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NOTE
Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver
Episode: Train My Hands For War - Part 2
Publishing Date: 2025-12-07T02:04:44-08:00
Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca
Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/train-my-hands-for-war-part-2/

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Today we do part two of Train My Hands to War.

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If you haven't heard the first part or haven't tracked with how we got to where we got to,

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this church might sound like a weird kind of church, but it isn't. So when we talk

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about Train My Hands to War, our premise is very simple. There is God who is good, but

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there is Satan who is evil, and at stake are the lives of men and women. If God is good

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is a father, there is also an entity called the devil or Satan. Satan's intent is, can

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I draw the worship of people, the nature of people, the thoughts of people, the acts of

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people towards everything that's depraved, evil, wicked, exploitative? While God's intent

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is, can I not just draw you towards me and have you participate in my nature, but can

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I also lay my life down for you so that anything and everything that you have done wrong is

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forgiven because I pay the price for it with my death? And so when we talk about spiritual

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warfare, we're not talking about anything physical. In fact, in Ephesians 6 it says,

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battle is not against flesh and blood, as in not against people, but a battle is against invisible

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forces, powers, rulers, principalities, authorities. These are invisible forces,

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and that is definitely trying to draw men and women onto a realm that is so dark, so evil,

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that most of us hear about it, some of us have experienced it, and some of us have dealt with it.

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So what I'm saying is not some fairy tale, it's real. Every month I meet someone who finds it

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almost impossible to either escape from some kind of depravity or evil attacks, demonic problems,

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mental issues and physical issues that are caused by an attack of an invisible being.

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And many of us here know it, but for those who haven't experienced it, this isn't coming out

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of a vacuum. The Bible talks about it. One of the things Jesus did continuously was deal with people

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who were attacked by evil, invisible forces and drive those forces out. And today when we look at

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scriptures, we'll see that again. So that's where this is coming from. That's point one. Point two,

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truth is learned through repetition of both what we think and how we practice it. Truth is learned

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through repetition. So there'll be things that we repeat. Why? Because we're trying to get this

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church to a place where we begin to think a certain way. Truth is learned through repetition,

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and truth is learned through the repetition of both the way we think and the actions that we then

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do because of the way we think. So some of the stuff will be repeated.

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And then thirdly, if you have any questions or you begin to figure out how in the world does this

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work, you can come and ask later. Whenever you doubt the character of God, there's one simple

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solution. Look at Jesus. Whenever you think God is evil, whenever you think God is nasty,

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whenever you think God is out to do harm, whenever you think God is a monster based on your

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experience or based on the things you see around you, immediately look at Jesus. One of the reasons

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Jesus came in the flesh was so that he become the visible image of the invisible God. Look at Jesus

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and usually it solves all the questions you have about God because he was there in finite form.

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So those are the disclaimers. Now we go on to train my hands for war part two.

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This is what we talked about last week. So quick recap. The moment you talk about the kingdom of God

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and the kingdom of God is simply just like we say the presidency of Trump or the prime ministership

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of Carney. So when we say the kingdom of God, we are talking about the reign of Jesus Christ,

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a supreme Lord over everything created in every part of the universe because he is creator.

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Because he is creator. So the moment you say kingdom, it implies warfare. And again,

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I'm talking about spiritual warfare. I'm not talking about harm to flesh and blood.

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The moment you say kingdom of God, it implies spiritual warfare because there are other entities

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that have a whole host of powers under them that want the worship and the lives of men and women.

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Second point we made last week was the kingdom of Christ cannot advance in Richmond except through

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spiritual conflict. The kingdom of Christ, as in the rule of Christ in Richmond, cannot advance

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except through spiritual conflict. Conflict with who? Conflict with the powers that exist.

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It's a falsehood. It's so absurd to say that all religions lead to God. That's one of the

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foolishest unthinking statements that we have swallowed. They don't all lead to God. Because

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to begin with, all the gods that each religion proposes are different. And two, the methods to

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get to God are so ridiculously different that it can't be true. It's almost as absurd as saying

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the word earth is flat. And surprisingly, there are flat earthers even today. I've met a couple.

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It's amazing. They think once you drive past Abbotsford, you fall off the end of the earth.

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It usually happens when you get to Surrey, but that's a different thing.

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Sorry. To all the Surrey people, I apologize. So the kingdom of Christ cannot advance in Richmond

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except through spiritual conflict. And where do we see that? Because everything has to be backed by

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scripture. Acts chapter 26. So if you turn to Acts 26, Acts 26 verse 17 and 18. Acts 26, 17 and 18.

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Acts 26, 17 and 18. Look at this, eh? This is Jesus speaking and here's what he says.

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I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. The Lord replied, now get up and stand on your feet.

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Then he says to Paul, I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness

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of what you have seen me and what I will show you. Then he says, I'll rescue you from your own people

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and the Gentiles. Then he tells them what he's going to do. I am sending you to them to open

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their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, so that they may

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receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.

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So when we talk about conflict, we're talking about conflict that Jesus outlined. He said,

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listen, there are two realms. There's a realm of darkness and the realm of light. There's the

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power of God and the power of Satan. And therein lies the conflict. And so you cannot advance the

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cause of Christ. And what is the cause of Christ? Very simple. I made people, they walked away from

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me. I laid down my life so that they can come back to me, all sins forgiven, completely restored.

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You can reject it or receive it, but you cannot be neutral about it.

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To be neutral about it is to reject it really. You cannot be neutral about it.

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So the kingdom of Christ cannot advance in Richmond except through this spiritual conflict,

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where people get transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the sun. Go to Ephesians

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1.13. Ephesians 1.13. Ephesians 1.13.

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Colossians 1.13. Sorry. Thanks. Colossians 1.13.

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Colossians 1.13. And here's what it says. For he has rescued us in who? Jesus. Jesus has rescued

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us from what? From the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the sun he loves,

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in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Again, it's his idea of conflict. And so if

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we want Richmond, as in the people in Richmond, to be able to first hear about who Christ is,

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understand in their hearts who Christ is, begin to receive Christ as someone who made them,

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who loves them, who knows they oppose him, who resist him, who sometimes don't even know that

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he exists, but are willing to receive him, you first have to free them from the dominion of

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darkness. You literally have to rescue them. It's Christ who does the rescuing. We do the announcement.

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It's Christ who rescues. We announce it. You know, there were soldiers in Japan that kept fighting

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10 years after the war was over. There were little islands in Japan where Japanese soldiers

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who had been cut off from all communication thought that the war was still going on.

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There's a movie and a book about one of those guys who used to live like Rambo did in certain

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jungles of Japanese islands, not knowing that the Japanese had surrendered. And so he would keep

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fighting. People would turn up on this island and then would run for their lives because he would

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start shooting at them because he thought the war was still on. Emancipation is not emancipation

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unless it's announced. Freedom is not freedom till it's announced. People need to hear that you are

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free. If you don't announce freedom, people don't know they are free. Christ does the rescuing. We

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do the announcing. But there will be resistance to it. There is a conflict.

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And just because it's not your experience does not mean it's not true.

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That's like saying, yeah, it doesn't make sense when you say it's not my experience so it's not

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true. Try saying that to a little baby who doesn't understand gravity. So we are engaged in a cosmic

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custody battle. A cosmic custody battle. What do you mean? So there are two realms. There's the

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dominion of darkness, the kingdom of the sun. There's a realm of light. There's a realm of darkness.

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There's the power of satans. There's the power of God. This is constant, guys, in every city, in every

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part of the world. This is it. Jesus Christ said this and this is where Scripture, here's the crazy

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thing with the word of God, with Scripture. Once Scripture says it and you understand it, you only

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have a choice to either believe it or not believe it. And here's what the Scripture says. Acts 10,

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38. And God sent Jesus of Nazareth and anointed him with power and the Holy Spirit so that he

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could go around doing good and setting free those that were harassed by the devil.

