WEBVTT

NOTE
Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver
Episode: Teleios_Testing
Publishing Date: 2020-10-12T06:00:44-07:00
Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca
Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/teleios_testing/

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.520
Okay, so let's get to the teaching.

00:00:07.900 --> 00:00:14.740
Yeah. Guys, so we've been talking about teleos, which we said is a word that means to bring

00:00:14.740 --> 00:00:17.060
to completion or to maturity.

00:00:17.520 --> 00:00:21.100
Teleos means to bring to completion or to maturity.

00:00:22.860 --> 00:00:28.200
We also said that that's how God figures things out in Isaiah 46, verse 10.

00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:32.960
He said that I see the end from the beginning.

00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:34.840
God sees the end from the beginning.

00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:43.280
As in He knows what it looks like right off before it even is created.

00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:44.320
He knows what it looks like.

00:00:44.760 --> 00:00:49.840
So He has a picture of me and you and of Acts 29 and of different things.

00:00:50.060 --> 00:00:51.440
He knows the end from the beginning.

00:00:52.440 --> 00:01:01.320
And so if we were to think the same way He does, we can look at what God says the end looks like

00:01:01.320 --> 00:01:07.040
and then begin to walk towards it so that by the time we reach the horizon,

00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:09.560
it doesn't go further, it becomes real.

00:01:10.960 --> 00:01:13.720
So one of the things we've been looking at that way is the idea

00:01:13.720 --> 00:01:17.600
that the church should be a government here on earth.

00:01:17.880 --> 00:01:21.400
That the church should be a government here on earth.

00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:23.520
That's what God says.

00:01:23.520 --> 00:01:25.080
So what does that end picture look like?

00:01:26.080 --> 00:01:31.000
Because if we can see how God really wanted the church to govern, to rule,

00:01:31.080 --> 00:01:36.880
to function as a government here on earth, if we could actually see the end that God has

00:01:36.880 --> 00:01:42.080
in mind for the church and then begin to walk towards it, we can get to a place

00:01:42.080 --> 00:01:43.640
where we become what God wants us to be.

00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:50.520
Last week we started talking about the idea of the church as a government here on earth.

00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:56.200
And we said that the government is a person or a group vested with the right

00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:58.200
to make laws and to enforce laws.

00:01:58.200 --> 00:02:06.640
We said that the government is a person or a group vested with the right

00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:09.360
to make laws and to enforce laws.

00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:12.280
That's what we said is the way to define government.

00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:17.680
And here was the equation we've been dealing with right

00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:20.160
since we began this series on TELUS.

00:02:20.760 --> 00:02:27.840
We are saying that everything is under Jesus' feet.

00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:33.680
Everything is under Jesus' feet.

00:02:34.120 --> 00:02:34.640
Everything.

00:02:34.640 --> 00:02:36.360
There's nothing excluded.

00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:38.320
Everything is under Jesus' feet.

00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:43.120
Jesus is head of the church.

00:02:43.120 --> 00:03:02.640
The third part was he speaks, acts, and fills the church.

00:03:04.640 --> 00:03:06.120
So he speaks through the church.

00:03:06.120 --> 00:03:07.440
He acts through the church.

00:03:07.440 --> 00:03:09.760
He fills the church with his presence.

00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:19.200
And if that is the case, if he's the head of everything and he's the head of the church

00:03:19.200 --> 00:03:21.760
and he speaks through the church, acts through the church,

00:03:21.760 --> 00:03:32.240
and fills the church with his presence, then no longer is the church peripheral to the world.

00:03:37.920 --> 00:03:42.800
But the world is peripheral to the church.

00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:54.880
This, if we can keep wrapping our heads around because we don't think like this.

00:03:56.960 --> 00:03:58.600
Churches don't think government.

00:03:58.600 --> 00:04:00.520
Churches think department.

00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:02.040
Churches think ministries.

00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:05.520
Churches think of themselves as we are a department.

00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:06.720
We are specialized in this.

00:04:06.720 --> 00:04:08.200
I mean, we've got departments here.

00:04:08.480 --> 00:04:12.840
Derek is the head of the Penn and Whiteboard Department.

00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:17.680
Don is in charge of probation.

00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:21.240
Diana is in charge of a department we want to shut down,

00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:23.520
and we've been attempting to shut down for years.

00:04:23.960 --> 00:04:34.600
But the thing is, the church, the church, the church is a department.

00:04:34.840 --> 00:04:37.120
The church mentality is we are a department.

00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:38.240
We specialize in this.

00:04:38.520 --> 00:04:39.880
Or we are a ministry.

00:04:39.880 --> 00:04:40.920
We specialize in this.

00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:47.080
But it would be so awesome if churches began to think of themselves as governments,

00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:51.760
because that is our original DNA.

00:04:52.080 --> 00:04:57.680
And when we think of ourselves as ministries, as a department that does social work,

00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:00.920
or department that saves people, then something changes.

00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:08.040
We lose part of our essential DNA, which is if Christ is head over everything,

00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:12.920
if Christ is head of the church, if he speaks through the church and acts through the church,

00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:18.280
if he fills the church with his presence, then the church is at the center,

00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:21.080
and the world is peripheral and not the other way around.

00:05:25.760 --> 00:05:29.120
The Old Testament people didn't have any problems thinking like this,

00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:34.320
because they actually thought Yahweh was the absolute king of the universe,

00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:40.000
and that Israel was God's chosen vessel through whom he decrees things,

00:05:40.200 --> 00:05:44.360
through whom he acts, through whom he speaks, and in whose midst he dwells.

00:05:44.360 --> 00:05:48.640
Therefore, the other nations around would come to a realization

00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:51.000
that the God of the universe dwells amongst them.

00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:52.920
And God would go about doing that.

00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:56.320
Other nations would say, oh, maybe he's only the God of the mountains.

00:05:56.320 --> 00:05:57.720
And then they'd get beaten in the mountains.

00:05:57.960 --> 00:05:59.360
And then they would come and fight in the plains.

00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:01.520
And they'd think, oh, maybe he's just the God of the plains.

00:06:01.520 --> 00:06:03.720
And then they'd get beaten in the mountains.

00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:07.560
Israel made it obvious that God ruled.

00:06:08.200 --> 00:06:09.760
But we don't necessarily think so.

00:06:09.760 --> 00:06:10.920
It's not part of the way we think.

00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:12.680
Any questions?

00:06:15.760 --> 00:06:16.440
Any questions?

00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:24.320
We said a couple of weeks ago last week that right off the bat in Psalm 2,

00:06:24.640 --> 00:06:31.120
David writes saying, Yahweh has installed his king on Mount Zion,

00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:33.480
as in Jesus Christ is king.

00:06:35.320 --> 00:06:38.880
On Mount Zion, which happens to be the dwelling or the resting place of God,

00:06:38.880 --> 00:06:43.320
which is now the people of God, that he speaks through them, that he acts through them.

00:06:45.520 --> 00:06:51.000
In Isaiah 2, it says that out of Zion shall go laws and decrees.

00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:57.760
In Zechariah 8, it says people will come and grab your sleeve and start tugging at it and say,

00:06:57.760 --> 00:06:59.280
can you take us to your God?

00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:02.680
Because we know he is king and he has what we need.

00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:05.680
Ten people will come and tug at your sleeve and say, please take us to your God.

00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:07.200
We want to see this king.

00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:12.840
It's a mentality, guys.

00:07:19.200 --> 00:07:21.240
Government always means permission.

00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:26.280
Government always means permission.

00:07:26.880 --> 00:07:30.640
As in, it is a government that permits or forbids.

00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:40.280
If you go to Isaiah 22, you read of this man called Eliakim or Hilkiah.

00:07:40.280 --> 00:07:41.680
I think his name was Hilkiah.

00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:43.880
Isaiah 22 was 22.

00:07:43.880 --> 00:07:47.480
I don't know whether Eliakim was his father or whether Hilkiah was his father.

00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:48.280
Just one second.

00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:51.280
Eliakim, son of Hilkiah.

00:07:51.280 --> 00:08:01.880
So in Isaiah 22, it says Eliakim was this man who would be a guy who carried keys on his shoulders.

00:08:03.080 --> 00:08:09.080
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.

00:08:09.880 --> 00:08:12.880
And the shoulders were always a sign of government.

00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:18.280
That is why in Isaiah 9 and 6, it says, and the government shall be upon your shoulders.

00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:21.780
And so he would carry two sets of keys on each shoulder.

00:08:21.780 --> 00:08:22.680
He would carry keys.

00:08:22.880 --> 00:08:24.280
One key was to open doors.

00:08:24.280 --> 00:08:26.580
The other key was to shut doors.

00:08:27.780 --> 00:08:29.680
Government has always been about permission.

00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:33.180
So if you read verse 20 of Isaiah 22, it says,

00:08:33.180 --> 00:08:36.680
In that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah.

00:08:36.780 --> 00:08:41.880
I will close him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him.

00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:45.680
He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

00:08:45.880 --> 00:08:48.580
I'll place on his shoulder the key to the house of David.

00:08:48.680 --> 00:08:50.280
What he opens, no one can shut.

00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:51.980
And what he shuts, no one can open.

00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:58.080
Government has always been about what you permit and what you do not permit,

00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:03.080
which is why Jesus then in Matthew chapter 16, verse 17 to 19, if you go there,

00:09:03.680 --> 00:09:05.980
Matthew 16, 17 to 19,

00:09:06.880 --> 00:09:11.880
Jesus takes his cue from that scripture

00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:16.380
and then says what he says in Matthew 16, 17 to 19.

00:09:17.280 --> 00:09:21.180
Shortly after Peter says, you are Christ the son of the living God in verse 16,

00:09:21.380 --> 00:09:24.480
Jesus replied, blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah,

00:09:24.680 --> 00:09:27.980
for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my father in heaven.

00:09:28.180 --> 00:09:31.680
And I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church

00:09:31.780 --> 00:09:33.480
and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

00:09:33.680 --> 00:09:37.280
And listen to this, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:39.880
Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven

00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:42.180
and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

00:09:42.380 --> 00:09:49.880
As in, hey Peter, I'm giving you the authority or the right to now permit things here on earth

00:09:50.280 --> 00:09:51.680
and not permit things here on earth.

00:09:51.780 --> 00:09:54.980
And in giving it to you, I'm actually giving it to the church

00:09:55.080 --> 00:09:59.580
because it says there and the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church.

00:09:59.780 --> 00:10:03.480
It just so happens that in giving it to Peter, he's saying church listen,

00:10:03.780 --> 00:10:07.280
if you could only find out what I allow in heaven,

00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:10.780
if you could only find out what I forbid in heaven

00:10:10.980 --> 00:10:14.680
and if you could learn how to trust me by being my voice

00:10:14.780 --> 00:10:17.580
since I speak and act through the church,

00:10:17.780 --> 00:10:19.380
if you could begin to function like that.

00:10:21.880 --> 00:10:24.680
You know, something saddened me last week like crazy.

00:10:25.080 --> 00:10:28.280
And then irritated me. I didn't know which one came first.

00:10:29.680 --> 00:10:33.680
So, and you'll feel bad when I'm done saying what I'm going to say.

00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:37.680
So we had a time last week during the service where I said,

00:10:37.780 --> 00:10:44.180
can you thank God for the Holy Spirit and what he is doing in our midst

00:10:44.280 --> 00:10:46.680
and how critical he is to our existence.

00:10:49.880 --> 00:10:54.280
We stayed on that for nine and a half or ten minutes

00:10:54.580 --> 00:10:58.780
and in ten minutes eight people spoke and that is unacceptable.

00:11:01.280 --> 00:11:02.180
Unacceptable.

