shame.
Guys, one of the things with a teaching like this is
you'll think I'm talking about you and I actually am not and yet could be.
So, I don't know how to do that.
I don't know how if you feel awkward or think like, oh, Shaxi is talking about me.
Just flow with it.
Yeah.
And I won't look at you.
How's that?
Whoever I'm looking at is not the one I'm thinking of.
Okay.
So, you're tested with your past.
Can you shake your past failure?
Can you shake your reproaches?
Reproaches are conditions of shame that have settled so deep in your heart
that demons take advantage of it now.
Can you shake off your wounds?
I mean, Moses, he was taking forever till God had to get a little irritated.
It's one of the first places I see God irritated.
Exodus, chapter 4, verse 10.
Exodus 4, verse 10.
Moses said to the Lord, Oh Lord, I've never been eloquent,
neither in the past nor since you spoke to your servant.
I'm slow of speech and tongue.
And so, the NIV doesn't convey the irritation, but the Lord said,
who gave man this mouth?
Who makes him deaf or mute?
Who gives him sight or makes him blind?
Is it not I, the Lord?
Now, go.
I'll help you speak and we'll teach you what to say.
It's not a very comforting God sometimes.
You've just told him how lousy you are and he's saying,
okay, now that I've heard you and I know about it, go.
If you're looking for a prophetic word of assurance, it ain't coming there.
You have to get over, you will be tested with your past.
Can you shake off your past failures or your reproaches, your wounds like Moses?
Like David, I love what David did in 2 Samuel 12, 20.
2 Samuel 12, 20.
Then, David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves
and he realized that his child was dead,
the child that was born of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba.
Is the child dead, he asked.
Yes, they replied, he is dead.
David got up from the ground after he had washed, put on lotion, changed his clothes.
He went into the house of the Lord and worshiped.
What a guy, man.
What a guy.
The ability to shake off past failures, reproaches.
I remember someone saying this to me long ago.
Be like one of those colanders that you wash stuff in before you make a salad,
which I have no idea about.
But be like a colander.
Like, so what if your back has multiple stab wounds?
Heal quickly.
I know it's so easy to say this stuff.
It's very hard to actually walk it, but we need to, guys.
David recovered so fast from this and yet he was someone who loved that boy and was weeping for him.
Joseph named his sons to show that he had moved on.
In Exodus 40, in Genesis 41, verse 51 and 52,
he names his first son Manasseh,
names his first son Manasseh, meaning I have forgotten the hurt and the grief of my past.
And then his second son, he names Ifrei, and he moves even further.
I will now be one who receives double blessing.
Ifrei means double fruitfulness.
He names his children to show from where he's gone to where.
You will be tested with your past if you want to govern.
In 1994 or 5, I felt God saying, you got to go to this particular nation.
So I decided, well, God is saying, let me go.
And so I went to a travel agent I know and I booked a ticket and told him I'll pay him two days before I leave.
And then I expected the money to come in.
I booked a ticket two months ahead of time because I knew on this particular day I'll go to that nation.
Two to three days left, no money is coming.
I used to go to the mail and think some guy will send me just tons of money.
Open the mail because in those days everything came by check.
And so nothing.
And finally the day arrives and I still don't have the money.
And I remember telling people in church that, listen, I won't be in church the next couple of weeks because I'm going to this particular nation.
And the money didn't arrive.
I called up the travel agent and told him to cancel the tickets.
I went to church and people said, what are you doing here?
And I thought to myself, man, I really messed up.
I really heard wrong.
What a shameful thing to do.
Bring such disrepute to God.
After the next three, four years, I would keep saying, you know, you've got to be sure that God is speaking to you because you can hear wrong and it'll cause a whole lot of sadness to you and to people around you and stuff like that.
And I'd keep saying that.
Everywhere I went, I'd included as part of my teaching.
And I'm in this particular church.
And I'm sharing the same story.
And there's a man sitting there and he's nodding his head while I'm talking, till I came to the story.
But he was nodding his head and I'm looking at him and I'm thinking to myself, I've seen this guy before.
And yet without a shadow of a doubt, I know I've never seen him before.
And so after service, he comes up to me and he says to me, God wants you to know that that was not a mistake.
It was a test and you passed.
And I'm like, I'm not going to be able to do that.
I'm going to be able to do it.
And I'm like, I'm not going to be able to do it.
I'm going to be able to do it.