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First John 4. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came down to the earth in flesh so that he could destroy

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the works of the devil. There's no two ways about this. This is real. This is a constant battle

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right now in every inhabited city in the world. And therefore, it is a custody battle. What do

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you mean a custody battle? In John chapter 8, verse 44 to 47, these are the words of Jesus. Jesus

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said, I have come from the Father, but you do not receive me. You believe in another Father who is

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the Father of lies. He has always been a liar, a murderer and a thief. And so there's this custody

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battle between the Father of light and the Father of lies. And every human being will end up one

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place or the other. This is one guaranteed thing. There's no neutral ground here.

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And then we said, the third thing we said was the creation of man, as in when man was created.

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One of the first commands, the first command that God gives man when he's created is go forth

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multiply, replenish, subdue. As in, guys, you're not supposed to congregate in one place. I made you

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once you begin to have families disperse. And when you disperse, just don't go to consume,

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but go to replenish, as in do things that benefit the earth and creation around you.

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And then it says subdue, as in there is an enemy to subdue. So now you understand what replenish

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means. Replenish means you do not go out to consume, you go out to benefit others.

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The idea of replenishing is that someone else benefits. And in the process of someone else

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benefiting, the earth begins to prosper. So go forth, multiply, replenish and subdue, as in

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deal with the dominion of darkness, deal with the power of the devil, deal with it, subdue it.

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This was the first command given us. We were made in his image and it's the first command you get.

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And so in a sense, it's the militant mission of the Great Commission. The Great Commission is

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go therefore to all nations, telling them about me, teaching them everything I've taught you,

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and I'll be with you. So the church has no choice in this. Let's put it this way, to sit on my

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backside and hear this and not have it begin to stir up my heart is the laziest thing I can do.

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You know, we don't have to act on stuff. We have to think on stuff first.

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The laziness is never in acting. The laziness isn't thinking, especially in a world today where

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everything is supplied. The laziness for Christians is not so much in acting. We can do stuff.

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We can put together 120 bags. We can go and distribute soup and food. But here's what is so

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difficult to do, to think and to think with the word. The moment you start thinking, you're not

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and to think with the word. The moment you start thinking with the word, you start thinking like

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God. Not thinking like regent, not thinking like some seminary, not thinking like some

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thinker who wrote a book, but think like God. And only when I start thinking is my heart stirred.

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Please remember this guys. The heart is not stirred unless a man thinks.

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It is when a man thinks that he either gets enraged or he embraces or he falls in love

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or he begins to hate. He begins to think. Feelings come out of thoughts guys.

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And so laziness in a Christian's life is when a believer refuses to think on the thoughts of God.

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And in this church, the prevailing thought at present has trained my hands to walk.

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Any questions before we go on? Any questions guys? We'll miss the Zimix, won't we?

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And the hipsters.

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Anyone else know how to play the bass? Because if you know how to play the bass,

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then we don't care if he doesn't come back immediately. Who? Vibi? Vibi plays the bass?

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Remy, does he play the bass? Is that a word of confidence?

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All righty. If he's good, I'll text you saying, take your time brother. If he's not.

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Guys, any questions on this? These were things we talked about last week. Any questions on this?

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Then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then,

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these were things we talked about last week. Any questions on this?

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There must be a clear divide that we must understand exists.

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You know, when we go across PSAT, it says Canada ends here, then a few meters later,

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the US begins here. They've got two pillars. There are no two pillars. There's no neutral ground.

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There's zero neutral ground.

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It's like zero avenue.

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Any questions on any of these statements?

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Okay, so you are saying that you agree that we are engaged in a cosmic custody battle

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and that the kingdom of Christ cannot advance in Richmond except through spiritual conflict.

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Cool. I'm glad you think so.

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Alrighty, so then we went on to talk about, so what are some things that we, some patterns that

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we see in the scriptures that we can use now in Richmond so that people begin to

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turn to Christ who made them. It's like children being restored to their father. I liked what Simon

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said when he came up here to pray this when we started. He said, I'm like a son returning

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to his house. It's kind of what God wants for every human being in Richmond, sons and daughters

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coming back to their father, estranged, alienated, separated because of sin, because of ignorance,

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because of belief systems, because of condemnation, because of experiences with church and God in the

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past, because of wrong theology, because of perverse philosophies, because of religious beliefs that

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don't match the Bible. And then along come a group of people who begin to deal with the forces that

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have kept people captive and as you begin to announce the freedom that Christ has brought

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one by one by one. How in the world do you think you turned up here, man? Someone had to speak to you.

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And then one by one people begin to turn and that's why we are in Richmond. Otherwise we could have

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stayed in Burnaby or Vancouver. Okay, so the first thing, how do we go about this? One, we

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learn how to, not relearn, we bring

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random.

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Cool, so the first way we do it is, guys, if you want to bring down the strongholds of the enemy,

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bring down the stronghold of God. As in, anytime you want to bring crashing to the ground,

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something that the enemy has established, you must usher in the presence of God.

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There's a story in second Samuel five. Here's what happened. The ark was supposed to be the presence

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of God and so the Philistines capture the ark and they bring it into a temple. The name of the God

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in that temple was Dagon and so in second Samuel five, they bring in this ark into the temple and

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they set it right next to their idol. And so there's this box made of wood and there's a

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fancy looking idol that towers and they leave it there thinking, wow, we've captured what belonged

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to Israel. And here's the crazy thing that happens. Overnight, the idol falls flat on its face.

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So they decide this must be a mistake and so they glue it together and they set it up again

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and they nail it to the ground. Guess what happens next night? The blooming idol falls again

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and now it's broken in so many pieces that Humpty Dumpty couldn't be put together again.

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How did that happen? There was no physical conflict there but there was something spiritual.

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The idol represented a spiritual entity and the box or the ark, God said, this is just to show you

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how powerful my presence is. So one of the ways we break strongholds of the enemy is by ushering in

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the stronghold of God or bringing heaven down. How does heaven enter a place today except through the

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citizens of heaven? In Philippians, you are actually called the citizens of heaven.

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You know why? Because Philippi was a tiny little city that was Greek. Philippi was Greek but

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strangely enough when Brutus killed Caesar, he escaped to Philippi and so the entire Roman army

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turns up at Philippi and says, give us Brutus and in exchange we'll give you Roman citizenship.

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And so they hand Brutus over and Philippi, this tiny little city in the middle of the city,

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this tiny little city in the middle of Greece suddenly becomes Roman citizens. It's like Trump

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saying to some small little town in Nagaland saying, hey Nagaland, I'm giving you US passports

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from now on if you hand Remy over to me. And so Remy is handed over and Nagaland gets US passports.

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It's the same thing that happened. And so this is why, sorry, this is why when Paul writes, he says,

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your citizenship does not belong to where you are. Your citizenship is in heaven because he knew,

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Philippi understood this very well, that they were a Roman colony in the middle of Greece,

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that they had Roman passports in the middle of Greece. And so this idea of ushering in the

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presence of God is crazy and this is what we want to do through worship. This is what we want to do

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when we pray for someone. This is what we want to do when we lay hands and heal somebody. Man,

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somebody gets healed, it's almost impossible to turn your back on Christ then. You can but it

00:24:20.040 --> 00:24:25.000
becomes more difficult. What do you do when someone comes with an ailment and you pray for him and he

00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:32.440
gets healed? How do you not turn to Christ then? It's still possible but it's difficult.

00:24:34.120 --> 00:24:40.040
So you break the strongholds of the devil by ushering in the stronghold of God. Any questions

00:24:40.040 --> 00:24:44.600
on that one? You want it explained better. We tear down high places by bringing heaven,

00:24:44.600 --> 00:24:49.960
which is higher down. This is the principle, guys. If we are seated with Christ in heavenly places

00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:54.680
and if the powers and principalities occupy the space below us and then there is the earth,

00:24:54.680 --> 00:24:58.680
we do not fight upwards, we fight downwards, we bring heaven down.

00:25:01.320 --> 00:25:07.160
Never forget that. We are seated in high heavenly places. It's not the enemy that has that ground.

00:25:07.960 --> 00:25:12.440
Ephesians 2 verse 4 to 6 says that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places

00:25:12.440 --> 00:25:18.520
above all principalities and powers. You fight down, you don't fight up.

