Today we do part two of Train My Hands to War.
If you haven't heard the first part or haven't tracked with how we got to where we got to,
this church might sound like a weird kind of church, but it isn't. So when we talk
about Train My Hands to War, our premise is very simple. There is God who is good, but
there is Satan who is evil, and at stake are the lives of men and women. If God is good
is a father, there is also an entity called the devil or Satan. Satan's intent is, can
I draw the worship of people, the nature of people, the thoughts of people, the acts of
people towards everything that's depraved, evil, wicked, exploitative? While God's intent
is, can I not just draw you towards me and have you participate in my nature, but can
I also lay my life down for you so that anything and everything that you have done wrong is
forgiven because I pay the price for it with my death? And so when we talk about spiritual
warfare, we're not talking about anything physical. In fact, in Ephesians 6 it says,
battle is not against flesh and blood, as in not against people, but a battle is against invisible
forces, powers, rulers, principalities, authorities. These are invisible forces,
and that is definitely trying to draw men and women onto a realm that is so dark, so evil,
that most of us hear about it, some of us have experienced it, and some of us have dealt with it.
So what I'm saying is not some fairy tale, it's real. Every month I meet someone who finds it
almost impossible to either escape from some kind of depravity or evil attacks, demonic problems,
mental issues and physical issues that are caused by an attack of an invisible being.
And many of us here know it, but for those who haven't experienced it, this isn't coming out
of a vacuum. The Bible talks about it. One of the things Jesus did continuously was deal with people
who were attacked by evil, invisible forces and drive those forces out. And today when we look at
scriptures, we'll see that again. So that's where this is coming from. That's point one. Point two,
truth is learned through repetition of both what we think and how we practice it. Truth is learned
through repetition. So there'll be things that we repeat. Why? Because we're trying to get this
church to a place where we begin to think a certain way. Truth is learned through repetition,
and truth is learned through the repetition of both the way we think and the actions that we then
do because of the way we think. So some of the stuff will be repeated.
And then thirdly, if you have any questions or you begin to figure out how in the world does this
work, you can come and ask later. Whenever you doubt the character of God, there's one simple
solution. Look at Jesus. Whenever you think God is evil, whenever you think God is nasty,
whenever you think God is out to do harm, whenever you think God is a monster based on your
experience or based on the things you see around you, immediately look at Jesus. One of the reasons
Jesus came in the flesh was so that he become the visible image of the invisible God. Look at Jesus
and usually it solves all the questions you have about God because he was there in finite form.
So those are the disclaimers. Now we go on to train my hands for war part two.
This is what we talked about last week. So quick recap. The moment you talk about the kingdom of God
and the kingdom of God is simply just like we say the presidency of Trump or the prime ministership
of Carney. So when we say the kingdom of God, we are talking about the reign of Jesus Christ,
a supreme Lord over everything created in every part of the universe because he is creator.
Because he is creator. So the moment you say kingdom, it implies warfare. And again,
I'm talking about spiritual warfare. I'm not talking about harm to flesh and blood.
The moment you say kingdom of God, it implies spiritual warfare because there are other entities
that have a whole host of powers under them that want the worship and the lives of men and women.
Second point we made last week was the kingdom of Christ cannot advance in Richmond except through
spiritual conflict. The kingdom of Christ, as in the rule of Christ in Richmond, cannot advance
except through spiritual conflict. Conflict with who? Conflict with the powers that exist.
It's a falsehood. It's so absurd to say that all religions lead to God. That's one of the
foolishest unthinking statements that we have swallowed. They don't all lead to God. Because
to begin with, all the gods that each religion proposes are different. And two, the methods to
get to God are so ridiculously different that it can't be true. It's almost as absurd as saying
the word earth is flat. And surprisingly, there are flat earthers even today. I've met a couple.
It's amazing. They think once you drive past Abbotsford, you fall off the end of the earth.
It usually happens when you get to Surrey, but that's a different thing.
Sorry. To all the Surrey people, I apologize. So the kingdom of Christ cannot advance in Richmond
except through spiritual conflict. And where do we see that? Because everything has to be backed by
scripture. Acts chapter 26. So if you turn to Acts 26, Acts 26 verse 17 and 18. Acts 26, 17 and 18.
Acts 26, 17 and 18. Look at this, eh? This is Jesus speaking and here's what he says.
I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. The Lord replied, now get up and stand on your feet.
Then he says to Paul, I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness
of what you have seen me and what I will show you. Then he says, I'll rescue you from your own people
and the Gentiles. Then he tells them what he's going to do. I am sending you to them to open
their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, so that they may
receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
So when we talk about conflict, we're talking about conflict that Jesus outlined. He said,
listen, there are two realms. There's a realm of darkness and the realm of light. There's the
power of God and the power of Satan. And therein lies the conflict. And so you cannot advance the
cause of Christ. And what is the cause of Christ? Very simple. I made people, they walked away from
me. I laid down my life so that they can come back to me, all sins forgiven, completely restored.
You can reject it or receive it, but you cannot be neutral about it.
To be neutral about it is to reject it really. You cannot be neutral about it.
So the kingdom of Christ cannot advance in Richmond except through this spiritual conflict,
where people get transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the sun. Go to Ephesians
1.13. Ephesians 1.13. Ephesians 1.13.
Colossians 1.13. Sorry. Thanks. Colossians 1.13.