And I realize that it was not a mistake.
It was a test and you passed.
And he walks out.
And I go to the pastor and I ask him, do you know who that man is?
And the pastor says, never been here before.
It's the first time.
And he's never come back.
And I realized suddenly that, my God, man, you can wear your past and wrap it around you like a cloak and walk in it.
Always suspecting, drilling holes in your own bucket and singing Henry and Lysa.
And I sing that song.
There's a hole in your bucket, dear Lysa, dear Lysa.
Only you drilled it.
Four years I kept filling that bucket with a hole in it.
And this guy comes and says, I know, the guy was a godsend.
I don't think I'll remember him anymore.
I would like to suggest that he was an angel.
But if he wasn't and if he was ordinary human, that's fine with me too.
All I know is the message was from God.
As in, it was a test.
You did well.
You stood.
You knew God told you to go.
You stood.
And that you graduated.
Sometimes God will put you through drills just to see if you will be obedient.
Part of your past is dealing with disrepute.
We think so highly of ourselves that sometimes it's okay.
Tested in purity.
If you want to govern, you will be tested in purity.
You'll be tested in purity.
Can you refuse the king's table?
Daniel chapter one.
Daniel says, can we pass on this non-kosher food?
Because we as Jewish boys have a certain diet that we follow.
And what Nebuchadnezzar is serving, as amazing as it is,
because it must have been samosas from Main Street and caviar from Vladivostok
and dosas from Dosa corner.
But where's Betty?
You know the deal, right?
Okay.
So, can you refuse the king's table?
Can you refuse the king's table?
Your purity will be tested if you are to govern.
Can you refuse the king's table?
Can you say no to the prophet who's offering you a glass of wine to drink?
In Jeremiah 35 verse 5, Jeremiah is actually testing the recubites,
the sons of Reqab.
Sons of Reqab.
And he goes and he knows that they have been told by God through their father
that you are not to drink wine because they were almost like Nazarites.
And so Jeremiah takes a glass of wine and places it before them.
And he's a well-known prophet, the prophet to Israel.
And he places a glass before them and says drink.
And they say, we're very sorry, but we won't drink because our fathers were
told by God that we were not supposed to drink wine.
Are you able to be tested in your purity and say no,
even though it means that you will lose out on some of the best things in the world?
Because there is no participation in divine government without holiness.
There is no participation in divine government without holiness.
If you read Psalm 24 verse 2 and 3, it says, who shall ascend the holy hill?
And who is on this holy hill?
And why even ascend the holy hill?
Because it says in Psalm 2 verse 6 that I have installed my king on my holy hill,
meaning I govern from there.
And then it says in Psalm 24 verse 2 and 3, who shall ascend the holy hill?
He who has clean hearts and pure hands and whose tongue is not given to deceit,
he shall ascend the holy hill.
Those are the ones that can say lift up your ancient gates and be lifted up your doors.
Let the king of glory come in.
It is impossible to participate in divine government without holiness.
And I need to hear that and you need to hear that.
If Acts 29 is to make any dent.
I want to end by holiness, increased holiness, man.
Keep increasing.
In 1 Peter 2, 9 says, holy nation, royal priesthood.
It's this combination of royal and priesthood.
Holy nation, set apart.
Maybe I should share this story with some of the old timers here.
I was in a country where someone was trying to get me to compromise on
a stance that I had taken in that country with regard to how meetings will be conducted.
And he offered me first watch that was given to him by the president of the country,
which was made of gold.
It must have been about $9,000 or $10,000.
And he gives this to me and I wear it around my wrist and it doesn't fit.
So I have to give it back.
And then he pulls out a Cartier watch, started with diamonds,
a little less, maybe $7,500 or something.
And he gives me that and I put it on my wrist and the blooming snap breaks, man.
And I'm still not getting the message.
He pulls out an ordinary gold watch, which must have been $3,000 or $4,000.
And he puts that, he says, Jacob, take this.
And I wear that and that clasp snaps too.
And then finally it dawns on me.
It was literally like God saying,
duh, three watches before you get the message that you're not supposed to take this
and compromise what you know I have told you to.
Guys, it is amazing how when it comes to our lives,
all of us have a price and all of us have a level of purity and it will be tested.
Let your price go up till they have to put up posters saying wanted,
$1 trillion and nobody can pay it.
Any questions?
Your purity will be tested, not by God.