00:25:18.920 --> 00:25:23.720
It's like having a vantage point on a mountain with people below you.

00:25:24.520 --> 00:25:33.480
Anyone who holds high ground holds the battle. So stop fighting down up, start fighting up down.

00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:43.320
This is important that we realize this because we try to scale and destroy what we think is in a

00:25:43.320 --> 00:25:47.320
high place. When we don't understand that seated with Christ in heavenly places, we are supposed to

00:25:48.280 --> 00:25:55.800
look down and say we have the advantage in Christ. And so we bring in the presence of God,

00:25:55.800 --> 00:26:01.240
God who is creator, God who is infinite, God who lives in our midst, God who lives in you.

00:26:02.840 --> 00:26:08.200
In the name of that Christ, when we go into situations, always be aware. This is where the

00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:12.280
laziness may affect us, where we don't go over this again and again, where I have to go home and think

00:26:12.280 --> 00:26:15.320
to myself, ah shucks, this is how I need to think.

00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:25.320
It's like Colorado playing the Canucks right now. The Canucks are last in the league and Colorado is

00:26:25.880 --> 00:26:31.240
top of the league. They don't play down. I mean they don't play up, they play down.

00:26:31.880 --> 00:26:35.080
Aaron must be thrilled hearing this, the other Aaron.

00:26:38.840 --> 00:26:39.880
Any questions?

00:26:43.400 --> 00:26:47.400
Second, warfare

00:26:50.680 --> 00:26:52.680
is corporate.

00:26:53.080 --> 00:26:55.080
And warfare

00:26:58.120 --> 00:27:00.120
is personal.

00:27:01.800 --> 00:27:07.960
As in how we fight affects everybody. How we

00:27:09.960 --> 00:27:11.960
deal with things

00:27:15.640 --> 00:27:17.640
affects us.

00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:19.640
How we deal with things

00:27:23.640 --> 00:27:25.640
affects the camp.

00:27:27.640 --> 00:27:37.640
This is why you can't or you don't want to not address weak links. So in Joshua 7, Joshua chapter 7,

00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:44.600
Joshua 7, sorry Joshua 7 verse 3 onwards, Joshua 7, 3,

00:27:46.680 --> 00:27:53.080
Joshua chapter 7 verse 3. There's this place called AI

00:27:54.760 --> 00:28:02.680
or I that Joshua's going to conquer but he's unable to defeat AI simply because there's a guy called

00:28:02.760 --> 00:28:10.040
Aiken who has stolen stuff that should not have been stolen. And every time they go out to fight

00:28:10.040 --> 00:28:18.440
they get beaten till Joshua deals with what Aiken had stolen. Till that is dealt with there's no

00:28:19.160 --> 00:28:28.920
victory. Warfare is corporate. We cannot afford Vibi to be someone who's messing around

00:28:28.920 --> 00:28:35.320
and is a weak link. Our intent should be can we make Vibi strong so that when we go out together

00:28:35.320 --> 00:28:44.520
there's nobody that can be taken. We fight as a unit. Part of the reason we teach and train

00:28:44.520 --> 00:28:52.440
is so that we fight as a unit. The reason the Roman army was so brilliant at its moves was because

00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:58.680
they knew how to fight together. They had different moves sometimes shields up so that after the

00:28:58.760 --> 00:29:04.040
arrows could not come in this way. Sometimes a phalanx of sorts that would literally be like

00:29:04.040 --> 00:29:09.720
the police deal with riots today. All that was invented more than 2000 years ago. The point being

00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:15.000
when there is a weak link it is important that it be strengthened. You don't remove a weak link,

00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:23.160
you strengthen it because a church suffers once there are eight or nine people who are not

00:29:23.160 --> 00:29:27.480
interested in walking in the training given a church begins to suffer.

00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:34.520
Any questions on that one? These are challenging statements we're making man.

00:29:36.840 --> 00:29:40.120
The easiest thing to do is just say forget it. You cannot forget it.

00:29:45.880 --> 00:29:46.600
Any questions?

00:29:46.680 --> 00:29:49.240
I picked on Vibi because I don't see him as a problem.

00:29:49.240 --> 00:29:52.040
Just so you know he's a new bassist we have to treat him well.

00:29:57.640 --> 00:30:03.640
Any questions on that? You hear what I'm saying. I'm saying that if Xavier doesn't step up to the

00:30:03.640 --> 00:30:09.240
responsibility he is given then that becomes an area where we need to then make sure that he steps

00:30:09.400 --> 00:30:16.840
up because that flank is then unguarded. Maybe he steps up all he needs is some biceps so then

00:30:16.840 --> 00:30:26.280
send Sheldon and Jeremy to help him build up his biceps. Do whatever it takes. Any questions?

00:30:26.760 --> 00:30:27.800
Any questions?

00:30:30.840 --> 00:30:36.360
Showing up is not enough. Being trained is important.

00:30:42.280 --> 00:30:45.320
I mean your enthusiasm is overpowering but I can handle it.

00:30:45.400 --> 00:30:54.680
Leviticus 26.6. God says to, I was going to say Leviticus 26.6.7 then I thought I better not

00:30:54.680 --> 00:30:59.720
because Jonathan will pick up on that. So Leviticus 26.6. Yeah.

00:31:03.240 --> 00:31:05.160
Let me read Leviticus 26.6.

00:31:05.960 --> 00:31:09.480
The 6-7 thing is driving me nuts now. You can't use that number.

00:31:10.600 --> 00:31:16.200
Okay here goes Leviticus 26. Let me start at verse 6 and then see if we go to the next verse

00:31:17.080 --> 00:31:22.520
before 8. It says I will grant peace in the land and you will lie down and no one will make you

00:31:22.520 --> 00:31:27.880
afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land and you will be free. I will remove the

00:31:27.960 --> 00:31:32.920
land. Verse 7. It says I will grant peace in the land and you will lie down and no one will make

00:31:32.920 --> 00:31:38.120
you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land and the sword will not pass through your

00:31:38.120 --> 00:31:42.600
country. Verse 7. You will pursue your enemies and they will fall by the sword before you.

00:31:42.600 --> 00:31:46.760
Five of you will chase a hundred and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand and your enemies will

00:31:46.760 --> 00:31:53.080
fall by the sword before you. The point being all spiritual warfare is far more effective when it's

00:31:53.080 --> 00:32:02.360
done corporately. Five a thousand, ten ten thousand. It grows exponentially.

00:32:10.200 --> 00:32:17.000
And so my job if I were a commander of a unit would be to make sure that everybody's trained

00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:22.520
and there are no weaklings. And sometimes you can rub people wrong when you train them. That's okay.

00:32:22.520 --> 00:32:24.920
Their life matters and the lives of others matters.

00:32:29.720 --> 00:32:35.160
Any commander worth his salt must insist on people being trained a certain way.

00:32:42.760 --> 00:32:47.880
This warfare is also personal. Luke chapter 4 verse 2. Luke chapter 4 verse 2. Here's what it

00:32:47.880 --> 00:32:53.400
says. And look forward to. And Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted

00:32:53.400 --> 00:33:04.280
by the devil. There are only two realms guys. Power of darkness, power of light, power of satan,

00:33:04.280 --> 00:33:10.040
power of God. Dominion of darkness, kingdom of the sun. And it is constantly opposed to each other.