Colossians 1.13. And here's what it says. For he has rescued us in who? Jesus. Jesus has rescued
us from what? From the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the sun he loves,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Again, it's his idea of conflict. And so if
we want Richmond, as in the people in Richmond, to be able to first hear about who Christ is,
understand in their hearts who Christ is, begin to receive Christ as someone who made them,
who loves them, who knows they oppose him, who resist him, who sometimes don't even know that
he exists, but are willing to receive him, you first have to free them from the dominion of
darkness. You literally have to rescue them. It's Christ who does the rescuing. We do the announcement.
It's Christ who rescues. We announce it. You know, there were soldiers in Japan that kept fighting
10 years after the war was over. There were little islands in Japan where Japanese soldiers
who had been cut off from all communication thought that the war was still going on.
There's a movie and a book about one of those guys who used to live like Rambo did in certain
jungles of Japanese islands, not knowing that the Japanese had surrendered. And so he would keep
fighting. People would turn up on this island and then would run for their lives because he would
start shooting at them because he thought the war was still on. Emancipation is not emancipation
unless it's announced. Freedom is not freedom till it's announced. People need to hear that you are
free. If you don't announce freedom, people don't know they are free. Christ does the rescuing. We
do the announcing. But there will be resistance to it. There is a conflict.
And just because it's not your experience does not mean it's not true.
That's like saying, yeah, it doesn't make sense when you say it's not my experience so it's not
true. Try saying that to a little baby who doesn't understand gravity. So we are engaged in a cosmic
custody battle. A cosmic custody battle. What do you mean? So there are two realms. There's the
dominion of darkness, the kingdom of the sun. There's a realm of light. There's a realm of darkness.
There's the power of satans. There's the power of God. This is constant, guys, in every city, in every
part of the world. This is it. Jesus Christ said this and this is where Scripture, here's the crazy
thing with the word of God, with Scripture. Once Scripture says it and you understand it, you only
have a choice to either believe it or not believe it. And here's what the Scripture says. Acts 10,
38. And God sent Jesus of Nazareth and anointed him with power and the Holy Spirit so that he
could go around doing good and setting free those that were harassed by the devil.
First John 4. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came down to the earth in flesh so that he could destroy
the works of the devil. There's no two ways about this. This is real. This is a constant battle
right now in every inhabited city in the world. And therefore, it is a custody battle. What do
you mean a custody battle? In John chapter 8, verse 44 to 47, these are the words of Jesus. Jesus
said, I have come from the Father, but you do not receive me. You believe in another Father who is
the Father of lies. He has always been a liar, a murderer and a thief. And so there's this custody
battle between the Father of light and the Father of lies. And every human being will end up one
place or the other. This is one guaranteed thing. There's no neutral ground here.
And then we said, the third thing we said was the creation of man, as in when man was created.
One of the first commands, the first command that God gives man when he's created is go forth
multiply, replenish, subdue. As in, guys, you're not supposed to congregate in one place. I made you
once you begin to have families disperse. And when you disperse, just don't go to consume,
but go to replenish, as in do things that benefit the earth and creation around you.
And then it says subdue, as in there is an enemy to subdue. So now you understand what replenish
means. Replenish means you do not go out to consume, you go out to benefit others.
The idea of replenishing is that someone else benefits. And in the process of someone else
benefiting, the earth begins to prosper. So go forth, multiply, replenish and subdue, as in
deal with the dominion of darkness, deal with the power of the devil, deal with it, subdue it.
This was the first command given us. We were made in his image and it's the first command you get.
And so in a sense, it's the militant mission of the Great Commission. The Great Commission is
go therefore to all nations, telling them about me, teaching them everything I've taught you,
and I'll be with you. So the church has no choice in this. Let's put it this way, to sit on my
backside and hear this and not have it begin to stir up my heart is the laziest thing I can do.
You know, we don't have to act on stuff. We have to think on stuff first.
The laziness is never in acting. The laziness isn't thinking, especially in a world today where
everything is supplied. The laziness for Christians is not so much in acting. We can do stuff.
We can put together 120 bags. We can go and distribute soup and food. But here's what is so
difficult to do, to think and to think with the word. The moment you start thinking, you're not
and to think with the word. The moment you start thinking with the word, you start thinking like
God. Not thinking like regent, not thinking like some seminary, not thinking like some
thinker who wrote a book, but think like God. And only when I start thinking is my heart stirred.
Please remember this guys. The heart is not stirred unless a man thinks.
It is when a man thinks that he either gets enraged or he embraces or he falls in love
or he begins to hate. He begins to think. Feelings come out of thoughts guys.
And so laziness in a Christian's life is when a believer refuses to think on the thoughts of God.
And in this church, the prevailing thought at present has trained my hands to walk.
Any questions before we go on? Any questions guys? We'll miss the Zimix, won't we?
And the hipsters.
Anyone else know how to play the bass? Because if you know how to play the bass,
then we don't care if he doesn't come back immediately. Who? Vibi? Vibi plays the bass?
Remy, does he play the bass? Is that a word of confidence?
All righty. If he's good, I'll text you saying, take your time brother. If he's not.
Guys, any questions on this? These were things we talked about last week. Any questions on this?
Then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then,
these were things we talked about last week. Any questions on this?
There must be a clear divide that we must understand exists.
You know, when we go across PSAT, it says Canada ends here, then a few meters later,
the US begins here. They've got two pillars. There are no two pillars. There's no neutral ground.
There's zero neutral ground.
It's like zero avenue.
Any questions on any of these statements?