00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:08.980
After all these years, if you cannot voice truths,

00:11:09.580 --> 00:11:11.880
then there ain't no way we're going to get here.

00:11:13.580 --> 00:11:17.780
Because if the church refuses to speak, truths remain silent.

00:11:20.280 --> 00:11:23.280
I actually calculated the time I went home, watched the video

00:11:23.380 --> 00:11:25.980
and for nine minutes 51 seconds,

00:11:26.380 --> 00:11:30.180
we had eight people speak saying what they think the Holy Spirit does.

00:11:30.380 --> 00:11:32.180
That is unacceptable.

00:11:33.880 --> 00:11:36.080
It doesn't matter how you feel about things.

00:11:36.280 --> 00:11:38.980
There are certain truths that need to be spoken out.

00:11:41.180 --> 00:11:42.180
Do not hold back.

00:11:42.380 --> 00:11:44.980
Do not do someone else's service by saying let them go first.

00:11:45.180 --> 00:11:48.580
You should be chomping at the bit saying please, please shut up.

00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:49.580
I want to say something.

00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:54.880
The day I see that I like Moses say don't bring any more offerings.

00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:03.780
That's a rebuke just in case you didn't get it.

00:12:09.580 --> 00:12:12.480
This thing is impossible if the church does not speak.

00:12:13.880 --> 00:12:15.880
We can't have one Peter speaking.

00:12:16.880 --> 00:12:21.080
A Peter can be given a key, but the church needs to begin to rise and speak.

00:12:21.780 --> 00:12:23.780
Blessed are you if you were not here last week.

00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:25.380
The rebuke does not apply to you.

00:12:36.280 --> 00:12:40.780
So government is about permission and it is always for the benefit of others.

00:12:40.780 --> 00:12:42.180
It's always for the benefit of others.

00:12:42.180 --> 00:12:46.680
What you permit, what you forbid must be what God already allows and disallows.

00:12:46.680 --> 00:12:47.880
And you get to know it.

00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:50.280
And then you need to speak or act on it.

00:12:54.780 --> 00:12:59.880
This is why in Amos it says does God do anything without telling his prophets?

00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:04.880
It wasn't as if prophets are a special group of people who God needs counsel with

00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:07.080
or needs to tell before he does something.

00:13:07.280 --> 00:13:09.280
It wasn't that because prophets make it that.

00:13:10.280 --> 00:13:11.880
That's one favorite scripture prophets use.

00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:13.580
God doesn't do anything without talking to prophets.

00:13:13.780 --> 00:13:16.380
No, it's not because God wanted to consult prophets.

00:13:16.580 --> 00:13:21.580
It is because what he was trying to say is listen, I like announcing things before I act on them.

00:13:21.780 --> 00:13:24.380
This has been his pattern since ages.

00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:26.380
Announce then act.

00:13:34.180 --> 00:13:38.180
And so if we want to know what is permitted and what is not permitted,

00:13:38.380 --> 00:13:40.780
we need to receive in our spirits what he's saying.

00:13:41.280 --> 00:13:44.880
Which then means that we operate by revelation, which is what happens to Peter.

00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:50.280
Jesus says to me, hey Peter, you didn't do to receive this revelation about me being the son of God

00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:52.280
from anybody else but by my father.

00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:56.280
And because you were there to receive the revelation here, I'm giving you the keys.

00:13:56.480 --> 00:13:59.880
And in giving you the keys, you represent the church that I'm building,

00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:02.080
that the gates of hell will not prevail against.

00:14:02.280 --> 00:14:04.580
Whatsoever you permit will be permitted.

00:14:04.780 --> 00:14:07.080
Whatsoever you disallow will be disallowed.

00:14:07.280 --> 00:14:09.080
How are you going to permit it, Peter?

00:14:09.280 --> 00:14:10.680
How are you going to disallow it?

00:14:10.880 --> 00:14:13.280
You use your words and you use your actions.

00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:19.880
A few years later in the book of Acts chapter 2, Peter stands up and he begins to speak.

00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:22.980
And as he begins to speak, the very keys of the kingdom that were handed to him

00:14:23.180 --> 00:14:25.480
open the door and for the first time in the history of the world,

00:14:25.680 --> 00:14:29.880
3,000 people enter what God had always spoken of as a kingdom.

00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:39.480
And once we begin to function like this, what happens then?

00:14:39.580 --> 00:14:42.180
And you will see it happening bit by bit by bit.

00:14:42.380 --> 00:14:43.780
It may not happen...

00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:49.780
See, because we want immediate results and everything has to be microwaved,

00:14:49.980 --> 00:14:54.580
if we don't see it boiling hot a moment after we have spoken,

00:14:54.780 --> 00:14:56.780
we do not then pursue it further.

00:14:56.980 --> 00:14:58.480
And it is discouraging, I agree.

00:14:58.680 --> 00:15:00.380
But my God, press through it, man.

00:15:00.380 --> 00:15:05.080
Once we begin to function like this, three things will surely happen

00:15:05.280 --> 00:15:06.480
because it has always happened.

00:15:06.680 --> 00:15:09.480
One, you will prevail against opposition.

00:15:09.680 --> 00:15:12.280
You will prevail against opposition.

00:15:15.880 --> 00:15:25.080
You will end desolation as in harm that is being done to the people.

00:15:25.180 --> 00:15:31.780
You will end desolation as in harm that is being done in people's lives

00:15:31.980 --> 00:15:34.180
because it always benefits others.

00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:37.180
And you will restore inheritances.

00:15:37.980 --> 00:15:41.180
You will restore inheritances.

00:15:45.180 --> 00:15:47.080
Yeah, once you begin to function like this,

00:15:47.280 --> 00:15:49.180
once a church begins to function like this,

00:15:49.380 --> 00:15:52.980
and this is a teaching that's both for us as a people first

00:15:53.080 --> 00:15:55.680
and then as individuals who make up that people.

00:15:56.680 --> 00:15:58.680
It's being addressed first to the church.

00:15:58.880 --> 00:16:03.280
And then as we hear it, we as individuals begin to become like it.

00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:06.080
But I'm addressing the church first.

00:16:06.880 --> 00:16:10.480
And so when we begin to behave like this as Christ wants to speak,

00:16:10.680 --> 00:16:16.480
to act and to convey His presence, then here's what happens.

00:16:16.680 --> 00:16:19.380
When we begin to realize what is permitted, what is not permitted,

00:16:19.580 --> 00:16:22.080
when we begin to speak it, then here's what happens.

00:16:22.180 --> 00:16:24.580
One, we prevail against opposition.

00:16:25.180 --> 00:16:26.780
We prevail against opposition.

00:16:28.580 --> 00:16:32.780
Our weapon is not just a melody, it's a melody with words in it.

00:16:34.780 --> 00:16:36.580
Humming doesn't frighten the devil.

00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:41.480
It doesn't change anything.

00:16:41.680 --> 00:16:44.580
God didn't hum and He didn't hum, let there be light.

00:16:44.780 --> 00:16:45.780
He actually said it.

00:16:45.780 --> 00:16:47.280
It prevails against opposition.

00:16:47.480 --> 00:16:49.080
Matthew 16, 19 says that.

00:16:49.280 --> 00:16:50.680
It ends desolation.

00:16:50.880 --> 00:16:52.280
It ends desolation.

00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:54.680
You want proof for that, go to Isaiah 61.

00:16:55.280 --> 00:16:57.280
The one who does all this today is the Holy Spirit.

00:16:57.480 --> 00:17:04.080
But when you go to Isaiah 61, you see this idea of proclaim coming up again and again.

00:17:04.280 --> 00:17:08.880
In the first verse, that you will proclaim liberty to captives,

00:17:09.080 --> 00:17:11.880
that you will proclaim liberty to the captives,

00:17:12.080 --> 00:17:14.680
that you will proclaim liberty to the captives.

00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:17.580
That you will proclaim Jubilee and the year of favor.

00:17:17.780 --> 00:17:20.180
That you will proclaim good news to the poor.

00:17:20.380 --> 00:17:23.980
So much of Isaiah 61, verse 1 and 2 is words.

00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:30.680
You will not cut it without words, guys.

00:17:32.280 --> 00:17:33.980
You will not cut it without words.

00:17:39.980 --> 00:17:43.180
None of us are at a place where we are...

00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:48.980
persuaded fully that words are critical to our everyday existence.

00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:54.180
After a while, we languish and we just stop.

00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:03.480
The thing is, guys,

00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:07.380
when you're a child, God will treat you like a child.

00:18:07.580 --> 00:18:10.980
But when you're an adult, God expects you to now behave like an adult.

00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:13.780
Unfortunately, most of you are adults.

00:18:14.980 --> 00:18:15.980
So,

00:18:18.980 --> 00:18:19.980
too bad.

00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:28.180
It restores inheritances.

00:18:28.380 --> 00:18:33.480
Isaiah 49, 8 talks about how one of the things that we are sent out to do,

00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:37.380
just like Christ was sent out to do, was to restore desolate heritages.

00:18:37.580 --> 00:18:41.580
As in, people who have had their inheritances taken away, restore it to them.

00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:44.080
We do it on a one-on-one basis so often.

00:18:44.280 --> 00:18:46.480
But what if we began to think like this?

00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:50.480
That this is how people's desolate inheritances are restored.

00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:57.480
So, if you look at Joseph, who is a Jesus type,

00:18:58.280 --> 00:19:00.280
you see that before you govern,

00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:03.480
and today's topic, if you want, a title for today is,

00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:05.680
teleos testing.

00:19:06.080 --> 00:19:07.480
The topic is testing.

00:19:08.280 --> 00:19:09.280
Testing.

00:19:10.180 --> 00:19:13.180
And so, if you look at Joseph, who is a Jesus type,

00:19:13.380 --> 00:19:16.180
as in, he was a, he was very,

00:19:16.380 --> 00:19:18.980
he was like an example of the one to come.

00:19:19.180 --> 00:19:22.180
If you look at Joseph, you will see how governing works.

00:19:22.380 --> 00:19:26.180
You'll see the phases or the stages through which one has to go,

00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:27.380
before one governs.

00:19:27.580 --> 00:19:29.380
And again, I'm preaching to the church first,

00:19:29.580 --> 00:19:31.580
then to each of us as individuals.

00:19:32.580 --> 00:19:33.580
So,

00:19:33.780 --> 00:19:37.780
if you want to govern, every church, and every person who,

00:19:38.280 --> 00:19:40.080
God says, okay, show me your shoulders.

00:19:40.280 --> 00:19:43.280
I want to put things on your shoulders so you can carry them for me,

00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:44.880
and govern out of my nature.

00:19:45.080 --> 00:19:48.680
Remember, we talked about what his nature looks like when he governs.

00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:50.480
We talked about last week.

00:19:50.680 --> 00:19:53.680
He will be called wonderful or amazing counselor.

00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:55.880
Mighty God.

00:19:56.680 --> 00:19:57.880
Everlasting Father.

00:19:58.080 --> 00:19:59.080
Prince of Peace.

00:19:59.280 --> 00:20:01.080
Or Prince of Wholeness or Shalom.

00:20:02.280 --> 00:20:04.080
Justice and Righteousness.

00:20:04.280 --> 00:20:05.480
We talked about that last week.

00:20:05.780 --> 00:20:09.980
So, here are three phases that one goes through if one wants to govern.

00:20:10.780 --> 00:20:11.780
The Father's Heart.

00:20:14.180 --> 00:20:15.380
Potiphar's Prison.

00:20:19.780 --> 00:20:22.780
You enter it and then you emerge in Pharaoh's Palace,

00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:30.180
which is where you begin to finally rule.

00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:33.280
That's how it always works.