00:33:10.040 --> 00:33:19.720
It is hostile. And so Jesus had the same problem to deal with. But in Luke 4 2 he was led by the

00:33:19.720 --> 00:33:27.320
spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Go to Luke 22 verse 3. Luke 22 verse 3. And in

00:33:27.320 --> 00:33:36.120
Luke 22 verse 3 it says and then satan, sorry, Luke 22 verse 3 says yeah and then satan entered

00:33:36.120 --> 00:33:41.880
Judas. And that is when Judas begins to decide that he's going to sell Jesus for 30 pieces of

00:33:41.880 --> 00:33:50.440
silver which wasn't a lot of money. It actually says satan entered Jesus. This is an invisible

00:33:50.440 --> 00:33:58.600
force, not invisible force, an invisible being entering a human person, inciting the person

00:33:58.600 --> 00:34:02.040
to betray one of the finest men

00:34:04.920 --> 00:34:14.360
in history. How does that even happen? Next one, Mark 8 33. Mark 8 33. Jesus's trusted disciple Peter

00:34:16.040 --> 00:34:20.840
begins to advise Jesus that listen it's a really bad idea to go to the cross so why don't you just

00:34:20.840 --> 00:34:26.040
skip the cross we'll just have Christmas, no Good Friday. And Jesus had to turn around to him

00:34:26.040 --> 00:34:33.240
and he actually says get thee behind me not Peter but get thee behind me satan. Acts chapter 5

00:34:34.040 --> 00:34:41.960
verse maybe 20 or 22. Peter is now at the giving end where he looks at Ananias and Sapphira and he

00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:48.680
says to Ananias and says to him listen what happened? Why did you follow satan? How did you

00:34:48.680 --> 00:34:54.280
fall for what satan wants to do through your life? Why did you lie to the Holy Spirit? This is personal

00:34:54.280 --> 00:35:05.320
guys and unless we recognize it we cannot fight it. Any questions?

00:35:09.080 --> 00:35:14.280
By the time we are done I want us to be so sure that there are only two realms and I'm always

00:35:14.280 --> 00:35:21.400
choosing, always choosing, always choosing. I want us here in this church to know that it's a constant

00:35:21.400 --> 00:35:27.560
pressure here on earth and the only way to overcome this pressure is to like somebody more

00:35:29.080 --> 00:35:35.560
and that is do I like the father more or do I like myself more? As believers, as Christians we won't

00:35:35.560 --> 00:35:40.200
say we want to follow the devil but here's the thing I like myself sometimes far more than God

00:35:40.200 --> 00:35:48.040
and every time I do that there's someone waiting just outside the door wanting to take advantage of

00:35:48.040 --> 00:35:55.400
it. There are only two realms you're constantly dealing with them. I mean the next question that

00:35:55.400 --> 00:35:59.720
Acts 29 people gave me was why are we what do we do about distraction? Where do you think

00:35:59.720 --> 00:36:04.200
distraction comes from? Why is it that you're highly distracted especially when someone is

00:36:04.200 --> 00:36:10.280
preaching? Why are you highly distracted when reading the word? Why are you highly distracted

00:36:10.280 --> 00:36:15.560
when it comes to times of prayer? Why is it that you who can understand quantum physics can't

00:36:15.560 --> 00:36:21.320
understand that Jesus Christ died and rose again? How is that even possible? What kind of dullness

00:36:21.320 --> 00:36:27.480
occupies the mind that prevents us from understanding simple truths? The Bible says in 2nd Corinthians

00:36:27.480 --> 00:36:33.720
and in Ephesians 2 that the God of this world has blinded our minds. It's like a veil that comes over

00:36:33.720 --> 00:36:44.600
your eyes. It's crazy how active this enemy is guys. Leave alone the strife that he sows between

00:36:44.600 --> 00:36:47.400
friends and family husbands and wives siblings.

00:36:54.920 --> 00:36:55.400
Yep.

00:36:55.400 --> 00:37:17.160
Yeah. How do you handle evil attacks from Satan when you're not part of a group that can walk with

00:37:17.160 --> 00:37:24.840
you, support you, encourage you? Very difficult. It's like herds where there's a straggler and he's

00:37:24.840 --> 00:37:30.120
easy picking for a predator and it's much easier when you walk with a herd.

00:37:32.120 --> 00:37:39.400
And you can invite people in but there are two things I often hear from people. I don't feel

00:37:39.400 --> 00:37:45.160
I belong. So that's one thing I hear and then the second thing I hear is

00:37:46.920 --> 00:37:53.640
no I've been treated very badly in the past and I don't want to commit to anything right now.

00:37:54.920 --> 00:38:01.720
Both may be valid. I'm not saying these are not valid reasons but these are two things that

00:38:01.720 --> 00:38:13.080
usually end up having people devoured because they are stragglers. Next one.

00:38:17.000 --> 00:38:23.640
We said this last time warfare involves angelic activity. Warfare always involves

00:38:24.920 --> 00:38:33.240
angelic activities. Angelic activity. Why? Because invisible evil spirits

00:38:35.240 --> 00:38:47.240
are actually fallen angels that rebelled against God and therefore ones that

00:38:47.480 --> 00:38:56.280
deal with them are angels that are part

00:38:59.080 --> 00:39:09.480
of God's angelic army which is millions. It says it's uncountable.

00:39:10.120 --> 00:39:20.280
It's uncountable. You see that in Genesis 3 24. You see first angelic activity in Genesis 3 24

00:39:20.280 --> 00:39:26.120
when Adam and Eve have to leave Eden and there's an angel appointed at the entry of Eden with a

00:39:26.120 --> 00:39:31.960
sword that keeps moving from left to right. In Revelation chapter 14 you again see angelic

00:39:31.960 --> 00:39:38.200
activity where there's an angel that's going across the earth announcing that the time for

00:39:38.200 --> 00:39:43.720
salvation is going to end and the judgment is coming. And so be it in the beginning of the

00:39:43.720 --> 00:39:50.440
Bible or the end of the Bible you see ridiculous amounts of angelic activity. Revelations 14 verse

00:39:50.440 --> 00:39:57.800
7 onwards. What we don't realize is that once we begin to engage in works, what do you want to read

00:39:57.800 --> 00:40:02.600
Jeremy? Which is not clear. Let me try.

00:40:05.800 --> 00:40:12.280
Ones that deal with are angels that are part of God's angelic army Williams.

00:40:16.120 --> 00:40:26.200
I don't know what the last word is but millions millions not Williams millions yeah yeah they

00:40:26.760 --> 00:40:35.880
number into the millions. Yeah so yeah you see that in Revelation 14. One of the things that

00:40:35.880 --> 00:40:39.880
will begin to happen and we'll hear reports of this. I'm not looking for reports but you will

00:40:39.880 --> 00:40:45.560
hear as you begin to engage in a city this way you will begin to hear reports of angelic activity

00:40:45.560 --> 00:40:53.160
amongst us because this is how it works. Hebrews chapter 1 talks about it that ministers of fire

00:40:53.160 --> 00:41:00.200
another word for angels who are involved in the salvation of people and you'll see this happening.

00:41:05.640 --> 00:41:12.920
You know Tooney had a conversation with me four days ago and he said Jacob if you finish by 6 10

00:41:13.720 --> 00:41:15.000
I'll take you out for dinner.

00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:23.080
And then he goes sings so many songs and leaves me very little time.

00:41:29.800 --> 00:41:31.480
Okay I'm gonna try for 6 10.

00:41:34.120 --> 00:41:38.040
Tomorrow dinner Tooney. 6 10.

00:41:45.480 --> 00:41:54.360
Symbols are used in warfare. Please remember this. I pray God that the ones who lead churches here

00:41:54.360 --> 00:42:00.360
and ones who are in leadership will remember this and keep repeating it and that you remember too.

00:42:00.360 --> 00:42:10.120
All of us symbols are used symbols are used in the realm of warfare. Symbols are used in the realm of

00:42:10.680 --> 00:42:18.040
warfare. Symbols are used in the realm of warfare. Brandon.

00:42:29.240 --> 00:42:37.000
Okay symbols are used in the realm of warfare. So and it's used by both realms. They buy both

00:42:37.000 --> 00:42:44.280
realms. Please understand the satanic realm use symbols objects and it's spiritual realm of God

00:42:44.280 --> 00:42:48.520
uses symbols. One of the first symbols of warfare guess what it was the rainbow.

00:42:51.160 --> 00:42:59.640
It was God's weapon in the sky that said listen I know the earth has been destroyed by a flood to

00:43:00.200 --> 00:43:06.440
remove all that was hostile but I put this weapon in the sky and so it's not this pretty little

00:43:06.440 --> 00:43:11.960
oh look at the rainbow click click click it was actually a weapon man that was meant to let us

00:43:11.960 --> 00:43:20.040
know that he who is the lord of hosts will not destroy again by fire or by water. It is a weapon

00:43:20.040 --> 00:43:27.080
you see the satan using it too. Did you know that when Moses put up that bronze serpent

00:43:27.640 --> 00:43:33.480
that people looked at to preserve them from the plague did you know that Israel later took that

00:43:33.480 --> 00:43:41.320
very serpent and began to worship it and it's called Nehushtan. What about Asherah poles?