Okay, so you are saying that you agree that we are engaged in a cosmic custody battle
and that the kingdom of Christ cannot advance in Richmond except through spiritual conflict.
Cool. I'm glad you think so.
Alrighty, so then we went on to talk about, so what are some things that we, some patterns that
we see in the scriptures that we can use now in Richmond so that people begin to
turn to Christ who made them. It's like children being restored to their father. I liked what Simon
said when he came up here to pray this when we started. He said, I'm like a son returning
to his house. It's kind of what God wants for every human being in Richmond, sons and daughters
coming back to their father, estranged, alienated, separated because of sin, because of ignorance,
because of belief systems, because of condemnation, because of experiences with church and God in the
past, because of wrong theology, because of perverse philosophies, because of religious beliefs that
don't match the Bible. And then along come a group of people who begin to deal with the forces that
have kept people captive and as you begin to announce the freedom that Christ has brought
one by one by one. How in the world do you think you turned up here, man? Someone had to speak to you.
And then one by one people begin to turn and that's why we are in Richmond. Otherwise we could have
stayed in Burnaby or Vancouver. Okay, so the first thing, how do we go about this? One, we
learn how to, not relearn, we bring
random.
Cool, so the first way we do it is, guys, if you want to bring down the strongholds of the enemy,
bring down the stronghold of God. As in, anytime you want to bring crashing to the ground,
something that the enemy has established, you must usher in the presence of God.
There's a story in second Samuel five. Here's what happened. The ark was supposed to be the presence
of God and so the Philistines capture the ark and they bring it into a temple. The name of the God
in that temple was Dagon and so in second Samuel five, they bring in this ark into the temple and
they set it right next to their idol. And so there's this box made of wood and there's a
fancy looking idol that towers and they leave it there thinking, wow, we've captured what belonged
to Israel. And here's the crazy thing that happens. Overnight, the idol falls flat on its face.
So they decide this must be a mistake and so they glue it together and they set it up again
and they nail it to the ground. Guess what happens next night? The blooming idol falls again
and now it's broken in so many pieces that Humpty Dumpty couldn't be put together again.
How did that happen? There was no physical conflict there but there was something spiritual.
The idol represented a spiritual entity and the box or the ark, God said, this is just to show you
how powerful my presence is. So one of the ways we break strongholds of the enemy is by ushering in
the stronghold of God or bringing heaven down. How does heaven enter a place today except through the
citizens of heaven? In Philippians, you are actually called the citizens of heaven.
You know why? Because Philippi was a tiny little city that was Greek. Philippi was Greek but
strangely enough when Brutus killed Caesar, he escaped to Philippi and so the entire Roman army
turns up at Philippi and says, give us Brutus and in exchange we'll give you Roman citizenship.
And so they hand Brutus over and Philippi, this tiny little city in the middle of the city,
this tiny little city in the middle of Greece suddenly becomes Roman citizens. It's like Trump
saying to some small little town in Nagaland saying, hey Nagaland, I'm giving you US passports
from now on if you hand Remy over to me. And so Remy is handed over and Nagaland gets US passports.
It's the same thing that happened. And so this is why, sorry, this is why when Paul writes, he says,
your citizenship does not belong to where you are. Your citizenship is in heaven because he knew,
Philippi understood this very well, that they were a Roman colony in the middle of Greece,
that they had Roman passports in the middle of Greece. And so this idea of ushering in the
presence of God is crazy and this is what we want to do through worship. This is what we want to do
when we pray for someone. This is what we want to do when we lay hands and heal somebody. Man,
somebody gets healed, it's almost impossible to turn your back on Christ then. You can but it
becomes more difficult. What do you do when someone comes with an ailment and you pray for him and he
gets healed? How do you not turn to Christ then? It's still possible but it's difficult.
So you break the strongholds of the devil by ushering in the stronghold of God. Any questions
on that one? You want it explained better. We tear down high places by bringing heaven,
which is higher down. This is the principle, guys. If we are seated with Christ in heavenly places
and if the powers and principalities occupy the space below us and then there is the earth,
we do not fight upwards, we fight downwards, we bring heaven down.
Never forget that. We are seated in high heavenly places. It's not the enemy that has that ground.
Ephesians 2 verse 4 to 6 says that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places
above all principalities and powers. You fight down, you don't fight up.
It's like having a vantage point on a mountain with people below you.
Anyone who holds high ground holds the battle. So stop fighting down up, start fighting up down.
This is important that we realize this because we try to scale and destroy what we think is in a
high place. When we don't understand that seated with Christ in heavenly places, we are supposed to
look down and say we have the advantage in Christ. And so we bring in the presence of God,
God who is creator, God who is infinite, God who lives in our midst, God who lives in you.
In the name of that Christ, when we go into situations, always be aware. This is where the
laziness may affect us, where we don't go over this again and again, where I have to go home and think
to myself, ah shucks, this is how I need to think.
It's like Colorado playing the Canucks right now. The Canucks are last in the league and Colorado is
top of the league. They don't play down. I mean they don't play up, they play down.
Aaron must be thrilled hearing this, the other Aaron.
Any questions?
Second, warfare
is corporate.
And warfare
is personal.
As in how we fight affects everybody. How we
deal with things
affects us.
How we deal with things
affects the camp.