God knows your purity,
but your purity will be tested if you're supposed to come to a place where you govern.
Morality and governing go hand in hand.
I've always said, right,
purity is a proof of your intimacy and it intimidates the enemy.
Purity is a proof of your intimacy and it intimidates the enemy.
The next one.
You'll be tested in with power.
You'll be tested with power.
You will be tested with power.
You'll be tested with power.
How do you use power?
When you have wealth, when you have power, God wants to see how you will use it.
He uses it as a litmus.
What was Jesus being tempted with?
He had the power to turn stones into bread.
He had the power.
He was the same man who could have fish come on to one side of the water.
He was the same man who could have his taxes in the mouth of a fish.
You think the man who could walk on water could not turn stone into bread?
He had the power, but he refuses to use the power because it was not sanctioned by God.
God loves watching me using the power that is vested in me over anything and everything to see how Jacob uses power because if it is not tethered to his nature, he knows that Jacob cannot be brought into the next level of his destiny till he learns how to use power really well at the place he is at.
Joseph, when he had his brothers at his mercy,
I mean Genesis 45 verse 3 to 5, his brothers were so scared when he sends all the servants away and he says,
It is I, Joseph, I am your brother.
They are like, oh, chucks, off with their heads.
No, that's not what comes from his mouth.
Instead, he begins to hug them.
He begins to cry over them.
How do you use power?
Do you use power in a way that is legalistic?
Where now because you have power, everything is, no, no, no, no, no.
We got to strain that gnat out, but you can swallow the camel and every little T has to be, T has to be crossed and every little I has to be dotted.
We've all met people like that.
You perhaps are like that.
Like I said, I'm not looking at you right now.
Are you callous?
As in you don't care.
The use, the way you use your power is callous.
You don't care.
If people do what they want, that's fine too.
That is when you do not use power well.
When God appoints you to steward something and it's like,
come see, come see.
Are you a ringmaster who makes people jump through hoops before you give them what they deserve or what they earn or what they should be given?
Could you do this and this and this and then after you do this and this and order is one thing,
making people jump through hoops because you have the power is a whole different ballgame.
Sometimes you can be callous with power by not doing what you're supposed to do in time.
You know, you're supposed to do something that can help someone,
but you just delayed because you can do it tomorrow.
Little knowing how it affects the person who needs your help.
Are you controlling when you use power?
Are you exclusive as in you're not here to share or delegate power?
It's exclusively yours.
Do you, are you a conceited idol that others have to bow before and serve before you do something for them because you have all the power?
Guys, God tests you with power and there is no way God is going to give me any extra power to administer or govern.
If today based on what I'm doing, I'm not doing well, he will not part with more.
These things that I just called out legalistic ringmaster callous controlling.
If it applies to you, rip it out of you.
And if you don't think any of it applies to you.
Let me know.
Tested with offense.
You will be tested with offense as in people will offend you.
You'll be tested with offense.
This is guaranteed.
You will be betrayed.
You will be offended by people.
It will happen to you.
Betrayal, offense, anger, accusation will be hurled at you and it is inevitable.
If you think you're going to escape it ain't going to happen.
It is going to happen to you.
Question is you are tested with offense and God will see because I'm telling you man,
if you are to administer and govern, you will definitely be offended and hurt betrayed by people.
It was done to your master.
It will be done to you too.
It was done to Joseph.
It was done to Moses.
It was done to David.
It was done to Paul.
It was done to every guy in the book of Hebrews chapter 11.
It was done to all of them.
But when they offend you, how are you going to react?
Short term and long term.
There's a short term and long term reaction to offense.
Short term is I bless you sister.
You can stab me.
Here stab again.
That's a short time response.
It's very godly long time response of my God wait till I poison you when you come for dinner next.
It's like the initial reaction is like you're going to be poisoned.
The initial reaction is all kindness, but it's seething inside.
A short term and long term reactions to offense.
You will be tested with offense.
Do you wilt?
Do you withdraw?
Do you let it become a scab so someone can offend you again in the near future?
Do you lash out?
Do you keep a record?
Do you wilt?
As in?
Wilt.
It's very hard for me to show wilt.
Even if I did this, it wouldn't convey it.
So it's very sudden things that are beyond me.
So do you wilt or do you withdraw?
As in I don't want I've been hurt too many times.
My God if Jesus withdrew because I've hurt.
Do you lash out?