00:43:42.920 --> 00:43:49.080
Trees that were cut. Totem poles are not new. Asherah poles have existed for more than two

00:43:49.080 --> 00:43:54.520
thousand three thousand years and God forbids it saying listen you're not to make Asherah poles.

00:43:54.520 --> 00:43:59.400
You're not to bring them in anywhere near the altar. You're to cut them down. You're to undo high

00:43:59.400 --> 00:44:04.280
places because they were these were symbolic places of worship that were used by satan.

00:44:09.160 --> 00:44:16.280
God uses it. The enemy uses it too. Did you know that in Joshua chapter 8 Joshua remembers a battle

00:44:16.280 --> 00:44:21.960
where Moses had to have both his hands held high while he was fighting and guess what he does in

00:44:21.960 --> 00:44:29.320
Joshua chapter 8. He's again at that place called Ai and he has to he's told by God go I'll give you

00:44:29.320 --> 00:44:34.920
victory and then in Joshua chapter 8 verse 22 or something God says to him I want to take I want

00:44:34.920 --> 00:44:40.680
you to take your javelin and hold it out high and Joshua holds his javelin up. You know how long he

00:44:40.680 --> 00:44:48.120
had to hold the javelin up till the battle was done. In verse 26 or 27 it says Joshua held the

00:44:48.120 --> 00:44:56.120
javelin up till the battle was done. Most of the things that we say is spiritual warfare is actually

00:44:56.120 --> 00:45:00.280
highly symbolic and it doesn't look like fighting but it has tremendous power.

00:45:00.920 --> 00:45:08.760
Symbols are important in both realms which is why it's advisable not to become a tourist in

00:45:08.760 --> 00:45:16.840
Vietnam or Hong Kong or Nagaland and bring upon yourself things that do not necessarily come from

00:45:17.880 --> 00:45:23.000
the nature of God. So many places that I go to I'll be offered charms I'll be offered little

00:45:23.560 --> 00:45:29.400
idols and little knickknacks that I know do not reflect the truth of Christ.

00:45:36.840 --> 00:45:37.480
Any questions?

00:45:45.320 --> 00:45:50.280
Oh Jacob it was harmless it was just something that they gave out of love. Hey try telling that

00:45:50.280 --> 00:45:54.280
to your wife when you pull out things that your former girlfriend gave you now that you're married.

00:45:54.280 --> 00:45:55.080
See how that goes.

00:46:03.480 --> 00:46:04.680
Silence in the room. Men?

00:46:09.400 --> 00:46:12.680
Any questions? Okay next one.

00:46:12.680 --> 00:46:20.680
We start this way of thinking of Richmond and of the world and you'll realize it suddenly becomes

00:46:20.680 --> 00:46:27.880
generational as in the church that comes in after this. Acts 29 will this will become natural for us.

00:46:27.880 --> 00:46:32.200
Do you know how natural worship is for us? Do you know how natural hearing God is for us?

00:46:32.200 --> 00:46:37.160
Do you know how natural it is to belong to a body here? Do you know how natural it is to be flexible

00:46:37.160 --> 00:46:42.440
here? Do you know how natural it is to be flexible here? Do you know how natural it is to do things

00:46:42.440 --> 00:46:47.880
without a plan but still pretty orderly even if not even though it's not excellent? Do you know

00:46:47.880 --> 00:46:53.320
how natural it is? Do you know how long it took? 20 years. When we begin to do this this will become

00:46:53.320 --> 00:47:00.120
natural. We'll raise waves of generations of militant people who know how to deal with spiritual

00:47:00.120 --> 00:47:04.520
realities not theological realities spiritual realities.

00:47:07.480 --> 00:47:13.320
And you see this you see this with Abraham and then you see it with Isaac then you see it with

00:47:13.880 --> 00:47:19.800
Jacob then you see it with Joseph then you see it with Judah. You know when Isaac was being offered

00:47:19.800 --> 00:47:25.880
on the altar once Abraham obeys you know what God says to him? I want you to know that Isaac will

00:47:25.960 --> 00:47:33.560
have his foot on the neck of his enemies. Isaac gives birth to Jacob and it says of Jacob and

00:47:33.560 --> 00:47:39.160
then God changed his name and he named him Israel and he said you have contended with God and man

00:47:39.160 --> 00:47:46.200
and you have prevailed and then it moves to Joseph and Pharaoh says to Joseph I am Pharaoh but in

00:47:46.200 --> 00:47:53.480
Egypt no one will move a hand or foot till you say so and then it moves to Judah. Judah is a lion's

00:47:53.480 --> 00:48:00.200
whelp. He has his hand on the neck of his enemies and it goes on. What we are building here even a

00:48:00.200 --> 00:48:05.400
simple teaching like this is meant to be something that goes so deep in that generation after

00:48:05.400 --> 00:48:10.600
generation at Acts 29 and now we are not talking about 14 or 15 years. Right now in this room there

00:48:10.600 --> 00:48:19.080
are more than five generations man. It becomes natural for them. This is not a teaching to

00:48:19.080 --> 00:48:23.320
entertain us. This is a teaching to build something into this church that will benefit the city and

00:48:23.320 --> 00:48:31.080
other cities in the world forever because it's always generational.

00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:41.480
You can add to it like you add to Christmas traditions but it is generational. The next

00:48:41.480 --> 00:48:50.920
thing is communion. Communion and baptism. Communion and baptism. Is it okay? Communion

00:48:50.920 --> 00:48:58.520
and baptism. Guys when you go to the Passover you read Exodus 12 12 and it says in Exodus 12 12

00:48:58.520 --> 00:49:04.760
12 that when they had the first communion the first time they had Passover it said God ordained

00:49:04.760 --> 00:49:12.040
this meal for the judgment of the gods of Egypt. Begin to use sometimes when you partake of communion

00:49:12.040 --> 00:49:20.680
think of it as a weapon. We always think of it as remembering what Christ has done. Well go

00:49:20.680 --> 00:49:25.880
back a little more and remember what Christ did because what we are going through today is the new

00:49:25.880 --> 00:49:33.000
Exodus but there was an Exodus long ago when God delivered his people out of bondage brought them

00:49:33.000 --> 00:49:38.040
through the Red Sea brought them into the promised land and the same thing happens again and again

00:49:38.040 --> 00:49:43.640
and again and one of the things he says is as you begin to eat this meal know a few things. One

00:49:43.720 --> 00:49:49.240
Satan will not be able to enter your homes. Two I'll judge the gods of Egypt.

00:49:50.840 --> 00:49:57.400
Three I'll show them that you are different because in Goshen you will have light. In Goshen

00:49:57.400 --> 00:50:04.840
you will have plenty while in the rest of Egypt there'll be darkness. Even baptism

00:50:07.480 --> 00:50:12.200
even baptism is a weapon. How is it a weapon? It makes you a distinct person.

00:50:13.720 --> 00:50:19.080
It makes you a separate person. You know in India you don't see it much in Canada. In India

00:50:19.080 --> 00:50:25.560
you can follow Jesus but the problem is only when you get baptized because when you get baptized

00:50:25.560 --> 00:50:31.640
you're suddenly making a declaration that I now belong to Christ. Till you make that declaration

00:50:31.640 --> 00:50:38.200
Jesus can be one of many gods but the moment you make that declaration that I'm getting baptized

00:50:38.200 --> 00:50:39.640
that's when all hell breaks loose.

00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:48.120
The sacraments we have offered in Christianity are just two

00:50:48.120 --> 00:50:55.640
baptism communion nothing else nothing else is sacred just those two.

00:50:59.720 --> 00:51:01.320
It's an allegiance we are declaring.