This is why you can't or you don't want to not address weak links. So in Joshua 7, Joshua chapter 7,
Joshua 7, sorry Joshua 7 verse 3 onwards, Joshua 7, 3,
Joshua chapter 7 verse 3. There's this place called AI
or I that Joshua's going to conquer but he's unable to defeat AI simply because there's a guy called
Aiken who has stolen stuff that should not have been stolen. And every time they go out to fight
they get beaten till Joshua deals with what Aiken had stolen. Till that is dealt with there's no
victory. Warfare is corporate. We cannot afford Vibi to be someone who's messing around
and is a weak link. Our intent should be can we make Vibi strong so that when we go out together
there's nobody that can be taken. We fight as a unit. Part of the reason we teach and train
is so that we fight as a unit. The reason the Roman army was so brilliant at its moves was because
they knew how to fight together. They had different moves sometimes shields up so that after the
arrows could not come in this way. Sometimes a phalanx of sorts that would literally be like
the police deal with riots today. All that was invented more than 2000 years ago. The point being
when there is a weak link it is important that it be strengthened. You don't remove a weak link,
you strengthen it because a church suffers once there are eight or nine people who are not
interested in walking in the training given a church begins to suffer.
Any questions on that one? These are challenging statements we're making man.
The easiest thing to do is just say forget it. You cannot forget it.
Any questions?
I picked on Vibi because I don't see him as a problem.
Just so you know he's a new bassist we have to treat him well.
Any questions on that? You hear what I'm saying. I'm saying that if Xavier doesn't step up to the
responsibility he is given then that becomes an area where we need to then make sure that he steps
up because that flank is then unguarded. Maybe he steps up all he needs is some biceps so then
send Sheldon and Jeremy to help him build up his biceps. Do whatever it takes. Any questions?
Any questions?
Showing up is not enough. Being trained is important.
I mean your enthusiasm is overpowering but I can handle it.
Leviticus 26.6. God says to, I was going to say Leviticus 26.6.7 then I thought I better not
because Jonathan will pick up on that. So Leviticus 26.6. Yeah.
Let me read Leviticus 26.6.
The 6-7 thing is driving me nuts now. You can't use that number.
Okay here goes Leviticus 26. Let me start at verse 6 and then see if we go to the next verse
before 8. It says I will grant peace in the land and you will lie down and no one will make you
afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land and you will be free. I will remove the
land. Verse 7. It says I will grant peace in the land and you will lie down and no one will make
you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land and the sword will not pass through your
country. Verse 7. You will pursue your enemies and they will fall by the sword before you.
Five of you will chase a hundred and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand and your enemies will
fall by the sword before you. The point being all spiritual warfare is far more effective when it's
done corporately. Five a thousand, ten ten thousand. It grows exponentially.
And so my job if I were a commander of a unit would be to make sure that everybody's trained
and there are no weaklings. And sometimes you can rub people wrong when you train them. That's okay.
Their life matters and the lives of others matters.
Any commander worth his salt must insist on people being trained a certain way.
This warfare is also personal. Luke chapter 4 verse 2. Luke chapter 4 verse 2. Here's what it
says. And look forward to. And Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
by the devil. There are only two realms guys. Power of darkness, power of light, power of satan,
power of God. Dominion of darkness, kingdom of the sun. And it is constantly opposed to each other.
It is hostile. And so Jesus had the same problem to deal with. But in Luke 4 2 he was led by the
spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Go to Luke 22 verse 3. Luke 22 verse 3. And in
Luke 22 verse 3 it says and then satan, sorry, Luke 22 verse 3 says yeah and then satan entered
Judas. And that is when Judas begins to decide that he's going to sell Jesus for 30 pieces of
silver which wasn't a lot of money. It actually says satan entered Jesus. This is an invisible
force, not invisible force, an invisible being entering a human person, inciting the person
to betray one of the finest men
in history. How does that even happen? Next one, Mark 8 33. Mark 8 33. Jesus's trusted disciple Peter
begins to advise Jesus that listen it's a really bad idea to go to the cross so why don't you just
skip the cross we'll just have Christmas, no Good Friday. And Jesus had to turn around to him
and he actually says get thee behind me not Peter but get thee behind me satan. Acts chapter 5
verse maybe 20 or 22. Peter is now at the giving end where he looks at Ananias and Sapphira and he
says to Ananias and says to him listen what happened? Why did you follow satan? How did you
fall for what satan wants to do through your life? Why did you lie to the Holy Spirit? This is personal
guys and unless we recognize it we cannot fight it. Any questions?
By the time we are done I want us to be so sure that there are only two realms and I'm always
choosing, always choosing, always choosing. I want us here in this church to know that it's a constant
pressure here on earth and the only way to overcome this pressure is to like somebody more
and that is do I like the father more or do I like myself more? As believers, as Christians we won't
say we want to follow the devil but here's the thing I like myself sometimes far more than God
and every time I do that there's someone waiting just outside the door wanting to take advantage of
it. There are only two realms you're constantly dealing with them. I mean the next question that
Acts 29 people gave me was why are we what do we do about distraction? Where do you think
distraction comes from? Why is it that you're highly distracted especially when someone is
preaching? Why are you highly distracted when reading the word? Why are you highly distracted
when it comes to times of prayer? Why is it that you who can understand quantum physics can't
understand that Jesus Christ died and rose again? How is that even possible? What kind of dullness
occupies the mind that prevents us from understanding simple truths? The Bible says in 2nd Corinthians
and in Ephesians 2 that the God of this world has blinded our minds. It's like a veil that comes over
your eyes. It's crazy how active this enemy is guys. Leave alone the strife that he sows between
friends and family husbands and wives siblings.
Yep.