Do you let it become a scab?
So someone else can kill it or do you keep a long memory of it?
Both Joseph and Jesus were very different day.
I got three more to go.
You'll be tested with offense.
You'll be tested with a long term reaction.
You'll be tested with a short term reaction.
I got three more to go.
You'll be tested with allegiance.
You'll be tested with allegiances.
What are we talking about?
If you want to govern, if you want to rule as a church and as a people, you will be tested in these areas.
You will be tested with allegiances.
As in you cannot govern if your primary allegiance is affected by Mary.
As in Mary and Jesus.
Where in Mark chapter 3 verse 21 Mary comes to take Jesus away because she and her other sons say Jesus is insane.
He's crazy.
Let's take him home.
In Mark chapter 3 verse 21 and then verse 31 Jesus has to respond and he says who's my mother and who are my brothers?
Mary actually did that.
How about Peter?
Where in Galatians 2.11 Paul had to confront Peter and he would not even though Peter was a senior apostle,
Paul had to make his allegiance known.
But listen, I have an allegiance to the gospel of grace that has been given to me to preach.
And if you are going to be a hypocrite and side with the Jews that have come who believe in circumcision and you're going to sit with them and not sit with the Gentiles,
then Peter even though you are senior, even though you are primary apostle, even though you were given the keys of the kingdom,
I do not have an allegiance first to you, but I have allegiance to the gospel of grace given to me by Christ.
It is impossible to govern if my allegiances are still in sway.
Saul, not Saul, Jonathan and Michael.
I mean you read 2 Samuel 6 and you'll find that even though Michael was David's wife,
she was always known as Saul's daughter.
Even though Jonathan was a great friend of David, Jonathan refused to leave his father.
And yet in Mark chapter 4 verse 22, you find the sons of Zebedee leaving their father and their nets and walking away.
Leban, Jacob served him for blooming 20 years for his daughters.
Who didn't walk away?
His loyalty and allegiance to the Leban family kept him under wraps for 20 years.
Clan, tribe, denominations, theology that is old.
We got to let go of it if we are supposed to go to the church.
We are supposed to go to the church.
That is old.
We got to let go of it if we are supposed to govern because God sends new wine.
Allegiances will cause you to settle in Shechem or middle ground or compromise your course of action.
I refuse to.
You don't realize that there are days when I carry Acts 29 on my shoulders because if I mess up, Acts 29 will mess up.
That these tests are real.
And that you cannot afford to either.
Doesn't matter that you lose friendships.
It doesn't matter that you will hurt.
It doesn't matter that things will be broken.
You do not amend.
It doesn't matter that things will be broken.
You do not amend.
The apostolic never amends what has been given to them by God.
They endure.
They do not amend.
Amend is when you tinker and change things so that you can preserve and keep.
You think Paul enjoyed saying to Barnabas,
all right Barnabas, I'm sorry.
I cannot go with you.
Barnabas came and got Paul out of Tarsus.
They had more than just a missionary connection.
He introduced them to the Apostles of Jerusalem.
Only a friend can yeah, not important.
Allegiances of I want to say to you if if God has said go from point A to point B.
He's saying go from point A to point B.
He's not asking you to settle somewhere in between.
Sorry, I didn't hear the second part.
There's a word for many words.
How does he know if God has called him to go from point A to point B and what would he do if he was going to go from point A to point B?