00:51:01.320 --> 00:51:08.920
When you become a Canadian citizen or when someone joins the president's cabinet I love the way they

00:51:08.920 --> 00:51:14.200
swear they say we serve at the pleasure of the president of the United States of America.

00:51:14.200 --> 00:51:18.520
Doesn't matter which company they belong to they quit because they serve just one.

00:51:21.880 --> 00:51:25.720
Allegiance is critical in war. There are no mercenaries eh.

00:51:26.360 --> 00:51:33.320
I got 10 minutes. Tony's dinner oh my god just thinking of it makes me want to go faster.

00:51:36.120 --> 00:51:39.720
You know in 1st Corinthians 10 18 we don't realize this when

00:51:41.320 --> 00:51:46.680
in 1st Corinthians 10 18 it says you cannot eat at the Lord's table and at the table of demons.

00:51:46.680 --> 00:51:51.000
Why say that? Why are you saying that to the Romans? These were Christians in Rome why are

00:51:51.960 --> 00:51:55.720
you saying that to the Romans? These were Christians in Rome why are you saying that?

00:51:55.720 --> 00:52:00.520
Because by the time the letters being written to them they were guilds they were trades guilds

00:52:01.720 --> 00:52:07.800
GUILDS and every time you went for one of these guild meetings there would be Caesar statue there

00:52:07.800 --> 00:52:12.120
would be pagan rituals and you would have to participate in them if you wanted to be part of

00:52:12.120 --> 00:52:17.800
the Roman businessman's chamber chamber of commerce in Rome and so Paul is saying to them you have a

00:52:17.800 --> 00:52:24.360
choice now either you partake in those pagan rituals and eat those meals and he calls them

00:52:24.360 --> 00:52:28.920
the table of demons or just participate in the Lord's table you can't have both.

00:52:30.760 --> 00:52:39.960
Allegiance matters man. The next one praise praise Exodus 15 verse 3 you know the reason we

00:52:39.960 --> 00:52:45.400
should have worship nights or praise nights or whatever you want to call it is for this reason

00:52:46.280 --> 00:52:50.520
Exodus 15 verse 1 to 3 Moses was a worship leader

00:52:52.840 --> 00:52:59.240
so what does he do? He just sees the Red Sea completely decimate the Egyptian army

00:52:59.240 --> 00:53:04.120
and so Moses begins to write a song and after writing the song Moses begins to sing the song

00:53:04.840 --> 00:53:12.040
and the song goes something like this that the Lord our God is a man of war that's a song

00:53:12.040 --> 00:53:17.720
it's a militant song the Lord our God is a man of war he has thrown the horse and the rider into the

00:53:17.720 --> 00:53:25.160
sea and then at some point Miriam hears it and Miriam grabs a tambourine and then the ladies join

00:53:25.160 --> 00:53:34.760
her and they all start doing the tambourine man and they begin to dance and sing.

00:53:35.240 --> 00:53:37.320
Dance and sing.

00:53:40.200 --> 00:53:46.520
Praise must be because here's how it works guys this is the equation for for future

00:53:47.480 --> 00:53:54.760
praise nights be tomorrow or be it next week here's a simple equation first Exodus 15 1

00:53:54.760 --> 00:54:11.480
Exodus 15 1 the Lord is a man of war from there we go to numbers 23

00:54:13.720 --> 00:54:20.360
21 which says the shout of the king is in their midst

00:54:20.920 --> 00:54:25.800
a people who know that their God is the God of war then go into this next stage where the shout

00:54:25.800 --> 00:54:32.600
of the king is in their midst as in here is a people who are so confident of who walks among

00:54:32.600 --> 00:54:39.880
them that they can't stop shouting Balaam who is trying to curse Israel says to Balak the king

00:54:39.880 --> 00:54:45.000
who hired him to curse Israel he says hey I want you to know that I hear a sound but it is a not

00:54:45.000 --> 00:54:49.080
of not the sound of a people who are confused and running it is the sound of a

00:54:49.080 --> 00:54:55.560
sound of a of a people who suddenly know that the king is in their midst and that he is creator

00:54:55.560 --> 00:55:11.080
and he is Lord and then from there you go to Psalm 8 verse 2 which is our praises silence the enemy

00:55:12.200 --> 00:55:16.520
this is a progression this is the progression Tuni has to capture this is the progression that

00:55:16.520 --> 00:55:25.400
he has to bring to us it's not so I mean this church has been ministered to in terms of bondage

00:55:25.400 --> 00:55:31.480
and in terms of freedom plenty of time now it is time for the people to realize that the Lord is a

00:55:31.480 --> 00:55:37.080
man of war two that the shout of the king is in our midst and three that is how we silence the enemy

00:55:38.520 --> 00:55:39.480
that's the progression

00:55:39.880 --> 00:55:44.520
these are the things that we will experience as we go out into Richmond this is not theory this is

00:55:44.520 --> 00:55:49.720
real because there are only two realms there's the dominion of darkness and the kingdom of the sun

00:55:50.920 --> 00:55:54.520
what are we talking about right now we're talking about how the kingdom of the sun works

00:55:56.760 --> 00:56:06.440
the next one is presence every time our people go out to war spiritually God will make his presence

00:56:07.000 --> 00:56:14.120
will make his presence known he'll reassure with his presence either it'll be a pillar of fire and

00:56:14.120 --> 00:56:20.360
cloud like it was with Israel or it will be God turning up with his sword and sheath like he did

00:56:20.360 --> 00:56:26.520
with Joshua and Joshua asked him who are you for and he says I'm not for anybody but I'm the commander

00:56:26.520 --> 00:56:32.120
of the armies of Israel or it'll be Joshua taking a walk because he's so scared of taking Jericho

00:56:32.120 --> 00:56:37.480
and he hears two people talking and they say man we are so scared of the Israelites we're like

00:56:37.480 --> 00:56:48.040
grasshoppers before them here's a crazy thing guys the powers of darkness in Richmond the powers

00:56:48.040 --> 00:56:54.760
behind all false philosophies and religions they know they are aware of what it is when

00:56:54.920 --> 00:56:56.680
people are aware of the presence of God

00:56:59.240 --> 00:57:07.160
how do we know this we hear about it in Acts chapter 19 we hear about it in Mark chapter 5

00:57:07.160 --> 00:57:13.080
the demons say to Jesus why have you come to torment us before our time they recognize Jesus

00:57:13.080 --> 00:57:18.520
and they recognize Jesus in the flesh and they recognize Jesus in the people the sons of skeeva

00:57:18.520 --> 00:57:24.600
Acts chapter 19 Jesus I know all I know but who the heck are you they didn't say heck who are you

00:57:27.720 --> 00:57:33.720
Jesus I know Paul I know but who are you guys when a people become aware of the fact that

00:57:33.720 --> 00:57:40.040
the enemy is aware of the one who dwells in you those people have a swagger in their step

00:57:48.520 --> 00:57:55.880
shoot you know what one one one one Sunday all I'll talk about is anecdotes but we can't go into

00:57:55.880 --> 00:58:03.480
anecdotes yet we have to establish this on scriptural principles and then we'll talk about stories

00:58:04.840 --> 00:58:08.840
so many every time I make a point I want to tell a story

00:58:09.560 --> 00:58:13.560
so many every time I make a point I want to tell a story

00:58:19.000 --> 00:58:25.720
precise obedience precise obedience guys the powers know that the Lord fights for us against

00:58:25.720 --> 00:58:31.960
them powers know that the Lord fights for us against them powers know that exodus 1425

00:58:33.000 --> 00:58:36.760
the Egyptians began to say oh shucks their god is fighting for them our chariot wheels are coming

00:58:36.920 --> 00:58:44.120
off in second kings 17 there's a very interesting story the Babylonians run over

00:58:44.840 --> 00:58:51.000
Israeli territory and then you hear them saying to the king hey you know they're god

00:58:51.560 --> 00:58:55.960
is pretty upset with us there are lots of lions roaming around eating up our people

00:58:55.960 --> 00:59:00.200
so why don't you call some of the Israeli priests to come and dwell with us so we'll be safe from

00:59:00.200 --> 00:59:06.600
these lions they're very aware of how powerful God is that's in second king 17 you should read it it's