00:20:34.180 --> 00:20:39.180
There are three phases that you walk through before you govern.

00:20:39.580 --> 00:20:40.580
The Father's Heart,

00:20:41.380 --> 00:20:42.380
Potiphar's Prison,

00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:44.180
and Pharaoh's Palace.

00:20:45.080 --> 00:20:46.180
Churches go through it.

00:20:46.780 --> 00:20:49.380
Individuals will go through it if you want to govern.

00:20:50.180 --> 00:20:53.180
Guys, it's not age or experience that counts.

00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:56.780
It's how you walk through these stages that is evaluated.

00:20:57.180 --> 00:20:58.180
It's not age or experience.

00:20:58.380 --> 00:21:02.380
I've met really young men and women who have

00:21:02.680 --> 00:21:07.080
this tremendous ability to know what God wants to do on Earth,

00:21:07.280 --> 00:21:09.880
how to act, how to speak, how to govern.

00:21:10.080 --> 00:21:14.080
And sometimes when I use the word rule, it sounds pretty strong.

00:21:14.280 --> 00:21:15.280
Govern is different.

00:21:15.480 --> 00:21:21.480
Govern is administering God's intent, desire, purpose, nature here on Earth.

00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:23.880
It's always tethered to His character.

00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:27.380
And so I'll insist on using the word govern,

00:21:28.280 --> 00:21:30.280
not because it's a less strong word.

00:21:30.280 --> 00:21:32.580
In fact, it just covers everything that God wants to do.

00:21:35.380 --> 00:21:37.380
So it's not age or experience that counts,

00:21:37.580 --> 00:21:40.980
but I've seen people who are young who govern really well.

00:21:41.780 --> 00:21:42.780
Chad is an example.

00:21:42.980 --> 00:21:45.780
He's 11 or 12 years younger than me, but he knows how to govern.

00:21:46.380 --> 00:21:49.880
And imagine the vehicle he has to carry.

00:21:50.380 --> 00:21:51.880
It's pretty massive, man.

00:21:53.580 --> 00:21:57.080
So how you walk through these stages is what is evaluated,

00:21:57.280 --> 00:21:59.880
not whether you walk through it or how old you are.

00:21:59.980 --> 00:22:00.980
That don't matter.

00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:02.780
I've seen people who are really old,

00:22:02.980 --> 00:22:05.780
who've gone through many, many different experiences,

00:22:06.380 --> 00:22:08.380
but are still writing the same song.

00:22:12.380 --> 00:22:14.580
Acts 29 can help you with this.

00:22:15.580 --> 00:22:19.980
Acts 29 should provide you a secure place

00:22:20.180 --> 00:22:22.580
where you get to know the Father's heart

00:22:23.780 --> 00:22:25.980
and rid yourself of orphanhood.

00:22:26.080 --> 00:22:28.680
Because as long as you don't start here,

00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:31.080
where you don't understand that everything is rooted,

00:22:31.280 --> 00:22:33.880
everything stems out of the Father's heart,

00:22:34.080 --> 00:22:36.480
you won't be able to navigate

00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:39.280
Potiphar's prison or Pharaoh's palace.

00:22:39.880 --> 00:22:42.880
And how do you know whether you are secure in the Father's heart?

00:22:43.080 --> 00:22:45.680
How are you reacting when you're here and here?

00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:47.680
What comes out of your mouth first?

00:22:47.880 --> 00:22:49.480
What are the thoughts in your heart?

00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:51.280
What is your first reaction?

00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:53.680
And very often I find that I'm not sure

00:22:53.780 --> 00:22:54.780
what my first reaction is.

00:22:54.980 --> 00:22:57.380
And very often I find that after all these years

00:22:57.580 --> 00:22:58.780
of knowing the Father well,

00:22:58.980 --> 00:23:02.580
I'm still sometimes unseated by both these things.

00:23:04.580 --> 00:23:05.980
And I go back to the drawing board.

00:23:06.180 --> 00:23:07.380
How do I go back to the drawing board?

00:23:07.580 --> 00:23:08.580
To learn how to govern?

00:23:08.780 --> 00:23:09.980
No, go back to the Father's heart.

00:23:12.780 --> 00:23:13.980
That's the key to this.

00:23:14.780 --> 00:23:16.580
You go back to the Father's heart

00:23:16.780 --> 00:23:18.580
when you get caught in Potiphar's prison

00:23:18.780 --> 00:23:19.780
and you're getting bitter.

00:23:19.980 --> 00:23:22.580
Or when you're in Pharaoh's palace and you're getting proud,

00:23:22.580 --> 00:23:24.880
go back to the Father's heart.

00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:29.880
Everything starts there, guys.

00:23:34.280 --> 00:23:36.080
And it is impossible to govern

00:23:36.280 --> 00:23:37.680
if you don't go through these stages.

00:23:37.880 --> 00:23:39.680
Impossible. Impossible.

00:23:40.280 --> 00:23:41.680
So whether you're on the cross

00:23:41.880 --> 00:23:44.280
or whether you're on a donkey coming into Jerusalem,

00:23:45.580 --> 00:23:46.680
whether you're going to crown your king

00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:48.980
or whether you're hanging between two thieves,

00:23:49.280 --> 00:23:52.380
he always knew his Father's heart.

00:23:53.080 --> 00:23:54.280
And that kept him safe.

00:23:57.280 --> 00:23:58.280
Any questions?

00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:03.480
Because purpose, kingdom, raising people, government,

00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:06.980
everything is dysfunctional if you aren't located here.

00:24:07.180 --> 00:24:09.580
And you will always know

00:24:09.780 --> 00:24:12.280
how well you're located when these things happen.

00:24:12.580 --> 00:24:14.580
And I'm sometimes so surprised

00:24:14.780 --> 00:24:17.780
that I still need to grow so much here.

00:24:17.780 --> 00:24:18.780
Any questions?

00:24:29.280 --> 00:24:30.280
Okay.

00:24:30.680 --> 00:24:33.080
So if those are the three phases you pass through,

00:24:33.280 --> 00:24:35.580
there's a testing process that qualifies

00:24:35.780 --> 00:24:37.780
a people or a person to govern.

00:24:37.980 --> 00:24:39.680
There's a testing process

00:24:39.880 --> 00:24:42.780
that qualifies a people or a person to govern.

00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:45.780
And it's not degrees, not degrees of authority,

00:24:45.780 --> 00:24:47.780
it's not degrees of authority to govern.

00:24:47.980 --> 00:24:50.480
And it's not degrees, nor is it your pedigree.

00:24:50.680 --> 00:24:55.480
My, I have heard of and met some very famous people's sons

00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:58.480
whose fathers must be rolling in their graves.

00:24:58.680 --> 00:25:02.080
Why? Because pedigree doesn't count and degrees don't count.

00:25:03.580 --> 00:25:06.780
But there is a testing process

00:25:06.980 --> 00:25:09.980
that qualifies a people or a person to govern.

00:25:10.180 --> 00:25:13.580
And the intent of the test is to show you caliber,

00:25:13.580 --> 00:25:14.780
how far you've come.

00:25:14.980 --> 00:25:17.180
A test, we think of tests as in,

00:25:17.380 --> 00:25:18.780
oh shucks, I'm going to fail.

00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:20.380
He thinks of tests as in,

00:25:20.580 --> 00:25:22.780
oh shucks, let me show you how far you've gotten.

00:25:30.780 --> 00:25:33.580
It's one thing to stand and count the stars in the sky

00:25:33.780 --> 00:25:34.780
and say, I believe.

00:25:34.980 --> 00:25:37.780
After that, God will test you to see whether you actually do.

00:25:40.980 --> 00:25:43.180
So Abraham stood down to the stars and he said,

00:25:43.180 --> 00:25:46.580
so you want Eliezer's son to reign in my place?

00:25:46.780 --> 00:25:48.980
No, as many as the stars are in the sky

00:25:49.180 --> 00:25:51.780
and as many as the grains of sand on the shore,

00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:53.980
that many will be your descendants.

00:25:54.180 --> 00:25:55.380
I believe you.

00:25:55.580 --> 00:25:58.580
And it was credited to him as righteousness immediately.

00:25:58.780 --> 00:26:02.580
And after he was made righteous by faith,

00:26:02.780 --> 00:26:05.580
his faith was tested.

00:26:05.780 --> 00:26:07.580
Right?

00:26:07.780 --> 00:26:09.180
That's the cool thing with God.

00:26:09.380 --> 00:26:11.980
Righteousness was not given to him after testing.

00:26:11.980 --> 00:26:15.380
Righteousness was given to him first because he believed.

00:26:16.980 --> 00:26:18.780
And then after that he's tested.

00:26:18.980 --> 00:26:20.980
Okay, now that you believe me, let me just test you.

00:26:23.180 --> 00:26:25.780
And ruling or governing comes with tests.

00:26:28.580 --> 00:26:31.380
God has no problems with time so he can wait.

00:26:33.780 --> 00:26:36.380
So if I fail, he'll just say, let's start over again.

00:26:42.980 --> 00:26:44.380
I hate that about him.

00:26:46.180 --> 00:26:49.380
I know hate is a strong word, but I just wish he could just say,

00:26:49.580 --> 00:26:50.580
okay, okay, you've done.

00:26:50.780 --> 00:26:53.380
The fifth time I went for my driving license, it was not here.

00:26:53.580 --> 00:26:54.580
It was in another country.

00:26:54.780 --> 00:26:58.380
The guy just passed me because he knew I had tested five times and failed.

00:26:58.580 --> 00:26:59.780
Four times and failed.

00:26:59.980 --> 00:27:02.180
So he knew that my last will get this guy through.

00:27:02.380 --> 00:27:03.780
He's driven for so long.

00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:04.780
Yeah.

00:27:04.980 --> 00:27:06.380
So God doesn't do that, unfortunately.

00:27:06.580 --> 00:27:07.980
So I say, okay, go.

00:27:08.980 --> 00:27:10.380
He just says, let's start over again.

00:27:12.380 --> 00:27:14.780
Don't laugh like you didn't go two or three times, okay?

00:27:20.780 --> 00:27:26.180
The second time I went, the car stopped in the middle of the road

00:27:27.180 --> 00:27:33.580
and I knew I was going to fail because the examiner and I had to keep pushing the car on the road.

00:27:34.380 --> 00:27:38.180
So I knew this, even if I didn't make a mistake, this was a fail.

00:27:38.580 --> 00:27:40.380
So some were very unfortunate.

00:27:42.180 --> 00:27:43.780
Remember that blue Daihatsu ad?

00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:45.180
Terrible curry.

00:27:48.180 --> 00:27:48.780
Yeah.

00:27:50.380 --> 00:27:51.980
So there's a testing process.

00:27:52.180 --> 00:27:54.380
So here are some of the things you're tested in.

00:27:54.580 --> 00:28:00.380
You're tested with purpose.

00:28:00.580 --> 00:28:02.180
You're tested with purpose.

00:28:04.780 --> 00:28:05.980
You're tested with purpose.

00:28:06.980 --> 00:28:09.580
And this is such a problem here at Act 29

00:28:09.580 --> 00:28:13.180
because most of you have had words that kind of tell you what your purpose is.

00:28:14.580 --> 00:28:17.780
You're such a disadvantage in some areas because of coming to this church.

00:28:19.180 --> 00:28:20.380
Tested with purpose.

00:28:20.580 --> 00:28:24.980
So one of the things God does after he gives you your purpose is he will say,

00:28:25.180 --> 00:28:30.180
he will check to see whether you can stay the course or do you deviate from it

00:28:30.380 --> 00:28:31.980
or do you amend your purpose?