I realized shucks still confused and so then I go and ask people for help and
those people can be younger than me older than me smarter than me very difficult, but occasionally and then and so
That's a process, but I have to I need help
And and God will never change that he will never take away my need to depend on others
He will never take it away
Don't for a moment thing you can get away by being an expert at anything in your life because he will deliberately hold back
Your ability to function just because you depend you have to depend on someone
Not a single area where you're really good will still
Be good enough for you to be independent
independent
Tested with if God says go from point A to point B
Don't stop somewhere in between because your condition if you stop in between will be worse off than when you have you not started
If God is saying move from A to B move all the way you settle in the middle and
Your condition will be worse off than when you started. Please don't it is foolish
Tested in hiddenness you will be tested in hiddenness you will be tested in hiddenness
This is critical for some of you. I was thinking of a few of you, so I won't be looking at you
Tested in hiddenness where you're going through a time of absolute insignificance
Where there's no visible movement in your destiny where you're serving in someone else's shadow
You
Either serving in Potiphar's house or you're washing Elijah's hands
And that's all you're doing every time he eats or you're in the backside of the Sinai taking care of your father-in-law's sheep
No movement great prophetic words nada happening
One of the things you'll be tested with is you'll be tested in hiddenness
The like I've said before
When I die and if any of you are still alive then make sure that on my grave you put the words from Isaiah 49 verse 1 & 2
I
Mean if it's a large grave you can put more verses because I won't be there anyways you guys will have to take care of all that
but
Put Isaiah 49 1 & 2 it says he was hidden like a arrow in God's quiver
And whenever God wanted pulled out shot put back in the quiver nobody knows about you love not being known
Popularity has its own pressures, and if you're not ready for it. It'll destroy you I
Can't handle this popularity
So
No visible movement in your destiny as you serve in someone else's shadow. God will test you in hiddenness
God will test you in hiddenness get used to it
Jesus nobody knew about him for very long and while you're hidden
Seduction and satanic traps will try and derail you
Seduction and satanic traps will try and derail you and even though you make good choices
And you have great honesty you will still not be delivered
Classic example Joseph
ran
From Potiphar's wife was honest had integrity
But still paid a price
hiddenness is not a
Place where God is absent hiddenness is a place where it looks like God's actions aren't coming through and
Every person who governs will have to go through it
But my god look at Phoebe and Jocelyn
Now and think of the fact that they were hidden for nine months
Any questions before we go to the last one
Okay, you'll be tested with opposition and resistance you'll be tested with opposition and
Resistance
You'll be tested with opposition and resistance and this opposition and resistance is both human and satanic
It's both human and satanic I was thinking of saying demonic and then I thought no use the word satanic
There'll be human adversaries and satanic adversaries
Who mock you who taught you who intimidate you who attack you and the attack is physical it is emotional
It's spiritual
You
Will be tested with opposition and resistance you will have to come to a place
where you have to say like David said that I have fought the lion and the bear and
When the bear would come I would grab it and snatch the sheep out of its mouth
but if it rose its head again, I would smite it dead and
The god who helped me deal with the lion and the bear will now help me deal with this uncircumcised Philistine
Satan doesn't come to attack you because he thinks oh
Jacob needs to get better at this. No, he's coming to steal kill and destroy
Thwart mock mocking is one of the commonest ways that the enemy attacks at church and
You mocking you
Unfortunately, we don't even get past mocking because words affect us so badly
That we cannot rise from under them
The reason words affect us so badly is because we do not know how to counter words with words
Every time someone says things that affect me badly where words have ripped me to shreds
The first thing I'll go and say to God is father these words have really like disheveled me or bruised me inside now
I need to look at how you see me by looking into
Your book that shows me my face an accurate image the mirror of the word show me what I look like and then I see
Myself in it and after seeing myself in it out of my mouth will come words that tell me who I am
This is not written on my mirror that I see every morning and say while I brush my teeth
This is stuff as it happens
The reason we are not able to survive even the mocking spirit, which is a very powerful sinister
Damaging deceiving spirit. The reason we don't even survive the mocking spirit is because we do not combat the mocking spirit with words
Instead the mocking spirit provokes us to use words that diss ourselves
As a very words that you hear
Brought to you whispered into your ear by the accuser are the very words used to describe the very words
Brought to you whispered into your ear by the accuser are the very words you now reshape remodel and place upon yourself
This is what I meant by reproach
Your past catching up with you a condition of shame that is so deep
That it has begun to affect your psyche and it is used by the demonic to build strongholds or to hide in strongholds
The test the testing with opposition and resistance the test in this is learning how to stand and responding
Responding with words responding with mercy if it's human adversaries responding with understanding what in the world is happening here right now
And responding with just action as in what do I need to do? Do I need to stand up and rebuke it?
Do I need to speak up? Do I need to shut this down? Do I need to declare judgment? What do I need to do?
So you rest the test isn't learning how to respond to it with words or with actions that either show mercy if it's human adversaries
understanding and
the third one is
just action
You know Luke 10 19 actually says that I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy
I know harm or hurt by any means shall come to you. That's what Luke 10 19 says but unfortunately because of chinks in my armor a few arrows do get through
I wish every time I went and battled the enemy or did something that would defeat him or went to a particular place and tore something down or set a city or a certain place free
I wish I could return unscathed as often happens
But sometimes I find that there is a bit of a difference between the power of the enemy and the power of the enemy
I wish I could return unscathed as often happens but sometimes I find that there is a backlash and I still have not learned how to prevent it from happening
And as a church we need to learn that
So that Luke 10 19 is what stands
Learn to recover, repair and then go back and be relentless
Any questions guys because I'm done. I'll just conclude if you don't have any questions
Any questions?