00:59:06.600 --> 00:59:21.960
a very strange story precise obedience precise obedience precise obedience you've got to follow

00:59:22.520 --> 00:59:31.960
precisely what God outlines in spiritual warfare Jericho required six rounds around it and the

00:59:31.960 --> 00:59:40.840
seventh one was a shout rehab required to hang a scarlet rope outside her house if she wanted

00:59:40.840 --> 00:59:47.480
to be saved the blood needed the blood of bulls and goats needed to be put on the houses if the

00:59:47.480 --> 00:59:56.520
enemy was to pass over David had to find out from God if he was supposed to go and attack the giants

00:59:56.520 --> 01:00:01.800
and refine and God's reply was when you hear the sound of marching above the balsam trees

01:00:01.800 --> 01:00:11.320
that's when you're supposed to step out in the book of acts in Ephesus Paul had to know what to do

01:00:11.880 --> 01:00:18.120
in each situation so that in the end Ephesus burned three million dollars worth of chal charms and

01:00:18.120 --> 01:00:24.760
magic paparazzi if you ever go to the British Museum the National Museum of Britain in London

01:00:24.760 --> 01:00:32.600
you will still see paparazzi from Ephesus with some of the most hideous magic chants you can ever

01:00:32.600 --> 01:00:37.880
imagine still written on paparazzi preserved there but thousands and thousands of them are lost

01:00:37.880 --> 01:00:43.400
because in Acts 19 people realize that the power of God that's working through Paul is so extreme

01:00:43.400 --> 01:00:48.120
where even handkerchiefs that touched his body are bringing healing to people that they start

01:00:48.120 --> 01:00:53.720
burning their magic books burning their paparazzi burning their charms three million dollars worth

01:00:53.720 --> 01:00:57.880
of it in USD

01:01:05.720 --> 01:01:12.360
these are my expectations in Richmond I'm not making a statement of faith I'm just making a

01:01:12.360 --> 01:01:16.920
statement of fact these are my expectations Richmond what are yours

01:01:23.720 --> 01:01:31.640
um yes good question but the answer makes me laugh it is so hard to follow these commands

01:01:31.640 --> 01:01:36.600
because they are so absurd that you'd have to trust God they're walking around a well-walled

01:01:36.600 --> 01:01:41.640
city six times quietly and then shouting and expecting the walls to come down man

01:01:42.600 --> 01:01:49.080
that's not an easy command to follow obedience if we were not rational enough to follow God

01:01:49.080 --> 01:01:55.640
an easy command to follow obedience if we were not rationalizing people if you were not people

01:01:55.640 --> 01:02:02.280
that this time does not come into the sixth and this is a question he asked yeah this is like

01:02:02.280 --> 01:02:13.160
extra time during soccer matches this is that kind of time yeah so it's obedient before the fall there

01:02:13.160 --> 01:02:18.680
was no speculative thinking reasoning or rationalizing and therefore obedience did not

01:02:18.680 --> 01:02:24.760
require faith but ever since the fall since man began began to reason speculate doubt

01:02:25.560 --> 01:02:30.280
and rationalize we've had to now exercise faith to obey

01:02:35.560 --> 01:02:41.720
so to obey these commands like I mean just imagine it just imagine that you hear tomorrow that

01:02:41.720 --> 01:02:46.680
Vancouver's going to have a massive earthquake and the only thing you have to do is hang a red

01:02:46.680 --> 01:02:57.320
ribbon on your window and you'll be safe that's precise obedience but it requires a lot of faith

01:02:57.320 --> 01:03:07.800
the last one purity purity precedes victory purity precedes victory in God's warfare patterns in God's

01:03:07.880 --> 01:03:19.320
warfare patterns purity precedes victory if this church does not pursue with passion blazing

01:03:19.320 --> 01:03:24.600
purity this church will know everything but will not be able to step into it

01:03:24.600 --> 01:03:39.240
because it's he's a holy god and in a strange way what he exercises against invisible spiritual

01:03:39.240 --> 01:03:44.120
forces is a holy war against unholy powers

01:03:44.120 --> 01:03:51.640
so the required to have cleansed consciences

01:03:54.440 --> 01:03:57.640
and right relationship with the maker

01:04:01.080 --> 01:04:02.040
is critical

01:04:04.120 --> 01:04:11.960
and this is why Israel had rituals that they would have to undergo before the fall of the fall

01:04:11.960 --> 01:04:17.960
they would have to undergo before the battle and after the battle because after the battle they

01:04:17.960 --> 01:04:26.600
sometimes pollute themselves with things that were devoted to other gods they were not supposed to

01:04:26.600 --> 01:04:31.080
touch they were supposed to burn and so there were rituals that Israel would go through both before

01:04:31.080 --> 01:04:35.000
the battle and after the battle why because they were always supposed to stand with cleansed

01:04:35.000 --> 01:04:41.480
consciousness and right relationship with the maker and so the last statement I want to make so

01:04:41.480 --> 01:04:43.880
I can get to my dinner is that the courtroom

01:04:52.280 --> 01:04:55.480
mark you're the one who's at fault here

01:05:00.200 --> 01:05:02.520
the courtroom affects

01:05:05.080 --> 01:05:05.960
the battlefield

01:05:11.560 --> 01:05:13.640
the courtroom affects the battlefield

01:05:16.680 --> 01:05:19.560
in other words righteousness

01:05:22.120 --> 01:05:22.920
is connected

01:05:25.480 --> 01:05:26.120
to warfare

01:05:30.440 --> 01:05:32.200
righteousness is connected to warfare

01:05:32.840 --> 01:05:34.360
is connected to warfare

01:05:36.360 --> 01:05:37.800
Satan's primary weapon

01:05:44.520 --> 01:05:46.440
is condemnation

01:05:49.880 --> 01:05:50.840
and intimidation

01:05:54.200 --> 01:05:56.680
in all warfare in all spiritual warfare

01:05:57.320 --> 01:06:02.520
is only weapon its primary weapon is condemnation and intimidation we'll stop there next week we'll

01:06:02.520 --> 01:06:09.800
talk about one of the things that really arms you for battle is this question that I want to ask

01:06:09.800 --> 01:06:17.000
you and perhaps you can explore it do you know the crucified christ the risen christ and the

01:06:17.000 --> 01:06:23.160
ascended christ just write down that question think about it do you know the crucified christ

01:06:23.240 --> 01:06:28.040
it's not three different christ but it's important to know the christ who was crucified

01:06:28.920 --> 01:06:36.840
what did that do for you the christ who is risen what has that done for us and the ascended christ

01:06:36.840 --> 01:06:42.520
which is critical for warfare we can't cover it today so I want to go back to this last statement

01:06:42.520 --> 01:06:49.720
satan's primary weapon is condemnation and intimidation so here's a question I want to ask us

01:06:50.440 --> 01:06:52.040
so that we can be free from it

01:06:55.800 --> 01:07:04.360
are you someone who feels condemned quite often you feel condemned when a wrong thought crosses

01:07:04.360 --> 01:07:10.920
your mind you feel condemned when your heart feels anger you feel condemned when you haven't read

01:07:10.920 --> 01:07:18.920
the word you feel condemned when your eyes stray or your mind strays you feel condemned when you

01:07:18.920 --> 01:07:25.720
think you could have done better you feel condemned when someone says something about you

01:07:25.720 --> 01:07:30.280
that you realize could be true you feel condemned when you don't meet the standards and the

01:07:30.280 --> 01:07:37.240
expectations of people you feel condemned when anger rises or fear rises you feel condemned

01:07:39.400 --> 01:07:46.840
I'd like to say there are plenty of us like that here plenty of us I wanted to end today

01:07:49.480 --> 01:07:51.560
I wanted to end for me and I wanted to end for you

01:07:58.120 --> 01:08:04.840
there's a sense of you're always coming up short the sense of condemnation

01:08:08.520 --> 01:08:14.280
when anger rises when anger rises what are you doing with it are you playing with it are you

01:08:14.280 --> 01:08:21.800
molding it or are you seeing it rise and letting it go because you don't want to mess with it