Yeah. How do you handle evil attacks from Satan when you're not part of a group that can walk with
you, support you, encourage you? Very difficult. It's like herds where there's a straggler and he's
easy picking for a predator and it's much easier when you walk with a herd.
And you can invite people in but there are two things I often hear from people. I don't feel
I belong. So that's one thing I hear and then the second thing I hear is
no I've been treated very badly in the past and I don't want to commit to anything right now.
Both may be valid. I'm not saying these are not valid reasons but these are two things that
usually end up having people devoured because they are stragglers. Next one.
We said this last time warfare involves angelic activity. Warfare always involves
angelic activities. Angelic activity. Why? Because invisible evil spirits
are actually fallen angels that rebelled against God and therefore ones that
deal with them are angels that are part
of God's angelic army which is millions. It says it's uncountable.
It's uncountable. You see that in Genesis 3 24. You see first angelic activity in Genesis 3 24
when Adam and Eve have to leave Eden and there's an angel appointed at the entry of Eden with a
sword that keeps moving from left to right. In Revelation chapter 14 you again see angelic
activity where there's an angel that's going across the earth announcing that the time for
salvation is going to end and the judgment is coming. And so be it in the beginning of the
Bible or the end of the Bible you see ridiculous amounts of angelic activity. Revelations 14 verse
7 onwards. What we don't realize is that once we begin to engage in works, what do you want to read
Jeremy? Which is not clear. Let me try.
Ones that deal with are angels that are part of God's angelic army Williams.
I don't know what the last word is but millions millions not Williams millions yeah yeah they
number into the millions. Yeah so yeah you see that in Revelation 14. One of the things that
will begin to happen and we'll hear reports of this. I'm not looking for reports but you will
hear as you begin to engage in a city this way you will begin to hear reports of angelic activity
amongst us because this is how it works. Hebrews chapter 1 talks about it that ministers of fire
another word for angels who are involved in the salvation of people and you'll see this happening.
You know Tooney had a conversation with me four days ago and he said Jacob if you finish by 6 10
I'll take you out for dinner.
And then he goes sings so many songs and leaves me very little time.
Okay I'm gonna try for 6 10.
Tomorrow dinner Tooney. 6 10.
Symbols are used in warfare. Please remember this. I pray God that the ones who lead churches here
and ones who are in leadership will remember this and keep repeating it and that you remember too.
All of us symbols are used symbols are used in the realm of warfare. Symbols are used in the realm of
warfare. Symbols are used in the realm of warfare. Brandon.
Okay symbols are used in the realm of warfare. So and it's used by both realms. They buy both
realms. Please understand the satanic realm use symbols objects and it's spiritual realm of God
uses symbols. One of the first symbols of warfare guess what it was the rainbow.
It was God's weapon in the sky that said listen I know the earth has been destroyed by a flood to
remove all that was hostile but I put this weapon in the sky and so it's not this pretty little
oh look at the rainbow click click click it was actually a weapon man that was meant to let us
know that he who is the lord of hosts will not destroy again by fire or by water. It is a weapon
you see the satan using it too. Did you know that when Moses put up that bronze serpent
that people looked at to preserve them from the plague did you know that Israel later took that
very serpent and began to worship it and it's called Nehushtan. What about Asherah poles?
Trees that were cut. Totem poles are not new. Asherah poles have existed for more than two
thousand three thousand years and God forbids it saying listen you're not to make Asherah poles.
You're not to bring them in anywhere near the altar. You're to cut them down. You're to undo high
places because they were these were symbolic places of worship that were used by satan.
God uses it. The enemy uses it too. Did you know that in Joshua chapter 8 Joshua remembers a battle
where Moses had to have both his hands held high while he was fighting and guess what he does in
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
victory and then in Joshua chapter 8 verse 22 or something God says to him I want to take I want
you to take your javelin and hold it out high and Joshua holds his javelin up. You know how long he
had to hold the javelin up till the battle was done. In verse 26 or 27 it says Joshua held the
javelin up till the battle was done. Most of the things that we say is spiritual warfare is actually
highly symbolic and it doesn't look like fighting but it has tremendous power.
Symbols are important in both realms which is why it's advisable not to become a tourist in
Vietnam or Hong Kong or Nagaland and bring upon yourself things that do not necessarily come from
the nature of God. So many places that I go to I'll be offered charms I'll be offered little
idols and little knickknacks that I know do not reflect the truth of Christ.
Any questions?
Oh Jacob it was harmless it was just something that they gave out of love. Hey try telling that
to your wife when you pull out things that your former girlfriend gave you now that you're married.
See how that goes.
Silence in the room. Men?
Any questions? Okay next one.
We start this way of thinking of Richmond and of the world and you'll realize it suddenly becomes
generational as in the church that comes in after this. Acts 29 will this will become natural for us.
Do you know how natural worship is for us? Do you know how natural hearing God is for us?
Do you know how natural it is to belong to a body here? Do you know how natural it is to be flexible
here? Do you know how natural it is to be flexible here? Do you know how natural it is to do things
without a plan but still pretty orderly even if not even though it's not excellent? Do you know
how natural it is? Do you know how long it took? 20 years. When we begin to do this this will become
natural. We'll raise waves of generations of militant people who know how to deal with spiritual
realities not theological realities spiritual realities.