00:28:33.980 --> 00:28:36.180
That's one of the things that happens with purpose.

00:28:36.980 --> 00:28:39.980
Now that you have been prophesied over multiple times,

00:28:40.180 --> 00:28:42.180
now that you have been told your purpose,

00:28:42.380 --> 00:28:47.180
now that you have been encouraged and assured of your purpose

00:28:47.380 --> 00:28:50.580
over a period of six years, seven years, 20 years,

00:28:50.980 --> 00:28:54.980
now let me see whether you have the ability to stay the course

00:28:55.380 --> 00:29:00.580
and not deviate, not lag behind, not get lazy, not find excuses,

00:29:00.780 --> 00:29:02.780
not amend your purpose.

00:29:02.980 --> 00:29:06.980
Can you endure with joyful faith while you wait?

00:29:07.180 --> 00:29:10.780
Can you endure with joyful confession while you wait?

00:29:10.980 --> 00:29:13.980
Can you endure with a breakthrough spirit?

00:29:15.380 --> 00:29:16.980
That is how you're tested with purpose.

00:29:18.980 --> 00:29:21.980
Joyful faith, confession and a breakthrough spirit.

00:29:22.780 --> 00:29:25.780
Joyful faith, confession and a breakthrough spirit.

00:29:27.180 --> 00:29:28.180
Romans 420.

00:29:28.580 --> 00:29:30.980
And even though he knew he was important,

00:29:30.980 --> 00:29:33.180
he began to glorify God.

00:29:33.380 --> 00:29:36.180
Instead of being discouraged, he began to glorify God.

00:29:37.380 --> 00:29:39.580
Psalm 105, verse 17 to 21.

00:29:39.980 --> 00:29:42.180
Psalm 105, 17 to 21.

00:29:42.580 --> 00:29:44.780
Man, this guy Joseph was something else.

00:29:45.380 --> 00:29:47.180
They began when they were pretty young, eh?

00:29:48.580 --> 00:29:50.580
Psalm 105, verse 17 to 21.

00:29:50.780 --> 00:29:53.780
I've always treasured these verses.

00:29:53.980 --> 00:29:56.580
Psalm 105, 17 to 21.

00:29:57.980 --> 00:30:00.380
And he sent a man before them, Joseph.

00:30:00.380 --> 00:30:01.380
Sold as a slave.

00:30:01.580 --> 00:30:03.580
They bruised his feet with shackles.

00:30:03.780 --> 00:30:05.380
His neck was put in irons.

00:30:05.580 --> 00:30:07.580
Till what he foretold came to pass.

00:30:07.780 --> 00:30:10.380
Till the word of the Lord proved him true.

00:30:10.580 --> 00:30:12.380
The king sent and released him.

00:30:12.580 --> 00:30:14.580
The ruler of people set him free.

00:30:14.780 --> 00:30:19.180
He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed,

00:30:19.380 --> 00:30:21.180
to instruct his princes as he pleased,

00:30:21.380 --> 00:30:23.180
and to teach his elders wisdom.

00:30:23.780 --> 00:30:24.780
What a verse!

00:30:27.580 --> 00:30:28.580
Any questions?

00:30:30.380 --> 00:30:32.780
This is something that I've gone through so many times,

00:30:32.980 --> 00:30:35.380
when nothing will seem like it's working out.

00:30:36.380 --> 00:30:38.780
And the question is, Jacob, so what are you going to do?

00:30:38.980 --> 00:30:40.380
Put it aside?

00:30:40.580 --> 00:30:41.580
Deviate from it?

00:30:41.780 --> 00:30:43.180
Tinker with it?

00:30:43.980 --> 00:30:45.780
Are you going to just throw up your arms and say,

00:30:45.980 --> 00:30:46.980
what's the use?

00:30:48.180 --> 00:30:52.180
Or are you going to be someone who expresses joyful faith,

00:30:52.380 --> 00:30:54.980
and your joyful faith will be expressed in the word you speak

00:30:55.180 --> 00:30:56.180
and your conduct?

00:30:56.380 --> 00:30:57.980
And you will be able to do that.

00:30:57.980 --> 00:31:00.380
And your joyful faith will be expressed in the word you speak

00:31:00.580 --> 00:31:01.580
and your confession.

00:31:01.780 --> 00:31:04.780
And within you will suddenly rise up that breakthrough spirit

00:31:04.980 --> 00:31:06.980
that the Holy Spirit has given you anyways,

00:31:07.180 --> 00:31:09.580
so that you shake off the dust, get up again and say,

00:31:09.780 --> 00:31:10.780
let's go!

00:31:11.380 --> 00:31:13.980
And time and time and time again I've done it.

00:31:14.180 --> 00:31:16.580
And because of that I've seen results, man!

00:31:24.780 --> 00:31:27.780
And when you can't do it, and you can't get up,

00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:29.980
say, I need your help.

00:31:30.980 --> 00:31:34.980
Say, I can't get up, my knees are weak,

00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:38.980
my hands don't rise, come help me.

00:31:39.180 --> 00:31:41.980
And get your errands, get you hers.

00:31:50.980 --> 00:31:53.980
Errands and hers are not there to tell you sweet nothings.

00:31:54.180 --> 00:31:55.980
They're just there to lift you up.

00:31:57.980 --> 00:32:00.580
You think errands and hers are guys who come

00:32:00.780 --> 00:32:03.980
and will spend seven hours with us telling us how wonderful you are.

00:32:05.380 --> 00:32:08.980
No, they're just there to lift you up and say, now walk.

00:32:11.580 --> 00:32:14.580
The ones you are thinking of are Shipra and Pua.

00:32:14.780 --> 00:32:16.980
If you don't know who they are, don't worry about it.

00:32:19.780 --> 00:32:21.980
Don't name your children that either.

00:32:22.180 --> 00:32:24.980
Some of the name Pua for your little daughter doesn't seem right.

00:32:24.980 --> 00:32:28.980
Next thing you'll be tested with is you'll be tested with your past.

00:32:29.180 --> 00:32:30.980
You'll be tested with your past.

00:32:31.180 --> 00:32:32.980
You'll be tested with your past.

00:32:33.180 --> 00:32:35.980
Can you shake off your past failures, your reproaches?

00:32:36.180 --> 00:32:37.980
Reproaches are conditions of shame.

00:32:38.180 --> 00:32:39.980
Reproaches are conditions of shame.

00:32:40.180 --> 00:32:43.980
Guys, one of the things with a teaching like this is

00:32:44.180 --> 00:32:48.980
you'll think I'm talking about you and I actually am not and yet could be.

00:32:49.180 --> 00:32:52.980
So, I don't know how to do that.

00:32:53.980 --> 00:32:58.980
I don't know how if you feel awkward or think like, oh, Shaxi is talking about me.

00:32:59.180 --> 00:33:00.980
Just flow with it.

00:33:01.180 --> 00:33:01.980
Yeah.

00:33:02.180 --> 00:33:03.980
And I won't look at you.

00:33:04.180 --> 00:33:04.980
How's that?

00:33:05.180 --> 00:33:08.980
Whoever I'm looking at is not the one I'm thinking of.

00:33:15.180 --> 00:33:15.980
Okay.

00:33:16.180 --> 00:33:17.980
So, you're tested with your past.

00:33:18.180 --> 00:33:19.980
Can you shake your past failure?

00:33:20.180 --> 00:33:21.980
Can you shake your past failure?

00:33:21.980 --> 00:33:22.980
Can you shake your reproaches?

00:33:23.180 --> 00:33:27.980
Reproaches are conditions of shame that have settled so deep in your heart

00:33:28.180 --> 00:33:30.980
that demons take advantage of it now.

00:33:31.180 --> 00:33:32.980
Can you shake off your wounds?

00:33:33.180 --> 00:33:37.980
I mean, Moses, he was taking forever till God had to get a little irritated.

00:33:38.180 --> 00:33:41.980
It's one of the first places I see God irritated.

00:33:42.180 --> 00:33:45.980
Exodus, chapter 4, verse 10.

00:33:45.980 --> 00:33:50.980
Exodus 4, verse 10.

00:33:51.180 --> 00:33:54.980
Moses said to the Lord, Oh Lord, I've never been eloquent,

00:33:55.180 --> 00:33:57.980
neither in the past nor since you spoke to your servant.

00:33:58.180 --> 00:33:59.980
I'm slow of speech and tongue.

00:34:00.180 --> 00:34:03.980
And so, the NIV doesn't convey the irritation, but the Lord said,

00:34:04.180 --> 00:34:04.980
who gave man this mouth?

00:34:05.180 --> 00:34:06.980
Who makes him deaf or mute?

00:34:07.180 --> 00:34:08.380
Who gives him sight or makes him blind?

00:34:08.580 --> 00:34:09.980
Is it not I, the Lord?

00:34:10.180 --> 00:34:10.980
Now, go.

00:34:11.180 --> 00:34:13.980
I'll help you speak and we'll teach you what to say.

00:34:13.980 --> 00:34:15.980
It's not a very comforting God sometimes.

00:34:16.180 --> 00:34:18.980
You've just told him how lousy you are and he's saying,

00:34:19.180 --> 00:34:22.980
okay, now that I've heard you and I know about it, go.

00:34:23.980 --> 00:34:27.980
If you're looking for a prophetic word of assurance, it ain't coming there.

00:34:28.980 --> 00:34:31.980
You have to get over, you will be tested with your past.

00:34:32.180 --> 00:34:35.980
Can you shake off your past failures or your reproaches, your wounds like Moses?

00:34:36.180 --> 00:34:38.980
Like David, I love what David did in 2 Samuel 12, 20.

00:34:39.180 --> 00:34:40.980
2 Samuel 12, 20.

00:34:40.980 --> 00:34:42.980
2 Samuel 12, 20.

00:34:43.180 --> 00:34:45.980
2 Samuel 12, 20.

00:34:48.980 --> 00:34:50.980
2 Samuel 12, 20.

00:34:51.180 --> 00:34:54.980
Then, David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves

00:34:55.180 --> 00:34:56.980
and he realized that his child was dead,

00:34:57.180 --> 00:34:59.980
the child that was born of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba.

00:35:00.180 --> 00:35:00.980
Is the child dead, he asked.

00:35:01.180 --> 00:35:02.980
Yes, they replied, he is dead.

00:35:03.180 --> 00:35:06.980
David got up from the ground after he had washed, put on lotion, changed his clothes.

00:35:07.180 --> 00:35:08.980
He went into the house of the Lord and worshiped.

00:35:09.180 --> 00:35:09.980
What a guy, man.

00:35:09.980 --> 00:35:10.980
What a guy.

00:35:12.980 --> 00:35:16.980
The ability to shake off past failures, reproaches.

00:35:17.980 --> 00:35:19.980
I remember someone saying this to me long ago.

00:35:20.980 --> 00:35:25.980
Be like one of those colanders that you wash stuff in before you make a salad,

00:35:26.180 --> 00:35:27.980
which I have no idea about.

00:35:28.180 --> 00:35:29.980
But be like a colander.

00:35:31.980 --> 00:35:34.980
Like, so what if your back has multiple stab wounds?

00:35:35.180 --> 00:35:35.980
Heal quickly.

00:35:35.980 --> 00:35:37.980
I know it's so easy to say this stuff.

00:35:38.180 --> 00:35:43.980
It's very hard to actually walk it, but we need to, guys.

00:35:45.980 --> 00:35:50.980
David recovered so fast from this and yet he was someone who loved that boy and was weeping for him.

00:35:51.980 --> 00:35:55.980
Joseph named his sons to show that he had moved on.