01:08:24.120 --> 01:08:29.480
condemnation is being used against us powerfully guys I want us to be free from it today

01:08:35.800 --> 01:08:41.800
his words to you are listen I know that these things rise in your heart but I also see

01:08:41.800 --> 01:08:46.280
how you take a stance against it and don't touch it or don't mess with it or touch it

01:08:46.280 --> 01:08:48.920
and walk away but you don't want to play with it

01:08:52.120 --> 01:08:56.600
and he knows you've overcome but this weapon is being used against you so often

01:08:56.600 --> 01:08:58.040
that you think you haven't overcome

01:09:01.400 --> 01:09:02.360
that's a crazy thing

01:09:02.360 --> 01:09:16.680
an intimidation we are afraid intimidation or afraid afraid of what will not work out afraid

01:09:16.680 --> 01:09:21.960
of how tomorrow will not pan out afraid of all the things that you're praying for that may not

01:09:21.960 --> 01:09:31.000
happen afraid I want to read you something from a pastor who wrote to me and it just occurred to me

01:09:33.320 --> 01:09:37.000
that's my the only reason I'm reading it is because

01:09:39.320 --> 01:09:46.200
it might help someone here you know if Tony had said that he would treat me for dinner we'd have

01:09:46.200 --> 01:09:50.200
been done by now

01:10:03.160 --> 01:10:05.160
you

01:10:09.960 --> 01:10:16.200
he's written his testimony this is the fourth bit

01:10:24.440 --> 01:10:28.280
from a young age I struggled against the sin inside me

01:10:29.240 --> 01:10:35.960
but I was never able to overcome it I failed in many ways but the strongest bondage in my life was

01:10:35.960 --> 01:10:43.880
pornography I began consuming it when I was young even at a time when access was not as easy as it

01:10:43.880 --> 01:10:52.440
is today around age 30 things got worse I was living alone now had constant access to technology

01:10:52.600 --> 01:10:58.760
which made everything easier and more frequent I at 34 I met the woman who is now my wife

01:11:00.200 --> 01:11:06.040
before getting married I openly confessed my problem to her for years I had begged God to

01:11:06.040 --> 01:11:12.360
change me to remove that addiction but nothing seemed to happen in my mind in my mind God had

01:11:12.360 --> 01:11:19.640
to remove all my defects in order to save me if he didn't remove them then I wasn't saved after

01:11:19.640 --> 01:11:24.600
marrying my wife there were nights when I sat on the edge of the bed crying and said to her why

01:11:24.600 --> 01:11:32.200
doesn't God take this away from me why doesn't he change me I want to love him I want to please him

01:11:32.200 --> 01:11:37.640
but I can't do it that's something that condemnation brings out hey you begin to almost

01:11:37.640 --> 01:11:41.800
think that you don't love him because there's this constant voice that condemns you

01:11:44.040 --> 01:11:49.320
why doesn't God take this away from me why doesn't he change me I want to love him I want to please

01:11:49.320 --> 01:11:55.160
him but I can't do it she comforted me and encouraged me to trust in God but I felt like

01:11:55.160 --> 01:12:02.280
nothing would change what grew inside me was guilt and a deep sense of condemnation eventually I

01:12:02.280 --> 01:12:09.000
reached a point where I sincerely thought God doesn't exist my reasoning was simple if he existed

01:12:09.000 --> 01:12:14.760
if he were good if he heard me then he'd have done something already I didn't want to keep believing

01:12:14.760 --> 01:12:21.480
in a God who from my perspective never acted I told my wife I would become an atheist but first

01:12:21.480 --> 01:12:25.880
I wanted to investigate seriously I didn't want to make that decision out of anger but out of

01:12:25.880 --> 01:12:33.400
evidence so I began studying history scripture arguments for and against the faith after that

01:12:33.400 --> 01:12:38.280
process I concluded there are solid reasons to trust the Bible and that there is historical

01:12:38.280 --> 01:12:44.040
evidence for a real Jesus at that point I told my wife if the Bible is trustworthy and if Jesus

01:12:44.040 --> 01:12:51.720
said what he said then he doesn't lie he fulfills what he promises but I'm not going to ask pastors

01:12:51.720 --> 01:12:57.000
anymore they all tell me the same thing you're a sinner repent and I feel like I've spent my

01:12:57.000 --> 01:13:02.840
years crying and asking for forgiveness that for me was repentance so I'm going to seek Jesus alone

01:13:02.840 --> 01:13:09.240
if he doesn't intervene no one else has an answer I decided I would pray as long as necessary until

01:13:09.320 --> 01:13:15.080
Jesus did something I would come home from work at night and pray nine ten eleven at night one or

01:13:15.080 --> 01:13:19.880
two hours each day one of those nights after telling my wife that nothing was happening

01:13:19.880 --> 01:13:27.560
I went back to my room to pray my conviction of condemnation was overwhelming Hebrews 11 verse one

01:13:27.560 --> 01:13:33.800
says faith is the conviction of things not seen but the only conviction I had was that I was lost

01:13:34.600 --> 01:13:40.600
as I prayed Ephesians 2 8 to 10 came to mind a passage my father quoted often

01:13:41.880 --> 01:13:49.800
for by grace you have been saved church by grace we have been saved it's by grace it it has this

01:13:50.360 --> 01:13:58.200
amazing power to undo completely dismantle and break into powder condemnation by grace

01:13:59.160 --> 01:14:06.280
you have been saved I repeated to myself yes it's by grace and grace means gift

01:14:06.280 --> 01:14:13.240
but what else I don't feel forgiven I don't feel freedom I only feel condemnation what does by

01:14:13.240 --> 01:14:18.840
grace mean I lifted up my hands and continued praying I did not feel anything physically there

01:14:18.840 --> 01:14:25.400
were no visions no lights no audible voices what happened was an internal shift of understanding

01:14:25.400 --> 01:14:31.960
sudden and deep as if God himself had poured clarity into my heart in an instant it was as if

01:14:31.960 --> 01:14:39.240
the Lord said to me not audibly but with absolute certainty and I want you to hear this God said the

01:14:39.240 --> 01:14:47.160
doors of heaven are open for you you have a place there that no one can take from you today I give

01:14:47.160 --> 01:14:54.920
you an entrance that no one will ever be able to remove because I see you through my son Jesus I

01:14:54.920 --> 01:15:06.520
do not see the darkness of your sins I see you in Christ in less than a second my conviction of

01:15:06.520 --> 01:15:13.720
condemnation became absolute assurance of salvation I went from feeling completely lost to feeling

01:15:13.720 --> 01:15:21.080
completely forgiven I ran into the room where my wife was and said love love I'm saved I'm saved

01:15:21.080 --> 01:15:27.640
because it's by grace it's by grace and something else had happened the desire for pornography had

01:15:27.640 --> 01:15:35.880
died I didn't realize that same day I didn't realize it that same day only days later I noticed

01:15:35.880 --> 01:15:42.040
that this bondage no longer has power over me it was as if the Lord had turned off a switch

01:15:42.680 --> 01:15:51.320
without me feeling the moment that it happened this is how we overcome condemnation we don't

01:15:51.320 --> 01:15:55.400
overcome condemnation by fighting it we overcome condemnation by receiving grace

01:15:57.880 --> 01:16:03.960
covers a multitude of sins and it helps you deal with things that condemn you

01:16:03.960 --> 01:16:08.040
Satan's primary weapon is condemnation guides Zechariah chapter three

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let's pray

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I just thank you that at the end of this teaching that was on warfare

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you're giving us a weapon that we can counter the weapons of the enemy with and you're saying to us

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I want you to know church I want you to know whether you know me well or you don't know me well I want

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you to know whether you've been with me for 30 years or one year I want you to know

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what this man just said

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that you live you please me you have a place with me because of grace and what is grace

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I don't see any darkness in you

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I see the purity of the blazing radiance of Christ

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So Father we receive it I'm not going to add to it

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Spirit of God we receive what you have sent us

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in different areas of our life we just receive it

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Thank you as we wear garments called no condemnation

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you