And you see this you see this with Abraham and then you see it with Isaac then you see it with
Jacob then you see it with Joseph then you see it with Judah. You know when Isaac was being offered
on the altar once Abraham obeys you know what God says to him? I want you to know that Isaac will
have his foot on the neck of his enemies. Isaac gives birth to Jacob and it says of Jacob and
then God changed his name and he named him Israel and he said you have contended with God and man
and you have prevailed and then it moves to Joseph and Pharaoh says to Joseph I am Pharaoh but in
Egypt no one will move a hand or foot till you say so and then it moves to Judah. Judah is a lion's
whelp. He has his hand on the neck of his enemies and it goes on. What we are building here even a
simple teaching like this is meant to be something that goes so deep in that generation after
generation at Acts 29 and now we are not talking about 14 or 15 years. Right now in this room there
are more than five generations man. It becomes natural for them. This is not a teaching to
entertain us. This is a teaching to build something into this church that will benefit the city and
other cities in the world forever because it's always generational.
You can add to it like you add to Christmas traditions but it is generational. The next
thing is communion. Communion and baptism. Communion and baptism. Is it okay? Communion
and baptism. Guys when you go to the Passover you read Exodus 12 12 and it says in Exodus 12 12
12 that when they had the first communion the first time they had Passover it said God ordained
this meal for the judgment of the gods of Egypt. Begin to use sometimes when you partake of communion
think of it as a weapon. We always think of it as remembering what Christ has done. Well go
back a little more and remember what Christ did because what we are going through today is the new
Exodus but there was an Exodus long ago when God delivered his people out of bondage brought them
through the Red Sea brought them into the promised land and the same thing happens again and again
and again and one of the things he says is as you begin to eat this meal know a few things. One
Satan will not be able to enter your homes. Two I'll judge the gods of Egypt.
Three I'll show them that you are different because in Goshen you will have light. In Goshen
you will have plenty while in the rest of Egypt there'll be darkness. Even baptism
even baptism is a weapon. How is it a weapon? It makes you a distinct person.
It makes you a separate person. You know in India you don't see it much in Canada. In India
you can follow Jesus but the problem is only when you get baptized because when you get baptized
you're suddenly making a declaration that I now belong to Christ. Till you make that declaration
Jesus can be one of many gods but the moment you make that declaration that I'm getting baptized
that's when all hell breaks loose.
The sacraments we have offered in Christianity are just two
baptism communion nothing else nothing else is sacred just those two.
It's an allegiance we are declaring.
When you become a Canadian citizen or when someone joins the president's cabinet I love the way they
swear they say we serve at the pleasure of the president of the United States of America.
Doesn't matter which company they belong to they quit because they serve just one.
Allegiance is critical in war. There are no mercenaries eh.
I got 10 minutes. Tony's dinner oh my god just thinking of it makes me want to go faster.
You know in 1st Corinthians 10 18 we don't realize this when
in 1st Corinthians 10 18 it says you cannot eat at the Lord's table and at the table of demons.
Why say that? Why are you saying that to the Romans? These were Christians in Rome why are
you saying that to the Romans? These were Christians in Rome why are you saying that?
Because by the time the letters being written to them they were guilds they were trades guilds
GUILDS and every time you went for one of these guild meetings there would be Caesar statue there
would be pagan rituals and you would have to participate in them if you wanted to be part of
the Roman businessman's chamber chamber of commerce in Rome and so Paul is saying to them you have a
choice now either you partake in those pagan rituals and eat those meals and he calls them
the table of demons or just participate in the Lord's table you can't have both.
Allegiance matters man. The next one praise praise Exodus 15 verse 3 you know the reason we
should have worship nights or praise nights or whatever you want to call it is for this reason
Exodus 15 verse 1 to 3 Moses was a worship leader
so what does he do? He just sees the Red Sea completely decimate the Egyptian army
and so Moses begins to write a song and after writing the song Moses begins to sing the song
and the song goes something like this that the Lord our God is a man of war that's a song
it's a militant song the Lord our God is a man of war he has thrown the horse and the rider into the
sea and then at some point Miriam hears it and Miriam grabs a tambourine and then the ladies join
her and they all start doing the tambourine man and they begin to dance and sing.
Dance and sing.