Seraphim Pavan is really smart. He didn't tell you how long the service is. He just invited you and then he left
So I'm going to ask you a question. Is it true that you were sent to the church by the enemy?
Seraphim Pavan is really smart. He didn't tell you how long the service is. He just invited you and then he left
And now you're stuck
But we usually tell people not to tell people how long it is because they may not come otherwise
But we are glad you're here
Any questions?
Okay
We must overcome these tests as a body of many parts
Be spirit dependent, be body reliant, rely on each other
And be dependent on the spirit
We've got to learn this as a body
I love Revelations 2.27
To him that overcomes, as in overcomes these things that we are talking about
To him who overcomes, as in overcome opposition, resistance
To him who overcomes Revelations 2.26 and 2.27
I will give power over the nations
And I will give you a royal scepter so that you can shepherd them
I'll give you a royal scepter so you can shepherd them
I think it's in, I don't know which version it is, it actually says
I'll let you shepherd instead of using the word rule, it uses the word shepherd
And it is so classic, Psalm 23 is basically rule
I will give you the power to go to the valley of the shadow of death, you will be with me
Your shepherds rod and staff, they will comfort me
Sometimes to chase away prowlers, sometimes to draw in the sheep
This is what we are talking about
I pray God that you are able to step into this man
Because this is where God wants us to go
And if we are to go with what Jane was saying, then if he's on the move
I want us to become a church which one day has the ability
In the spheres and the territories given to us, to decree and to be able to say
This cannot happen or this can happen, or this must be shut down or this must be open
That these demonic powers that have occupied this territory for 300 years
400 years, no longer have a say, that salvation will come here
Regardless of how hard other religions may try to build things
That certain evil practices must end, and that we decree
And over a period of one, two, three years, we begin to actually see this happen
And the seed is sown so deep that it is impossible for that seed
Now not to germinate and produce fruit
This is what a church must do, we haven't seen this yet
At least not one on one, we've heard stories
But these stories must show evidence, not just a short term evidence, but a long term evidence
Long ago in 2015
2005 the Lord said, Jacob, a time is coming when
Out of you and out of your church will rise young people
That will have apostolic ministries, ministries that are like
Bishops in different areas where they go forth, and when I look now
At the young people in this church, I marvel, because we had
Nothing that should attract young people, nothing
Didn't have decent music
Didn't have a sound guy
And so on
I was looking at Derek for a fool, then I realized you're the sound guy, that's why I stopped
But now when I look at it
I think to myself, Father, you're going to unleash from this place a generation
Of young apostolic ministries and bishops and
People that will go to different parts, and I don't mean James when I say bishop
People that go to different parts of the earth and begin to
Restart this way of functioning, man
Any questions, any thoughts, anything you want to add
Feel free, it's just four, take three more minutes
Let me just pray
Holy Spirit I want to pray a really decent prayer
So please help me
Father, you're saying to us that
You're saying to us that
A helmsman or a steersman
Who steers a ship
Has this huge
Vessel at his command
Because of one solitary
Structure called the rudder
With that he controls
Everything
Huge ship, storm battered seas
A wheel in the helmsman's hands
That controls what seems like
Just a large piece of metal or wood right at the end of the ship
And that then controls the ship through stormy weather
Where are you pulling this out from Holy Spirit?
James chapter three
You're a very practical Holy Spirit
And so you're demanding of us a practical thing
You're saying
If you want to start this, if you want to go where I want you to go
If you want to begin with this teaching
Then you must use your tongue like a rudder
Otherwise this will not take off
So I pray now
That across this room
As we rise to our feet in honor
Of what you have taught
I pray that we will use
Words of wisdom
That we will use words
To say something to our situation, to our body, to this city
To this land as you lead
One thing to us personally and one thing to this city
That we'll open our mouths and say it after listening
To you, we will say what needs to be said
So we're practicing two things, one thing to say to our body
Or our situation, our personal situations
And one thing to this city, after listening to you we're going to speak it
So that we begin this practice and do not stop when we leave
So we do that now Father
Please, please don't say anything