00:35:56.180 --> 00:36:00.980
In Exodus 40, in Genesis 41, verse 51 and 52,

00:36:01.180 --> 00:36:03.980
he names his first son Manasseh,

00:36:03.980 --> 00:36:11.980
names his first son Manasseh, meaning I have forgotten the hurt and the grief of my past.

00:36:12.180 --> 00:36:15.980
And then his second son, he names Ifrei, and he moves even further.

00:36:16.180 --> 00:36:18.980
I will now be one who receives double blessing.

00:36:19.180 --> 00:36:20.980
Ifrei means double fruitfulness.

00:36:21.180 --> 00:36:24.980
He names his children to show from where he's gone to where.

00:36:26.980 --> 00:36:29.980
You will be tested with your past if you want to govern.

00:36:34.980 --> 00:36:42.980
In 1994 or 5, I felt God saying, you got to go to this particular nation.

00:36:43.980 --> 00:36:46.980
So I decided, well, God is saying, let me go.

00:36:47.180 --> 00:36:51.980
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.

00:36:52.180 --> 00:36:54.980
And then I expected the money to come in.

00:36:55.980 --> 00:37:00.980
I booked a ticket two months ahead of time because I knew on this particular day I'll go to that nation.

00:37:00.980 --> 00:37:02.980
Two to three days left, no money is coming.

00:37:03.180 --> 00:37:06.980
I used to go to the mail and think some guy will send me just tons of money.

00:37:07.180 --> 00:37:09.980
Open the mail because in those days everything came by check.

00:37:10.180 --> 00:37:10.980
And so nothing.

00:37:11.180 --> 00:37:13.980
And finally the day arrives and I still don't have the money.

00:37:14.180 --> 00:37:20.980
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.

00:37:21.180 --> 00:37:22.980
And the money didn't arrive.

00:37:23.980 --> 00:37:25.980
I called up the travel agent and told him to cancel the tickets.

00:37:26.980 --> 00:37:28.980
I went to church and people said, what are you doing here?

00:37:28.980 --> 00:37:30.980
And I thought to myself, man, I really messed up.

00:37:31.180 --> 00:37:31.980
I really heard wrong.

00:37:33.980 --> 00:37:35.980
What a shameful thing to do.

00:37:36.980 --> 00:37:38.980
Bring such disrepute to God.

00:37:39.180 --> 00:37:49.980
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.

00:37:50.180 --> 00:37:50.980
And I'd keep saying that.

00:37:51.180 --> 00:37:53.980
Everywhere I went, I'd included as part of my teaching.

00:37:54.180 --> 00:37:55.980
And I'm in this particular church.

00:37:55.980 --> 00:37:56.980
And I'm sharing the same story.

00:37:57.180 --> 00:37:58.980
And there's a man sitting there and he's nodding his head while I'm talking, till I came to the story.

00:37:59.180 --> 00:38:01.980
But he was nodding his head and I'm looking at him and I'm thinking to myself, I've seen this guy before.

00:38:02.180 --> 00:38:04.980
And yet without a shadow of a doubt, I know I've never seen him before.

00:38:05.180 --> 00:38:10.980
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.

00:38:11.180 --> 00:38:12.980
It was a test and you passed.

00:38:13.180 --> 00:38:14.980
And I'm like, I'm not going to be able to do that.

00:38:15.180 --> 00:38:16.980
I'm going to be able to do it.

00:38:17.180 --> 00:38:18.980
And I'm like, I'm not going to be able to do it.

00:38:19.180 --> 00:38:20.980
I'm going to be able to do it.

00:38:21.180 --> 00:38:22.980
I'm going to be able to do it.

00:38:22.980 --> 00:38:23.980
And I realize that it was not a mistake.

00:38:24.180 --> 00:38:25.980
It was a test and you passed.

00:38:26.180 --> 00:38:27.980
And he walks out.

00:38:28.180 --> 00:38:30.980
And I go to the pastor and I ask him, do you know who that man is?

00:38:31.180 --> 00:38:32.980
And the pastor says, never been here before.

00:38:33.180 --> 00:38:33.980
It's the first time.

00:38:34.180 --> 00:38:35.980
And he's never come back.

00:38:36.180 --> 00:38:44.980
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.

00:38:45.180 --> 00:38:51.980
Always suspecting, drilling holes in your own bucket and singing Henry and Lysa.

00:38:51.980 --> 00:38:52.980
And I sing that song.

00:38:53.180 --> 00:38:55.980
There's a hole in your bucket, dear Lysa, dear Lysa.

00:38:56.180 --> 00:39:00.980
Only you drilled it.

00:39:01.180 --> 00:39:04.980
Four years I kept filling that bucket with a hole in it.

00:39:05.180 --> 00:39:08.980
And this guy comes and says, I know, the guy was a godsend.

00:39:09.180 --> 00:39:09.980
I don't think I'll remember him anymore.

00:39:10.180 --> 00:39:12.980
I would like to suggest that he was an angel.

00:39:13.180 --> 00:39:16.980
But if he wasn't and if he was ordinary human, that's fine with me too.

00:39:17.180 --> 00:39:19.980
All I know is the message was from God.

00:39:21.980 --> 00:39:23.980
As in, it was a test.

00:39:24.180 --> 00:39:24.980
You did well.

00:39:25.180 --> 00:39:25.980
You stood.

00:39:26.180 --> 00:39:26.980
You knew God told you to go.

00:39:27.180 --> 00:39:27.980
You stood.

00:39:28.180 --> 00:39:29.980
And that you graduated.

00:39:30.180 --> 00:39:35.980
Sometimes God will put you through drills just to see if you will be obedient.

00:39:36.180 --> 00:39:39.980
Part of your past is dealing with disrepute.

00:39:40.180 --> 00:39:49.980
We think so highly of ourselves that sometimes it's okay.

00:39:49.980 --> 00:40:00.980
Tested in purity.

00:40:01.180 --> 00:40:03.980
If you want to govern, you will be tested in purity.

00:40:04.180 --> 00:40:08.980
You'll be tested in purity.

00:40:09.180 --> 00:40:14.980
Can you refuse the king's table?

00:40:15.180 --> 00:40:15.980
Daniel chapter one.

00:40:15.980 --> 00:40:19.980
Daniel says, can we pass on this non-kosher food?

00:40:20.180 --> 00:40:24.980
Because we as Jewish boys have a certain diet that we follow.

00:40:25.180 --> 00:40:27.980
And what Nebuchadnezzar is serving, as amazing as it is,

00:40:28.180 --> 00:40:34.980
because it must have been samosas from Main Street and caviar from Vladivostok

00:40:35.180 --> 00:40:37.980
and dosas from Dosa corner.

00:40:38.180 --> 00:40:40.980
But where's Betty?

00:40:41.180 --> 00:40:43.980
You know the deal, right?

00:40:43.980 --> 00:40:44.980
Okay.

00:40:45.180 --> 00:40:48.980
So, can you refuse the king's table?

00:40:49.180 --> 00:40:51.980
Can you refuse the king's table?

00:40:52.180 --> 00:40:56.980
Your purity will be tested if you are to govern.

00:40:57.180 --> 00:40:57.980
Can you refuse the king's table?

00:40:58.180 --> 00:41:01.980
Can you say no to the prophet who's offering you a glass of wine to drink?

00:41:02.180 --> 00:41:07.980
In Jeremiah 35 verse 5, Jeremiah is actually testing the recubites,

00:41:08.180 --> 00:41:09.980
the sons of Reqab.

00:41:09.980 --> 00:41:10.980
Sons of Reqab.

00:41:11.180 --> 00:41:14.980
And he goes and he knows that they have been told by God through their father

00:41:15.180 --> 00:41:18.980
that you are not to drink wine because they were almost like Nazarites.

00:41:19.180 --> 00:41:22.980
And so Jeremiah takes a glass of wine and places it before them.

00:41:23.180 --> 00:41:25.980
And he's a well-known prophet, the prophet to Israel.

00:41:26.180 --> 00:41:28.380
And he places a glass before them and says drink.

00:41:28.580 --> 00:41:31.980
And they say, we're very sorry, but we won't drink because our fathers were

00:41:32.180 --> 00:41:33.980
told by God that we were not supposed to drink wine.

00:41:34.180 --> 00:41:38.980
Are you able to be tested in your purity and say no,

00:41:38.980 --> 00:41:43.980
even though it means that you will lose out on some of the best things in the world?

00:41:50.180 --> 00:41:53.580
Because there is no participation in divine government without holiness.

00:41:53.780 --> 00:41:57.380
There is no participation in divine government without holiness.

00:41:57.580 --> 00:42:02.380
If you read Psalm 24 verse 2 and 3, it says, who shall ascend the holy hill?

00:42:02.580 --> 00:42:04.780
And who is on this holy hill?

00:42:04.980 --> 00:42:06.580
And why even ascend the holy hill?

00:42:06.580 --> 00:42:11.380
Because it says in Psalm 2 verse 6 that I have installed my king on my holy hill,

00:42:11.580 --> 00:42:13.180
meaning I govern from there.

00:42:13.380 --> 00:42:16.780
And then it says in Psalm 24 verse 2 and 3, who shall ascend the holy hill?

00:42:16.980 --> 00:42:21.180
He who has clean hearts and pure hands and whose tongue is not given to deceit,

00:42:21.380 --> 00:42:22.780
he shall ascend the holy hill.

00:42:22.980 --> 00:42:27.380
Those are the ones that can say lift up your ancient gates and be lifted up your doors.

00:42:27.580 --> 00:42:28.980
Let the king of glory come in.

00:42:29.180 --> 00:42:33.780
It is impossible to participate in divine government without holiness.

00:42:33.980 --> 00:42:35.980
And I need to hear that and you need to hear that.

00:42:35.980 --> 00:42:38.380
If Acts 29 is to make any dent.

00:42:44.580 --> 00:42:46.580
I want to end by holiness, increased holiness, man.

00:42:46.780 --> 00:42:47.580
Keep increasing.

00:42:47.780 --> 00:42:51.180
In 1 Peter 2, 9 says, holy nation, royal priesthood.

00:42:51.380 --> 00:42:53.580
It's this combination of royal and priesthood.

00:42:53.780 --> 00:42:56.380
Holy nation, set apart.

00:43:01.180 --> 00:43:03.980
Maybe I should share this story with some of the old timers here.

00:43:06.180 --> 00:43:09.780
I was in a country where someone was trying to get me to compromise on

00:43:09.980 --> 00:43:13.980
a stance that I had taken in that country with regard to how meetings will be conducted.

00:43:14.180 --> 00:43:21.580
And he offered me first watch that was given to him by the president of the country,

00:43:21.780 --> 00:43:22.980
which was made of gold.

00:43:23.180 --> 00:43:26.380
It must have been about $9,000 or $10,000.

00:43:26.580 --> 00:43:31.580
And he gives this to me and I wear it around my wrist and it doesn't fit.

00:43:32.780 --> 00:43:33.980
So I have to give it back.

00:43:33.980 --> 00:43:36.580
And then he pulls out a Cartier watch, started with diamonds,

00:43:36.780 --> 00:43:39.180
a little less, maybe $7,500 or something.

00:43:39.380 --> 00:43:43.980
And he gives me that and I put it on my wrist and the blooming snap breaks, man.

00:43:44.180 --> 00:43:45.580
And I'm still not getting the message.

00:43:47.980 --> 00:43:51.980
He pulls out an ordinary gold watch, which must have been $3,000 or $4,000.

00:43:52.180 --> 00:43:54.380
And he puts that, he says, Jacob, take this.

00:43:54.580 --> 00:43:57.580
And I wear that and that clasp snaps too.

00:43:58.180 --> 00:44:00.180
And then finally it dawns on me.