Praise must be because here's how it works guys this is the equation for for future
praise nights be tomorrow or be it next week here's a simple equation first Exodus 15 1
Exodus 15 1 the Lord is a man of war from there we go to numbers 23
21 which says the shout of the king is in their midst
a people who know that their God is the God of war then go into this next stage where the shout
of the king is in their midst as in here is a people who are so confident of who walks among
them that they can't stop shouting Balaam who is trying to curse Israel says to Balak the king
who hired him to curse Israel he says hey I want you to know that I hear a sound but it is a not
of not the sound of a people who are confused and running it is the sound of a
sound of a of a people who suddenly know that the king is in their midst and that he is creator
and he is Lord and then from there you go to Psalm 8 verse 2 which is our praises silence the enemy
this is a progression this is the progression Tuni has to capture this is the progression that
he has to bring to us it's not so I mean this church has been ministered to in terms of bondage
and in terms of freedom plenty of time now it is time for the people to realize that the Lord is a
man of war two that the shout of the king is in our midst and three that is how we silence the enemy
that's the progression
these are the things that we will experience as we go out into Richmond this is not theory this is
real because there are only two realms there's the dominion of darkness and the kingdom of the sun
what are we talking about right now we're talking about how the kingdom of the sun works
the next one is presence every time our people go out to war spiritually God will make his presence
will make his presence known he'll reassure with his presence either it'll be a pillar of fire and
cloud like it was with Israel or it will be God turning up with his sword and sheath like he did
with Joshua and Joshua asked him who are you for and he says I'm not for anybody but I'm the commander
of the armies of Israel or it'll be Joshua taking a walk because he's so scared of taking Jericho
and he hears two people talking and they say man we are so scared of the Israelites we're like
grasshoppers before them here's a crazy thing guys the powers of darkness in Richmond the powers
behind all false philosophies and religions they know they are aware of what it is when
people are aware of the presence of God
how do we know this we hear about it in Acts chapter 19 we hear about it in Mark chapter 5
the demons say to Jesus why have you come to torment us before our time they recognize Jesus
and they recognize Jesus in the flesh and they recognize Jesus in the people the sons of skeeva
Acts chapter 19 Jesus I know all I know but who the heck are you they didn't say heck who are you
Jesus I know Paul I know but who are you guys when a people become aware of the fact that
the enemy is aware of the one who dwells in you those people have a swagger in their step
shoot you know what one one one one Sunday all I'll talk about is anecdotes but we can't go into
anecdotes yet we have to establish this on scriptural principles and then we'll talk about stories
so many every time I make a point I want to tell a story
precise obedience precise obedience guys the powers know that the Lord fights for us against
them powers know that the Lord fights for us against them powers know that exodus 1425
the Egyptians began to say oh shucks their god is fighting for them our chariot wheels are coming
off in second kings 17 there's a very interesting story the Babylonians run over
Israeli territory and then you hear them saying to the king hey you know they're god
is pretty upset with us there are lots of lions roaming around eating up our people
so why don't you call some of the Israeli priests to come and dwell with us so we'll be safe from
these lions they're very aware of how powerful God is that's in second king 17 you should read it it's
a very strange story precise obedience precise obedience precise obedience you've got to follow
precisely what God outlines in spiritual warfare Jericho required six rounds around it and the
seventh one was a shout rehab required to hang a scarlet rope outside her house if she wanted
to be saved the blood needed the blood of bulls and goats needed to be put on the houses if the
enemy was to pass over David had to find out from God if he was supposed to go and attack the giants
and refine and God's reply was when you hear the sound of marching above the balsam trees
that's when you're supposed to step out in the book of acts in Ephesus Paul had to know what to do
in each situation so that in the end Ephesus burned three million dollars worth of chal charms and
magic paparazzi if you ever go to the British Museum the National Museum of Britain in London
you will still see paparazzi from Ephesus with some of the most hideous magic chants you can ever
imagine still written on paparazzi preserved there but thousands and thousands of them are lost
because in Acts 19 people realize that the power of God that's working through Paul is so extreme
where even handkerchiefs that touched his body are bringing healing to people that they start
burning their magic books burning their paparazzi burning their charms three million dollars worth
of it in USD
these are my expectations in Richmond I'm not making a statement of faith I'm just making a
statement of fact these are my expectations Richmond what are yours
um yes good question but the answer makes me laugh it is so hard to follow these commands
because they are so absurd that you'd have to trust God they're walking around a well-walled
city six times quietly and then shouting and expecting the walls to come down man
that's not an easy command to follow obedience if we were not rational enough to follow God
an easy command to follow obedience if we were not rationalizing people if you were not people
that this time does not come into the sixth and this is a question he asked yeah this is like
extra time during soccer matches this is that kind of time yeah so it's obedient before the fall there
was no speculative thinking reasoning or rationalizing and therefore obedience did not
require faith but ever since the fall since man began began to reason speculate doubt
and rationalize we've had to now exercise faith to obey
so to obey these commands like I mean just imagine it just imagine that you hear tomorrow that
Vancouver's going to have a massive earthquake and the only thing you have to do is hang a red
ribbon on your window and you'll be safe that's precise obedience but it requires a lot of faith
the last one purity purity precedes victory purity precedes victory in God's warfare patterns in God's
warfare patterns purity precedes victory if this church does not pursue with passion blazing
purity this church will know everything but will not be able to step into it
because it's he's a holy god and in a strange way what he exercises against invisible spiritual
forces is a holy war against unholy powers
so the required to have cleansed consciences
and right relationship with the maker
is critical
and this is why Israel had rituals that they would have to undergo before the fall of the fall
they would have to undergo before the battle and after the battle because after the battle they
sometimes pollute themselves with things that were devoted to other gods they were not supposed to
touch they were supposed to burn and so there were rituals that Israel would go through both before
the battle and after the battle why because they were always supposed to stand with cleansed
consciousness and right relationship with the maker and so the last statement I want to make so
I can get to my dinner is that the courtroom
mark you're the one who's at fault here
the courtroom affects
the battlefield
the courtroom affects the battlefield
in other words righteousness
is connected
to warfare
righteousness is connected to warfare
is connected to warfare
Satan's primary weapon
is condemnation
and intimidation
in all warfare in all spiritual warfare
is only weapon its primary weapon is condemnation and intimidation we'll stop there next week we'll
talk about one of the things that really arms you for battle is this question that I want to ask
you and perhaps you can explore it do you know the crucified christ the risen christ and the
ascended christ just write down that question think about it do you know the crucified christ
it's not three different christ but it's important to know the christ who was crucified
what did that do for you the christ who is risen what has that done for us and the ascended christ
which is critical for warfare we can't cover it today so I want to go back to this last statement
satan's primary weapon is condemnation and intimidation so here's a question I want to ask us
so that we can be free from it
are you someone who feels condemned quite often you feel condemned when a wrong thought crosses
your mind you feel condemned when your heart feels anger you feel condemned when you haven't read
the word you feel condemned when your eyes stray or your mind strays you feel condemned when you
think you could have done better you feel condemned when someone says something about you
that you realize could be true you feel condemned when you don't meet the standards and the
expectations of people you feel condemned when anger rises or fear rises you feel condemned
I'd like to say there are plenty of us like that here plenty of us I wanted to end today
I wanted to end for me and I wanted to end for you
there's a sense of you're always coming up short the sense of condemnation
when anger rises when anger rises what are you doing with it are you playing with it are you
molding it or are you seeing it rise and letting it go because you don't want to mess with it
condemnation is being used against us powerfully guys I want us to be free from it today
his words to you are listen I know that these things rise in your heart but I also see
how you take a stance against it and don't touch it or don't mess with it or touch it
and walk away but you don't want to play with it
and he knows you've overcome but this weapon is being used against you so often
that you think you haven't overcome
that's a crazy thing
an intimidation we are afraid intimidation or afraid afraid of what will not work out afraid
of how tomorrow will not pan out afraid of all the things that you're praying for that may not
happen afraid I want to read you something from a pastor who wrote to me and it just occurred to me
that's my the only reason I'm reading it is because
it might help someone here you know if Tony had said that he would treat me for dinner we'd have
been done by now
you
he's written his testimony this is the fourth bit
from a young age I struggled against the sin inside me
but I was never able to overcome it I failed in many ways but the strongest bondage in my life was
pornography I began consuming it when I was young even at a time when access was not as easy as it
is today around age 30 things got worse I was living alone now had constant access to technology
which made everything easier and more frequent I at 34 I met the woman who is now my wife
before getting married I openly confessed my problem to her for years I had begged God to
change me to remove that addiction but nothing seemed to happen in my mind in my mind God had
to remove all my defects in order to save me if he didn't remove them then I wasn't saved after
marrying my wife there were nights when I sat on the edge of the bed crying and said to her why
doesn't God take this away from me why doesn't he change me I want to love him I want to please him
but I can't do it that's something that condemnation brings out hey you begin to almost
think that you don't love him because there's this constant voice that condemns you
why doesn't God take this away from me why doesn't he change me I want to love him I want to please
him but I can't do it she comforted me and encouraged me to trust in God but I felt like
nothing would change what grew inside me was guilt and a deep sense of condemnation eventually I
reached a point where I sincerely thought God doesn't exist my reasoning was simple if he existed
if he were good if he heard me then he'd have done something already I didn't want to keep believing
in a God who from my perspective never acted I told my wife I would become an atheist but first
I wanted to investigate seriously I didn't want to make that decision out of anger but out of
evidence so I began studying history scripture arguments for and against the faith after that
process I concluded there are solid reasons to trust the Bible and that there is historical
evidence for a real Jesus at that point I told my wife if the Bible is trustworthy and if Jesus
said what he said then he doesn't lie he fulfills what he promises but I'm not going to ask pastors
anymore they all tell me the same thing you're a sinner repent and I feel like I've spent my
years crying and asking for forgiveness that for me was repentance so I'm going to seek Jesus alone
if he doesn't intervene no one else has an answer I decided I would pray as long as necessary until
Jesus did something I would come home from work at night and pray nine ten eleven at night one or
two hours each day one of those nights after telling my wife that nothing was happening
I went back to my room to pray my conviction of condemnation was overwhelming Hebrews 11 verse one
says faith is the conviction of things not seen but the only conviction I had was that I was lost
as I prayed Ephesians 2 8 to 10 came to mind a passage my father quoted often
for by grace you have been saved church by grace we have been saved it's by grace it it has this
amazing power to undo completely dismantle and break into powder condemnation by grace
you have been saved I repeated to myself yes it's by grace and grace means gift
but what else I don't feel forgiven I don't feel freedom I only feel condemnation what does by
grace mean I lifted up my hands and continued praying I did not feel anything physically there
were no visions no lights no audible voices what happened was an internal shift of understanding
sudden and deep as if God himself had poured clarity into my heart in an instant it was as if
the Lord said to me not audibly but with absolute certainty and I want you to hear this God said the
doors of heaven are open for you you have a place there that no one can take from you today I give
you an entrance that no one will ever be able to remove because I see you through my son Jesus I
do not see the darkness of your sins I see you in Christ in less than a second my conviction of
condemnation became absolute assurance of salvation I went from feeling completely lost to feeling
completely forgiven I ran into the room where my wife was and said love love I'm saved I'm saved
because it's by grace it's by grace and something else had happened the desire for pornography had
died I didn't realize that same day I didn't realize it that same day only days later I noticed
that this bondage no longer has power over me it was as if the Lord had turned off a switch
without me feeling the moment that it happened this is how we overcome condemnation we don't
overcome condemnation by fighting it we overcome condemnation by receiving grace
covers a multitude of sins and it helps you deal with things that condemn you
Satan's primary weapon is condemnation guides Zechariah chapter three
let's pray
I just thank you that at the end of this teaching that was on warfare
you're giving us a weapon that we can counter the weapons of the enemy with and you're saying to us
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
you to know whether you've been with me for 30 years or one year I want you to know
what this man just said
that you live you please me you have a place with me because of grace and what is grace
I don't see any darkness in you
I see the purity of the blazing radiance of Christ
So Father we receive it I'm not going to add to it
Spirit of God we receive what you have sent us
in different areas of our life we just receive it
Thank you as we wear garments called no condemnation
you