00:44:01.180 --> 00:44:02.580
It was literally like God saying,

00:44:02.580 --> 00:44:06.780
duh, three watches before you get the message that you're not supposed to take this

00:44:06.980 --> 00:44:10.180
and compromise what you know I have told you to.

00:44:10.780 --> 00:44:14.180
Guys, it is amazing how when it comes to our lives,

00:44:14.380 --> 00:44:19.780
all of us have a price and all of us have a level of purity and it will be tested.

00:44:19.980 --> 00:44:23.980
Let your price go up till they have to put up posters saying wanted,

00:44:24.180 --> 00:44:26.180
$1 trillion and nobody can pay it.

00:44:33.180 --> 00:44:33.980
Any questions?

00:44:36.980 --> 00:44:39.580
Your purity will be tested, not by God.

00:44:41.180 --> 00:44:42.180
God knows your purity,

00:44:42.380 --> 00:44:45.980
but your purity will be tested if you're supposed to come to a place where you govern.

00:44:47.180 --> 00:44:49.180
Morality and governing go hand in hand.

00:44:56.380 --> 00:44:57.380
I've always said, right,

00:44:58.380 --> 00:45:01.780
purity is a proof of your intimacy and it intimidates the enemy.

00:45:02.180 --> 00:45:06.180
Purity is a proof of your intimacy and it intimidates the enemy.

00:45:06.980 --> 00:45:07.580
The next one.

00:45:08.780 --> 00:45:12.780
You'll be tested in with power.

00:45:12.780 --> 00:45:14.180
You'll be tested with power.

00:45:14.480 --> 00:45:16.380
You will be tested with power.

00:45:16.780 --> 00:45:18.180
You'll be tested with power.

00:45:19.280 --> 00:45:20.480
How do you use power?

00:45:20.580 --> 00:45:24.680
When you have wealth, when you have power, God wants to see how you will use it.

00:45:25.180 --> 00:45:26.780
He uses it as a litmus.

00:45:29.280 --> 00:45:30.980
What was Jesus being tempted with?

00:45:30.980 --> 00:45:33.580
He had the power to turn stones into bread.

00:45:34.180 --> 00:45:35.180
He had the power.

00:45:36.180 --> 00:45:40.380
He was the same man who could have fish come on to one side of the water.

00:45:40.380 --> 00:45:43.980
He was the same man who could have his taxes in the mouth of a fish.

00:45:44.180 --> 00:45:48.080
You think the man who could walk on water could not turn stone into bread?

00:45:50.980 --> 00:45:55.580
He had the power, but he refuses to use the power because it was not sanctioned by God.

00:45:55.780 --> 00:46:15.080
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.

00:46:20.280 --> 00:46:22.680
Joseph, when he had his brothers at his mercy,

00:46:23.680 --> 00:46:30.080
I mean Genesis 45 verse 3 to 5, his brothers were so scared when he sends all the servants away and he says,

00:46:30.080 --> 00:46:31.880
It is I, Joseph, I am your brother.

00:46:31.880 --> 00:46:35.180
They are like, oh, chucks, off with their heads.

00:46:35.180 --> 00:46:36.680
No, that's not what comes from his mouth.

00:46:37.080 --> 00:46:38.280
Instead, he begins to hug them.

00:46:38.280 --> 00:46:39.580
He begins to cry over them.

00:46:40.480 --> 00:46:41.780
How do you use power?

00:46:41.980 --> 00:46:44.980
Do you use power in a way that is legalistic?

00:46:46.580 --> 00:46:50.380
Where now because you have power, everything is, no, no, no, no, no.

00:46:50.580 --> 00:47:00.080
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.

00:47:02.680 --> 00:47:04.080
We've all met people like that.

00:47:05.580 --> 00:47:06.580
You perhaps are like that.

00:47:06.580 --> 00:47:08.880
Like I said, I'm not looking at you right now.

00:47:15.180 --> 00:47:16.180
Are you callous?

00:47:16.380 --> 00:47:17.980
As in you don't care.

00:47:17.980 --> 00:47:20.680
The use, the way you use your power is callous.

00:47:20.980 --> 00:47:21.680
You don't care.

00:47:22.080 --> 00:47:23.880
If people do what they want, that's fine too.

00:47:23.880 --> 00:47:26.080
That is when you do not use power well.

00:47:26.080 --> 00:47:28.480
When God appoints you to steward something and it's like,

00:47:29.380 --> 00:47:30.180
come see, come see.

00:47:32.780 --> 00:47:40.480
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?

00:47:40.780 --> 00:47:44.680
Could you do this and this and this and then after you do this and this and order is one thing,

00:47:44.680 --> 00:47:47.780
making people jump through hoops because you have the power is a whole different ballgame.

00:47:50.280 --> 00:47:55.080
Sometimes you can be callous with power by not doing what you're supposed to do in time.

00:48:00.780 --> 00:48:03.280
You know, you're supposed to do something that can help someone,

00:48:03.280 --> 00:48:05.880
but you just delayed because you can do it tomorrow.

00:48:06.080 --> 00:48:09.780
Little knowing how it affects the person who needs your help.

00:48:15.680 --> 00:48:17.680
Are you controlling when you use power?

00:48:17.880 --> 00:48:22.980
Are you exclusive as in you're not here to share or delegate power?

00:48:22.980 --> 00:48:24.480
It's exclusively yours.

00:48:24.680 --> 00:48:31.880
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?

00:48:31.880 --> 00:48:39.180
Guys, God tests you with power and there is no way God is going to give me any extra power to administer or govern.

00:48:39.180 --> 00:48:43.680
If today based on what I'm doing, I'm not doing well, he will not part with more.

00:48:45.580 --> 00:48:51.080
These things that I just called out legalistic ringmaster callous controlling.

00:48:51.780 --> 00:48:54.780
If it applies to you, rip it out of you.

00:48:58.880 --> 00:49:00.980
And if you don't think any of it applies to you.

00:49:08.080 --> 00:49:08.580
Let me know.

00:49:08.580 --> 00:49:14.580
Tested with offense.

00:49:14.580 --> 00:49:18.580
You will be tested with offense as in people will offend you.

00:49:19.480 --> 00:49:20.880
You'll be tested with offense.

00:49:21.880 --> 00:49:22.980
This is guaranteed.

00:49:22.980 --> 00:49:24.980
You will be betrayed.

00:49:25.180 --> 00:49:28.580
You will be offended by people.

00:49:28.880 --> 00:49:30.180
It will happen to you.

00:49:30.380 --> 00:49:36.280
Betrayal, offense, anger, accusation will be hurled at you and it is inevitable.

00:49:36.280 --> 00:49:38.480
If you think you're going to escape it ain't going to happen.

00:49:38.680 --> 00:49:39.980
It is going to happen to you.

00:49:40.580 --> 00:49:45.980
Question is you are tested with offense and God will see because I'm telling you man,

00:49:46.180 --> 00:49:51.780
if you are to administer and govern, you will definitely be offended and hurt betrayed by people.

00:49:51.980 --> 00:49:53.280
It was done to your master.

00:49:53.280 --> 00:49:54.480
It will be done to you too.

00:49:54.480 --> 00:49:55.580
It was done to Joseph.

00:49:55.580 --> 00:49:56.580
It was done to Moses.

00:49:56.580 --> 00:49:57.580
It was done to David.

00:49:57.580 --> 00:49:58.580
It was done to Paul.

00:49:58.580 --> 00:50:01.680
It was done to every guy in the book of Hebrews chapter 11.

00:50:01.680 --> 00:50:02.880
It was done to all of them.

00:50:02.880 --> 00:50:06.080
But when they offend you, how are you going to react?

00:50:06.080 --> 00:50:07.180
Short term and long term.

00:50:08.180 --> 00:50:10.980
There's a short term and long term reaction to offense.

00:50:11.180 --> 00:50:13.580
Short term is I bless you sister.

00:50:14.080 --> 00:50:15.280
You can stab me.

00:50:15.480 --> 00:50:16.680
Here stab again.

00:50:17.380 --> 00:50:19.280
That's a short time response.

00:50:19.280 --> 00:50:26.780
It's very godly long time response of my God wait till I poison you when you come for dinner next.

00:50:26.780 --> 00:50:30.880
It's like the initial reaction is like you're going to be poisoned.

00:50:31.880 --> 00:50:35.080
The initial reaction is all kindness, but it's seething inside.

00:50:35.080 --> 00:50:39.080
A short term and long term reactions to offense.

00:50:41.180 --> 00:50:42.480
You will be tested with offense.

00:50:42.480 --> 00:50:43.380
Do you wilt?

00:50:44.580 --> 00:50:45.480
Do you withdraw?

00:50:47.580 --> 00:50:53.280
Do you let it become a scab so someone can offend you again in the near future?

00:50:53.580 --> 00:50:54.580
Do you lash out?

00:50:55.480 --> 00:50:56.580
Do you keep a record?

00:50:58.680 --> 00:50:59.580
Do you wilt?

00:51:00.080 --> 00:51:00.580
As in?

00:51:01.480 --> 00:51:01.980
Wilt.

00:51:02.480 --> 00:51:04.480
It's very hard for me to show wilt.

00:51:04.580 --> 00:51:06.480
Even if I did this, it wouldn't convey it.

00:51:06.780 --> 00:51:09.580
So it's very sudden things that are beyond me.

00:51:11.280 --> 00:51:15.580
So do you wilt or do you withdraw?

00:51:16.980 --> 00:51:20.280
As in I don't want I've been hurt too many times.

00:51:20.580 --> 00:51:22.580
My God if Jesus withdrew because I've hurt.

00:51:22.580 --> 00:51:23.780
Do you lash out?

00:51:24.980 --> 00:51:26.580
Do you let it become a scab?

00:51:27.280 --> 00:51:32.980
So someone else can kill it or do you keep a long memory of it?

00:51:36.780 --> 00:51:38.980
Both Joseph and Jesus were very different day.

00:51:43.980 --> 00:51:45.180
I got three more to go.

00:51:45.880 --> 00:51:47.080
You'll be tested with offense.

00:51:47.080 --> 00:51:48.980
You'll be tested with a long term reaction.

00:51:48.980 --> 00:51:50.580
You'll be tested with a short term reaction.

00:51:50.580 --> 00:51:51.580
I got three more to go.

00:51:52.280 --> 00:51:53.780
You'll be tested with allegiance.

00:51:54.280 --> 00:51:55.880
You'll be tested with allegiances.

00:51:56.980 --> 00:51:58.580
You'll be tested with allegiances.

00:51:59.880 --> 00:52:00.880
What are we talking about?

00:52:00.980 --> 00:52:07.080
If you want to govern, if you want to rule as a church and as a people, you will be tested in these areas.

00:52:07.680 --> 00:52:09.480
You will be tested with allegiances.

00:52:11.680 --> 00:52:16.980
As in you cannot govern if your primary allegiance is affected by Mary.

00:52:18.080 --> 00:52:19.780
As in Mary and Jesus.

00:52:20.180 --> 00:52:29.080
Where in Mark chapter 3 verse 21 Mary comes to take Jesus away because she and her other sons say Jesus is insane.

00:52:29.080 --> 00:52:29.780
He's crazy.

00:52:29.880 --> 00:52:30.680
Let's take him home.

00:52:31.680 --> 00:52:37.680
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?

00:52:40.480 --> 00:52:41.680
Mary actually did that.

00:52:45.680 --> 00:52:46.580
How about Peter?

00:52:46.880 --> 00:52:52.680
Where in Galatians 2.11 Paul had to confront Peter and he would not even though Peter was a senior apostle,

00:52:52.680 --> 00:52:54.680
Paul had to make his allegiance known.

00:52:54.880 --> 00:52:59.680
But listen, I have an allegiance to the gospel of grace that has been given to me to preach.

00:52:59.880 --> 00:53:06.480
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,

00:53:06.580 --> 00:53:12.280
then Peter even though you are senior, even though you are primary apostle, even though you were given the keys of the kingdom,

00:53:12.380 --> 00:53:17.180
I do not have an allegiance first to you, but I have allegiance to the gospel of grace given to me by Christ.

00:53:18.580 --> 00:53:24.680
It is impossible to govern if my allegiances are still in sway.

00:53:28.080 --> 00:53:31.380
Saul, not Saul, Jonathan and Michael.

00:53:31.880 --> 00:53:36.380
I mean you read 2 Samuel 6 and you'll find that even though Michael was David's wife,

00:53:36.380 --> 00:53:38.280
she was always known as Saul's daughter.

00:53:39.180 --> 00:53:43.380
Even though Jonathan was a great friend of David, Jonathan refused to leave his father.

00:53:46.980 --> 00:53:55.580
And yet in Mark chapter 4 verse 22, you find the sons of Zebedee leaving their father and their nets and walking away.

00:53:55.580 --> 00:53:59.680
Leban, Jacob served him for blooming 20 years for his daughters.

00:54:00.280 --> 00:54:01.280
Who didn't walk away?

00:54:01.480 --> 00:54:06.280
His loyalty and allegiance to the Leban family kept him under wraps for 20 years.

00:54:08.880 --> 00:54:14.180
Clan, tribe, denominations, theology that is old.

00:54:14.280 --> 00:54:16.880
We got to let go of it if we are supposed to go to the church.

00:54:16.880 --> 00:54:18.280
We are supposed to go to the church.

00:54:18.280 --> 00:54:19.680
We are supposed to go to the church.

00:54:19.680 --> 00:54:21.080
We are supposed to go to the church.

00:54:21.080 --> 00:54:22.480
We are supposed to go to the church.

00:54:22.480 --> 00:54:23.580
That is old.

00:54:23.580 --> 00:54:27.780
We got to let go of it if we are supposed to govern because God sends new wine.

00:54:35.180 --> 00:54:43.480
Allegiances will cause you to settle in Shechem or middle ground or compromise your course of action.

00:54:45.480 --> 00:54:46.480
I refuse to.

00:54:46.480 --> 00:54:56.480
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.

00:54:57.480 --> 00:54:59.480
That these tests are real.

00:55:03.780 --> 00:55:05.880
And that you cannot afford to either.

00:55:05.880 --> 00:55:07.980
Doesn't matter that you lose friendships.

00:55:07.980 --> 00:55:09.680
It doesn't matter that you will hurt.

00:55:09.680 --> 00:55:11.580
It doesn't matter that things will be broken.

00:55:11.580 --> 00:55:13.180
You do not amend.

00:55:13.180 --> 00:55:15.080
It doesn't matter that things will be broken.

00:55:15.080 --> 00:55:16.680
You do not amend.

00:55:17.080 --> 00:55:23.080
The apostolic never amends what has been given to them by God.

00:55:25.280 --> 00:55:26.080
They endure.

00:55:26.080 --> 00:55:27.280
They do not amend.

00:55:27.880 --> 00:55:32.080
Amend is when you tinker and change things so that you can preserve and keep.

00:55:33.780 --> 00:55:36.280
You think Paul enjoyed saying to Barnabas,

00:55:36.280 --> 00:55:37.380
all right Barnabas, I'm sorry.

00:55:37.380 --> 00:55:38.480
I cannot go with you.

00:55:39.180 --> 00:55:41.680
Barnabas came and got Paul out of Tarsus.

00:55:42.080 --> 00:55:44.480
They had more than just a missionary connection.

00:55:44.880 --> 00:55:47.180
He introduced them to the Apostles of Jerusalem.

00:55:56.480 --> 00:55:58.780
Only a friend can yeah, not important.

00:55:59.680 --> 00:56:05.780
Allegiances of I want to say to you if if God has said go from point A to point B.

00:56:06.880 --> 00:56:09.980
He's saying go from point A to point B.

00:56:09.980 --> 00:56:11.980
He's not asking you to settle somewhere in between.

00:56:26.180 --> 00:56:27.880
Sorry, I didn't hear the second part.

00:56:27.880 --> 00:56:29.980
There's a word for many words.

00:56:29.980 --> 00:56:37.180
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?

00:56:57.880 --> 00:57:02.280
I realized shucks still confused and so then I go and ask people for help and

00:57:03.080 --> 00:57:09.380
those people can be younger than me older than me smarter than me very difficult, but occasionally and then and so

00:57:10.480 --> 00:57:13.480
That's a process, but I have to I need help

00:57:14.180 --> 00:57:20.320
And and God will never change that he will never take away my need to depend on others

00:57:20.320 --> 00:57:21.580
He will never take it away

00:57:21.580 --> 00:57:28.780
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

00:57:29.080 --> 00:57:32.780
Your ability to function just because you depend you have to depend on someone

00:57:34.580 --> 00:57:37.920
Not a single area where you're really good will still

00:57:38.800 --> 00:57:41.680
Be good enough for you to be independent

00:57:42.760 --> 00:57:44.760
independent

00:57:46.800 --> 00:57:49.880
Tested with if God says go from point A to point B

00:57:49.880 --> 00:57:55.840
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

00:57:58.700 --> 00:58:03.700
If God is saying move from A to B move all the way you settle in the middle and

00:58:03.860 --> 00:58:07.720
Your condition will be worse off than when you started. Please don't it is foolish

00:58:11.480 --> 00:58:16.620
Tested in hiddenness you will be tested in hiddenness you will be tested in hiddenness

00:58:17.060 --> 00:58:22.140
This is critical for some of you. I was thinking of a few of you, so I won't be looking at you

00:58:23.820 --> 00:58:29.900
Tested in hiddenness where you're going through a time of absolute insignificance

00:58:31.880 --> 00:58:38.960
Where there's no visible movement in your destiny where you're serving in someone else's shadow

00:58:39.240 --> 00:58:41.240
You

00:58:42.320 --> 00:58:47.480
Either serving in Potiphar's house or you're washing Elijah's hands

00:58:47.480 --> 00:58:54.040
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

00:58:54.740 --> 00:58:58.320
No movement great prophetic words nada happening

00:59:00.280 --> 00:59:03.800
One of the things you'll be tested with is you'll be tested in hiddenness

00:59:04.160 --> 00:59:06.160
The like I've said before

00:59:06.200 --> 00:59:14.080
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

00:59:14.080 --> 00:59:15.120
I

00:59:15.120 --> 00:59:20.480
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

00:59:20.480 --> 00:59:22.200
but

00:59:22.200 --> 00:59:27.200
Put Isaiah 49 1 & 2 it says he was hidden like a arrow in God's quiver

00:59:27.200 --> 00:59:34.600
And whenever God wanted pulled out shot put back in the quiver nobody knows about you love not being known

00:59:36.600 --> 00:59:40.320
Popularity has its own pressures, and if you're not ready for it. It'll destroy you I

00:59:43.200 --> 00:59:45.200
Can't handle this popularity

00:59:47.880 --> 00:59:49.600
So

00:59:49.600 --> 00:59:54.960
No visible movement in your destiny as you serve in someone else's shadow. God will test you in hiddenness

00:59:55.240 --> 00:59:57.760
God will test you in hiddenness get used to it

00:59:59.280 --> 01:00:03.520
Jesus nobody knew about him for very long and while you're hidden

01:00:04.000 --> 01:00:07.400
Seduction and satanic traps will try and derail you

01:00:07.960 --> 01:00:13.000
Seduction and satanic traps will try and derail you and even though you make good choices

01:00:13.440 --> 01:00:16.600
And you have great honesty you will still not be delivered

01:00:18.320 --> 01:00:20.320
Classic example Joseph

01:00:20.560 --> 01:00:21.840
ran

01:00:21.840 --> 01:00:25.160
From Potiphar's wife was honest had integrity

01:00:27.840 --> 01:00:29.840
But still paid a price

01:00:30.400 --> 01:00:32.400
hiddenness is not a

01:00:32.760 --> 01:00:38.960
Place where God is absent hiddenness is a place where it looks like God's actions aren't coming through and

01:00:39.600 --> 01:00:42.380
Every person who governs will have to go through it

01:00:46.320 --> 01:00:49.460
But my god look at Phoebe and Jocelyn

01:00:50.020 --> 01:00:54.460
Now and think of the fact that they were hidden for nine months

01:01:01.020 --> 01:01:04.420
Any questions before we go to the last one

01:01:06.340 --> 01:01:12.460
Okay, you'll be tested with opposition and resistance you'll be tested with opposition and

01:01:14.860 --> 01:01:16.860
Resistance

01:01:17.500 --> 01:01:25.180
You'll be tested with opposition and resistance and this opposition and resistance is both human and satanic

01:01:27.460 --> 01:01:32.300
It's both human and satanic I was thinking of saying demonic and then I thought no use the word satanic

01:01:32.860 --> 01:01:36.460
There'll be human adversaries and satanic adversaries

01:01:36.740 --> 01:01:44.340
Who mock you who taught you who intimidate you who attack you and the attack is physical it is emotional

01:01:44.620 --> 01:01:46.620
It's spiritual

01:01:47.140 --> 01:01:49.140
You

01:01:50.260 --> 01:01:54.460
Will be tested with opposition and resistance you will have to come to a place

01:01:54.900 --> 01:02:00.260
where you have to say like David said that I have fought the lion and the bear and

01:02:00.700 --> 01:02:05.660
When the bear would come I would grab it and snatch the sheep out of its mouth

01:02:05.660 --> 01:02:09.900
but if it rose its head again, I would smite it dead and

01:02:10.660 --> 01:02:17.420
The god who helped me deal with the lion and the bear will now help me deal with this uncircumcised Philistine

01:02:22.620 --> 01:02:25.380
Satan doesn't come to attack you because he thinks oh

01:02:26.620 --> 01:02:30.500
Jacob needs to get better at this. No, he's coming to steal kill and destroy

01:02:31.180 --> 01:02:37.500
Thwart mock mocking is one of the commonest ways that the enemy attacks at church and

01:02:38.140 --> 01:02:40.140
You mocking you

01:02:41.620 --> 01:02:46.060
Unfortunately, we don't even get past mocking because words affect us so badly

01:02:47.060 --> 01:02:49.060
That we cannot rise from under them

01:02:49.500 --> 01:02:55.820
The reason words affect us so badly is because we do not know how to counter words with words

01:03:01.340 --> 01:03:06.300
Every time someone says things that affect me badly where words have ripped me to shreds

01:03:07.300 --> 01:03:13.740
The first thing I'll go and say to God is father these words have really like disheveled me or bruised me inside now

01:03:13.740 --> 01:03:16.700
I need to look at how you see me by looking into

01:03:17.260 --> 01:03:24.620
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

01:03:24.620 --> 01:03:30.300
Myself in it and after seeing myself in it out of my mouth will come words that tell me who I am

01:03:31.180 --> 01:03:36.340
This is not written on my mirror that I see every morning and say while I brush my teeth

01:03:37.300 --> 01:03:39.300
This is stuff as it happens

01:03:42.220 --> 01:03:48.740
The reason we are not able to survive even the mocking spirit, which is a very powerful sinister

01:03:49.500 --> 01:03:56.140
Damaging deceiving spirit. The reason we don't even survive the mocking spirit is because we do not combat the mocking spirit with words

01:04:00.300 --> 01:04:07.420
Instead the mocking spirit provokes us to use words that diss ourselves

01:04:15.740 --> 01:04:17.740
As a very words that you hear

01:04:18.220 --> 01:04:25.140
Brought to you whispered into your ear by the accuser are the very words used to describe the very words

01:04:25.220 --> 01:04:34.220
Brought to you whispered into your ear by the accuser are the very words you now reshape remodel and place upon yourself

01:04:39.500 --> 01:04:41.500
This is what I meant by reproach

01:04:41.780 --> 01:04:45.940
Your past catching up with you a condition of shame that is so deep

01:04:46.740 --> 01:04:52.300
That it has begun to affect your psyche and it is used by the demonic to build strongholds or to hide in strongholds

01:04:56.100 --> 01:05:03.100
The test the testing with opposition and resistance the test in this is learning how to stand and responding

01:05:04.100 --> 01:05:11.500
Responding with words responding with mercy if it's human adversaries responding with understanding what in the world is happening here right now

01:05:11.500 --> 01:05:17.300
And responding with just action as in what do I need to do? Do I need to stand up and rebuke it?

01:05:17.300 --> 01:05:23.300
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?

01:05:23.300 --> 01:05:30.300
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

01:05:30.820 --> 01:05:32.820
understanding and

01:05:33.140 --> 01:05:35.140
the third one is

01:05:35.220 --> 01:05:37.220
just action

01:05:43.700 --> 01:05:48.820
You know Luke 10 19 actually says that I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy

01:05:48.820 --> 01:05:55.820
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

01:05:55.820 --> 01:06:02.820
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

01:06:02.820 --> 01:06:06.820
I wish I could return unscathed as often happens

01:06:06.820 --> 01:06:12.820
But sometimes I find that there is a bit of a difference between the power of the enemy and the power of the enemy

01:06:12.820 --> 01:06:19.820
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

01:06:19.820 --> 01:06:25.820
And as a church we need to learn that

01:06:25.820 --> 01:06:29.820
So that Luke 10 19 is what stands

01:06:29.820 --> 01:06:33.820
Learn to recover, repair and then go back and be relentless

01:06:33.820 --> 01:06:37.820
Any questions guys because I'm done. I'll just conclude if you don't have any questions

01:06:41.820 --> 01:06:45.820
Any questions?

01:06:45.820 --> 01:06:49.820
Seraphim Pavan is really smart. He didn't tell you how long the service is. He just invited you and then he left

01:06:49.820 --> 01:06:53.820
So I'm going to ask you a question. Is it true that you were sent to the church by the enemy?

01:06:53.820 --> 01:06:59.820
Seraphim Pavan is really smart. He didn't tell you how long the service is. He just invited you and then he left

01:06:59.820 --> 01:07:03.820
And now you're stuck

01:07:03.820 --> 01:07:07.820
But we usually tell people not to tell people how long it is because they may not come otherwise

01:07:07.820 --> 01:07:11.820
But we are glad you're here

01:07:11.820 --> 01:07:15.820
Any questions?

01:07:15.820 --> 01:07:19.820
Okay

01:07:19.820 --> 01:07:23.820
We must overcome these tests as a body of many parts

01:07:23.820 --> 01:07:27.820
Be spirit dependent, be body reliant, rely on each other

01:07:27.820 --> 01:07:31.820
And be dependent on the spirit

01:07:31.820 --> 01:07:35.820
We've got to learn this as a body

01:07:35.820 --> 01:07:39.820
I love Revelations 2.27

01:07:39.820 --> 01:07:43.820
To him that overcomes, as in overcomes these things that we are talking about

01:07:43.820 --> 01:07:47.820
To him who overcomes, as in overcome opposition, resistance

01:07:47.820 --> 01:07:51.820
To him who overcomes Revelations 2.26 and 2.27

01:07:51.820 --> 01:07:55.820
I will give power over the nations

01:07:55.820 --> 01:07:59.820
And I will give you a royal scepter so that you can shepherd them

01:07:59.820 --> 01:08:03.820
I'll give you a royal scepter so you can shepherd them

01:08:03.820 --> 01:08:07.820
I think it's in, I don't know which version it is, it actually says

01:08:07.820 --> 01:08:11.820
I'll let you shepherd instead of using the word rule, it uses the word shepherd

01:08:11.820 --> 01:08:15.820
And it is so classic, Psalm 23 is basically rule

01:08:15.820 --> 01:08:19.820
I will give you the power to go to the valley of the shadow of death, you will be with me

01:08:19.820 --> 01:08:23.820
Your shepherds rod and staff, they will comfort me

01:08:23.820 --> 01:08:27.820
Sometimes to chase away prowlers, sometimes to draw in the sheep

01:08:27.820 --> 01:08:31.820
This is what we are talking about

01:08:31.820 --> 01:08:35.820
I pray God that you are able to step into this man

01:08:35.820 --> 01:08:39.820
Because this is where God wants us to go

01:08:39.820 --> 01:08:43.820
And if we are to go with what Jane was saying, then if he's on the move

01:08:43.820 --> 01:08:47.820
I want us to become a church which one day has the ability

01:08:47.820 --> 01:08:51.820
In the spheres and the territories given to us, to decree and to be able to say

01:08:51.820 --> 01:08:55.820
This cannot happen or this can happen, or this must be shut down or this must be open

01:08:55.820 --> 01:08:59.820
That these demonic powers that have occupied this territory for 300 years

01:08:59.820 --> 01:09:03.820
400 years, no longer have a say, that salvation will come here

01:09:03.820 --> 01:09:07.820
Regardless of how hard other religions may try to build things

01:09:07.820 --> 01:09:11.820
That certain evil practices must end, and that we decree

01:09:11.820 --> 01:09:15.820
And over a period of one, two, three years, we begin to actually see this happen

01:09:15.820 --> 01:09:19.820
And the seed is sown so deep that it is impossible for that seed

01:09:19.820 --> 01:09:23.820
Now not to germinate and produce fruit

01:09:23.820 --> 01:09:27.820
This is what a church must do, we haven't seen this yet

01:09:27.820 --> 01:09:31.820
At least not one on one, we've heard stories

01:09:31.820 --> 01:09:35.820
But these stories must show evidence, not just a short term evidence, but a long term evidence

01:09:35.820 --> 01:09:39.820
Long ago in 2015

01:09:39.820 --> 01:09:43.820
2005 the Lord said, Jacob, a time is coming when

01:09:43.820 --> 01:09:47.820
Out of you and out of your church will rise young people

01:09:47.820 --> 01:09:51.820
That will have apostolic ministries, ministries that are like

01:09:51.820 --> 01:09:55.820
Bishops in different areas where they go forth, and when I look now

01:09:55.820 --> 01:09:59.820
At the young people in this church, I marvel, because we had

01:09:59.820 --> 01:10:03.820
Nothing that should attract young people, nothing

01:10:03.820 --> 01:10:07.820
Didn't have decent music

01:10:07.820 --> 01:10:11.820
Didn't have a sound guy

01:10:11.820 --> 01:10:15.820
Didn't have a sound guy

01:10:15.820 --> 01:10:19.820
And so on

01:10:19.820 --> 01:10:23.820
I was looking at Derek for a fool, then I realized you're the sound guy, that's why I stopped

01:10:23.820 --> 01:10:27.820
But now when I look at it

01:10:27.820 --> 01:10:31.820
I think to myself, Father, you're going to unleash from this place a generation

01:10:31.820 --> 01:10:35.820
Of young apostolic ministries and bishops and

01:10:35.820 --> 01:10:39.820
People that will go to different parts, and I don't mean James when I say bishop

01:10:39.820 --> 01:10:43.820
People that go to different parts of the earth and begin to

01:10:43.820 --> 01:10:47.820
Restart this way of functioning, man

01:10:47.820 --> 01:10:51.820
Any questions, any thoughts, anything you want to add

01:10:51.820 --> 01:10:55.820
Feel free, it's just four, take three more minutes

01:10:55.820 --> 01:10:59.820
Let me just pray

01:10:59.820 --> 01:11:03.820
Holy Spirit I want to pray a really decent prayer

01:11:03.820 --> 01:11:07.820
So please help me

01:11:25.820 --> 01:11:29.820
Father, you're saying to us that

01:11:29.820 --> 01:11:33.820
You're saying to us that

01:11:33.820 --> 01:11:37.820
You're saying to us that

01:11:37.820 --> 01:11:41.820
You're saying to us that

01:11:41.820 --> 01:11:45.820
You're saying to us that

01:11:45.820 --> 01:11:49.820
You're saying to us that

01:11:49.820 --> 01:11:53.820
You're saying to us that

01:11:53.820 --> 01:11:57.820
You're saying to us that

01:11:57.820 --> 01:12:01.820
A helmsman or a steersman

01:12:01.820 --> 01:12:05.820
Who steers a ship

01:12:05.820 --> 01:12:09.820
Has this huge

01:12:09.820 --> 01:12:13.820
Vessel at his command

01:12:13.820 --> 01:12:17.820
Because of one solitary

01:12:17.820 --> 01:12:21.820
Structure called the rudder

01:12:21.820 --> 01:12:25.820
With that he controls

01:12:25.820 --> 01:12:29.820
Everything

01:12:29.820 --> 01:12:33.820
Huge ship, storm battered seas

01:12:33.820 --> 01:12:37.820
A wheel in the helmsman's hands

01:12:37.820 --> 01:12:41.820
That controls what seems like

01:12:41.820 --> 01:12:45.820
Just a large piece of metal or wood right at the end of the ship

01:12:45.820 --> 01:12:49.820
And that then controls the ship through stormy weather

01:12:49.820 --> 01:12:53.820
Where are you pulling this out from Holy Spirit?

01:12:53.820 --> 01:12:57.820
James chapter three

01:12:57.820 --> 01:13:01.820
James chapter three

01:13:01.820 --> 01:13:05.820
You're a very practical Holy Spirit

01:13:05.820 --> 01:13:09.820
And so you're demanding of us a practical thing

01:13:09.820 --> 01:13:13.820
You're saying

01:13:13.820 --> 01:13:17.820
If you want to start this, if you want to go where I want you to go

01:13:17.820 --> 01:13:21.820
If you want to begin with this teaching

01:13:21.820 --> 01:13:25.820
Then you must use your tongue like a rudder

01:13:25.820 --> 01:13:29.820
Otherwise this will not take off

01:13:29.820 --> 01:13:33.820
So I pray now

01:13:33.820 --> 01:13:37.820
So I pray now

01:13:37.820 --> 01:13:41.820
That across this room

01:13:41.820 --> 01:13:45.820
As we rise to our feet in honor

01:13:45.820 --> 01:13:49.820
Of what you have taught

01:13:49.820 --> 01:13:53.820
I pray that we will use

01:13:53.820 --> 01:13:57.820
Words of wisdom

01:13:57.820 --> 01:14:01.820
That we will use words

01:14:01.820 --> 01:14:05.820
To say something to our situation, to our body, to this city

01:14:05.820 --> 01:14:09.820
To this land as you lead

01:14:09.820 --> 01:14:13.820
One thing to us personally and one thing to this city

01:14:13.820 --> 01:14:17.820
That we'll open our mouths and say it after listening

01:14:17.820 --> 01:14:21.820
To you, we will say what needs to be said

01:14:21.820 --> 01:14:25.820
So we're practicing two things, one thing to say to our body

01:14:25.820 --> 01:14:29.820
Or our situation, our personal situations

01:14:29.820 --> 01:14:33.820
And one thing to this city, after listening to you we're going to speak it

01:14:33.820 --> 01:14:37.820
So that we begin this practice and do not stop when we leave

01:14:37.820 --> 01:14:41.820
So we do that now Father

01:14:55.820 --> 01:14:59.820
Please, please don't say anything